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Y Combinator Batch

Y Combinator·United States

Three-month in-person batch in San Francisco; YC invests $500,000 in two safes, $125,000 of it for a fixed 7%.

What you get

$500,000Equity investment

We invest $500,000, and our investment gives YC 7% of your company plus an incremental equity amount that will be fixed when you raise money from other investors. The $500,000 is two separate safes: $125,000 on a post-money safe in return for 7% of the company, and $375,000 on an uncapped safe with a Most Favored Nation ('MFN') provision.

Equity taken7%
Strings attachedBatch participation is in person in San Francisco. Companies incorporated outside the United States, Canada, Singapore or the Cayman Islands must create a parent company in one of those jurisdictions to participate.

Can you apply

VC backingNot required
Referral or partnerNot required
Registered companyNot required
IndividualsEligible
Open sourcenot stated
CountriesOpen worldwide

Nope. [Incorporation is not required before applying.] Yes. We regularly accept solo founders. If your company is already incorporated somewhere other than the United States, Canada, Singapore or the Cayman Islands, in order to participate in YC you will need to create a parent company that is in one of those jurisdictions. The batch takes place in-person in San Francisco. It kicks off with a 3-day, in-person retreat and features weekly meetups in San Francisco.

When

Not open yet. The next round is listed below.

Upcoming

  • Winter 2027dates not announced
  • Spring 2027dates not announced
  • Summer 2027dates not announced

Past rounds

  • Fall 2026closed 27 Jul 2026

What Y Combinator funds

Invests a fixed amount in very early startups across every sector, including a large share of AI-native companies, and runs them through a three-month in-person batch in San Francisco ending in Demo Day. Takes founders at idea stage with no company formed yet.

Everything Y Combinator funds →

Details

YC now runs four batches a year (winter, spring, summer, fall). The batch is in-person at YC's campus in San Francisco and opens with a three-day retreat. The deal is split across two safes: a $125,000 post-money safe for 7%, plus $375,000 on an uncapped safe with an MFN provision whose eventual percentage is set by the lowest-cap safe issued through the priced round. YC also takes pro rata rights in later rounds and charges no fees.

Apply on Y Combinator