Y Combinator

Y Combinator is a startup accelerator based in Mountain View, California, founded in 2005. It has pioneered a new funding model for early-stage startups by investing a modest amount of capital, typically around $150,000, in a large number of companies twice a year. Over a three-month program, Y Combinator collaborates closely with these startups to prepare them for investor pitches and enhance their business strategies. Each funding cycle concludes with Demo Day, where startups present to an exclusive audience of investors. Y Combinator focuses on various sectors, including business software, education, healthcare, and financial technology, among others. In addition to initial funding, it offers ongoing support through its extensive alumni network. Since its inception, Y Combinator has funded over 630 startups, contributing significantly to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Gustaf Alstromer

Group Partner

Matt Bogrand

Associate, YC Continuity Fund

Timothy Brady

Partner

Craig R. Cannon

Director of Marketing

Adora Cheung

Partner

Nic Dardenne

Principal

Aaron Epstein

Group Partner

Brad Flora

Group Partner

Jared Friedman

Managing Director, Software and Group Partner

Aaron Harris

Partner

Carolynn Levy

Partner

Bradford (Brad) Lightcap

Associate, YC Continuity

Kat Manalac

Managing Partner

Eric Migicovsky

Partner

Kirsty Nathoo

Partner

Verena Prescher

Director of Finance

Geoff Ralston

president

Ali Rowghani

Managing Partner

Arnav Sahu

Principal

Michael Seibel

Managing Director

Harj Taggar

Partner

Past deals in Investor Activism

Compound

Series B in 2022
Compound Financial, Inc. specializes in wealth management services for startup employees, assisting them in understanding the implications of their stock options. Founded in 2019 and based in San Francisco, the company offers tools that help clients forecast the potential value of their equity over time while also addressing optimization strategies related to taxes. Despite being a relatively new entrant in the market, Compound has quickly garnered a customer base of 200 startup employees, reflecting its growing relevance in the financial services sector.

Atomic

Series A in 2021
Atomic is a personalized investment management service API that lets companies offer their end-users a disciplined way to invest with them.

SproutFi

Seed Round in 2021
SproutFi is an application that allows investing in the US stock market and works as a social network.

Aqua

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Aqua is an investment platform that allows individuals to invest in private equity at lower minimums.

Quotabook

Seed Round in 2021
Quotabook is a company that specializes in equity management.

Titan

Series A in 2021
Titan is a high-quality asset manager that focuses on developing and managing investment strategies specifically tailored for retail investors. The company aims to simplify the investment process by providing clear explanations of its strategies, enabling individuals to make informed decisions. Additionally, Titan offers an email suite designed for businesses, which facilitates scheduling, follow-up reminders, and provides templates for efficient communication. This dual approach combines asset management with tools that enhance productivity, catering to the needs of both individual investors and business clients.

Finary

Pre Seed Round in 2020
An investing social platform where you can talk about investments with friends and make trades on the market. Y Combinator Winter 2021 Batch.

Atomic

Seed Round in 2020
Atomic is a personalized investment management service API that lets companies offer their end-users a disciplined way to invest with them.

Proof Trading

Seed Round in 2019
Proof Trading, Inc. is an institutional equities brokerage based in New York, founded in 2018. The company develops tools and platforms that aim to enhance market understanding and execution for investors. Its primary offerings include an institutional equities execution platform called Proof, which facilitates better pricing for trades, and Find My Fills, a tool that allows users to analyze specific stock executions against market trades. Additionally, Proof Trading provides educational resources such as the Market Structure Primer, which aids new employees in grasping the complexities of the U.S. equity trading landscape, and a Market Data Fee Calculator to help users visualize varying costs associated with different market data consumption patterns. Through these services, Proof Trading seeks to address inefficiencies in the finance sector and promote greater transparency in trading.

GreenTiger

Seed Round in 2019
GreenTiger AI, Inc operates an online platform that connects investors in emerging and developed markets. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Sunnyvale, California.

Compound

Seed Round in 2019
Compound Financial, Inc. specializes in wealth management services for startup employees, assisting them in understanding the implications of their stock options. Founded in 2019 and based in San Francisco, the company offers tools that help clients forecast the potential value of their equity over time while also addressing optimization strategies related to taxes. Despite being a relatively new entrant in the market, Compound has quickly garnered a customer base of 200 startup employees, reflecting its growing relevance in the financial services sector.

