Back

Chamarti Sreekar

Passionate about Pos... • 4m

Y Combinator’s Identity Crisis: Growth or Decline? Y Combinator, the famed Silicon Valley accelerator behind Airbnb, Stripe, and Doordash, is facing scrutiny as it expands. Once exclusive, YC now runs more frequent and larger startup batches, raising concerns about diluted quality and investor fatigue. In 2022, the winter batch hit 400 companies, prompting CEO Garry Tan to scale back. However, the addition of fall and spring cohorts means more startups and Demo Days for investors to track. Critics say the excitement has waned, with too many duplicate companies and smaller seed rounds. Despite this, YC remains prestigious, with a 1% acceptance rate and strong success metrics—5.5% of its startups become unicorns, and its graduates are valued at over $600 billion. Investors like Masha Bucher acknowledge the challenges but still see value in YC’s ecosystem, albeit wishing for smaller batches. As YC evolves, the debate continues: Is it still the gold standard for startups, or is it losing its edge?

5 replies15 likes
12
Replies (5)

More like this

Recommendations from Medial

Image Description
Image Description

Mahendar Rajpurohit

Ai application • 2d

Y Combinator in 30 Seconds: ✅ World’s top startup accelerator 💵 Offers $500K funding ($125K for 7%, $375K on SAFE) 🗓️ 4 batches/year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) 👥 Backed Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox, and 4,000+ startups 📈 Massive network + Dem

See More
3 replies41 likes
25
Image Description
Image Description

Startup Memer

Jester of Medial • 1y

YC is the IIT of Startups

5 replies7 likes
Image Description
Image Description

Havish Gupta

Figuring Out • 3m

Surge, The Y Combinator of India! So Surge is a seed-stage accelerator program launched in 2019 by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA). It provides early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia with funding, mentorship, and

See More
18 replies50 likes
37
Image Description

YCStartup Mentor

YCSTARTUP Mentor • 5d

Thinking about Y Combinator? Here’s the ultra-short cheat-sheet: 4 chances a year: YC now runs Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall batches—so there’s always an application window coming up. $500 k standard deal: $125 k for 7 % (post-money SAFE) plus $37

See More
1 replies7 likes
Image Description
Image Description

Havish Gupta

Figuring Out • 5m

Why are most YC-backed startups successful and able to raise twice as much money compared to normal startups, except for the fact that YC is well-reputed?

7 replies6 likes
Image Description
Image Description

Vikas Acharya

 • 

Welbe • 2m

YC and a16z's 2025 request for startups 👇🏻

12 replies36 likes
54
Image Description
Image Description

Tarun Suthar

 • 

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India • 1m

YC Just dropped Requests for Startups. (Summer 25 - AI Agents) 🔥 If anyone doesn't know It's a tradition at Y Combinator (YC) where they share ideas for startups that they would particularly like to see founders work on. The ideas on the RFS list

See More
4 replies19 likes
3
Image Description
Image Description

Vishu Bheda

 • 

Medial • 4m

Day 2 of The Startup Mafia Series: Why YC Founders Have an Unfair Advantage The world thinks startups are a meritocracy—that the best ideas win, the smartest founders get funded, and anyone can build a billion-dollar company if they just work hard e

See More
6 replies24 likes
10
Image Description
Image Description

Havish Gupta

Figuring Out • 10m

Why is it so Hard to Get into YC? To understand why it's difficult to get into YC, let's first review the application process: Step 1: Fill out the YC application form online. Step 2: Strong applications are selected for an interview round. Step 3:

See More
28 replies44 likes
28

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.