Woke

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Woke Inc. provides financing services to ad campaigns for building eCommerce brands. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Titan

Seed Round in 2018
Titan is a high-quality asset manager that focuses on developing and managing investment strategies specifically tailored for retail investors. The company aims to simplify the investment process by providing clear explanations of its strategies, enabling individuals to make informed decisions. Additionally, Titan offers an email suite designed for businesses, which facilitates scheduling, follow-up reminders, and provides templates for efficient communication. This dual approach combines asset management with tools that enhance productivity, catering to the needs of both individual investors and business clients.

Delphia

Seed Round in 2018
Delphia Inc., founded in 1993 and based in Toronto, Canada, specializes in creating artificial intelligence-driven surveys designed to assist individuals in making informed decisions regarding careers, education, finances, and health. The company has developed an innovative investment platform that allows users to convert their personal data into investment capital. By sharing personal insights and opinions, individuals can leverage their data to enhance their investment potential, marking a significant shift in how wealth can be built without requiring initial financial resources. Delphia emphasizes the secure use of shared information, ensuring that it is solely utilized to optimize investment returns for its users.

Piggy

Seed Round in 2017
Piggy started with the idea that a technology-driven, user-focused service can solve the investing problem in India. They constantly strive to make investing a more simple and more rewarding experience for you. By leveraging technology and keeping their costs low they give you access to commission free service so you can make more out of your money.

Instavest

Seed Round in 2016
Investors can list their trades on Instavest, including the company, share amount and rationale behind the investment. Other users can invest alongside the people willing to share their own purchases and sales. Instavest encourages you to block out a portion of your profits — in the neighborhood of 5 percent — that might arise from the transaction for the original listing entity.

OpenInvest

Seed Round in 2015
OpenInvest is a Public Benefit Corporation and asset manager that uses technology to mainstream customized ethical investing. OpenInvest is a YCombinator and Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup powering the post-fund future. Their team of senior technologists from the hedge fund industry and civil society leaders is first tackling under-served markets in customized ESG asset management. With seed funding, the team has built fully integrated and proprietary direct-indexing construction, management, trading, proxy voting, and UX systems that now serve thousands of customers. Founded in 2015, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.

Instavest

Seed Round in 2015
Investors can list their trades on Instavest, including the company, share amount and rationale behind the investment. Other users can invest alongside the people willing to share their own purchases and sales. Instavest encourages you to block out a portion of your profits — in the neighborhood of 5 percent — that might arise from the transaction for the original listing entity.

CBOE Vest

Seed Round in 2015
CBOE Vest is driven by the conviction that investors desire more certainty in their investment outcomes. Founded in 2012 to address this market need, Vest’s early investors were Y Combinator, Payment Ventures and First Round Capital. In 2016, Vest became an asset management subsidiary of CBOE Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s largest exchange holding companies and owner of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (the largest U.S. options exchange and creator of listed options), the Bats exchanges, CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) and other subsidiaries. Today CBOE Vest offers institutional-quality target outcome investments built on the backbone of its unique investment philosophy and CBOE’s indexes—that strive to buffer losses, amplify gains or provide consistent income—to a diverse spectrum of investors. OUR MISSION Reengineering Investing Most investments today target speculative returns, with uncertain levels of risk, over an uncertain period. While opportunistic, this approach to investing brings a degree of uncertainty. We are building a new class of investments, called Target Outcome Investments, that target a defined return profile, with an allowance for a specific level risk, at a specific point in time in the future. Such investments strive to provide investors with targeted protection, enhanced returns, or consistent income, with a level of predictability unattainable with most other investments.

Wefunder

Seed Round in 2013
Wefunder is a crowd investing platform that offers capital raising services. The company's online platform offers investment services to startups through its investors' userbase and disruptive companies can receive amount as small as hundred dollars, enabling companies to grow and develop their businesses.

FundersClub

Seed Round in 2012
FundersClub is a California-based venture capital firm founded in 2012, specializing in seed and early-stage investments across various sectors, including technology, healthcare, and consumer goods. As the first online venture capital platform, it aims to democratize access to venture funding for startups. The firm has a diverse portfolio featuring notable companies such as Coinbase, Instacart, and GitLab. FundersClub has garnered support from prominent investors, including Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and Spark Capital, allowing it to leverage a robust network in the startup ecosystem. Its focus on early-stage companies reflects a commitment to fostering innovation and growth in emerging markets.

SocialPicks

Seed Round in 2007
SocialPicks provides individual investors with a trusted online investing community where they can invest smarter together.