Where Are They Now? The Y-Combinator Class of 2020

Ah, Y Combinator Demo Day, the exhilarating showcase where dreams ignite and possibilities abound. A sacred ritual in the startup world, where the air crackles with anticipation, ideas electrify the room, and entrepreneurs take center stage to unveil their audacious dreams. It's a celebration of innovation, a showcase of resilience, and a glimpse into the future. It's the moment when startups unveil their grand visions, captivating investors and onlookers alike. But what happens after the cheers fade and the spotlights dim? As the dust settles and reality sets in, what has become of those starry-eyed ventures that once graced the Y Combinator Class of 2020??

We analyzed the 437 companies and 722 founders of Y Combinator’s Class of 2020 to identify who crushed it, who struggled and who fizzled out.??

CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

The 2020 class was forged during the pandemic. For this unprecedented class, commutes were short: from bedroom to home office and dress was, well, pretty much anything you like. They were the first Y Combinator cohorts to be held virtually. Yet it seems no pandemic could deter resilient founders from their dreams.

A few class stats:

• 437 companies analyzed raised a combined total of $5.5B.?
• 1 company has gone Public
• 8% of companies where acquired
• 83% of companies are active
• 9% (41) of companies are are inactive or closed
• 85% of 722 founders continue to be at their companies
• 15% of founders have moved on with 37% of them founding new ventures

Explore the full data on the Y Combinator Class of 2020

THE HEROES

Every class has their heroes. The companies that carved their path to success with unwavering determination. Those who through a combination of moxie, tenacity and luck raced to the front of the pack, carving a path to success.?

Pardes Biosciences. The Carlsbad, CA based company maker of pills to treat and prevent viral infections, like COVID-19 raised $199M through? a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.

Whatnot. The? leading independent live, social commerce marketplace raised $260M Series D at a $3.7B valuation co-led by DST Global and returning investor CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund.?

Jeeves. The Miami-based Financial Services company which provides an all-in-one corporate card and expense management platform built for global businesses raised a $180M Series C quadrupeling its valuation to $2.1B in less than 7 months after raising $57M.?

Explore the full data on the Y Combinator Class of 2020 heroes

THE FUNDED

Money isn’t everything, but it sure helps. Among the 2020 cohort a group of companies soared to new heights, fueled by the support of investors who recognize and bet on their potential including:

Airbyte. The San Francisco based open source data integration platform raised more than $150 million in Series B at a $1.5B valuation led by Altimeter Capital and Coatue Management, also including Thrive Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Benchmark , Accel, and SV Angel.

Linktree. The popular Australian link-in-bio startup that lets influencers, celebrities and brands create a single page to consolidate their presence across various online services raised $200 million in external funding at a $1.3B valuation, with backers including venture capital firms AirTree Ventures, Index Ventures, Insight Partners and Coatue Management.?

Spenmo. The Singapore-based spend management platform company completed an $85M Series B financing led by Tiger Global, following a a US$34M Series A round led by Insight Partners.

Explore the full data on the fundings of the Y Combinator Class of 2020

THE ACQUIRED

Of the 447 companies in the cohort 23 or 5% have been acquired.??

Pre-Seed companies that were immediately snatched up included:

KeyDB. The Toronto-based developer of an open source, high-performance database, was acquired by Snap for an undisclosed sum.

Bandit ML. The San Francisco based e-commerce machine learning company that optimizes product recommendations and promotions for dozens of online stores was acquired by Silo Technology.

Easyplan. The India-based AI powered financial savings app company was acquired by Neobanking startup Jupiter to expand its customer base, and enhance its saving and investment capabilities.

20 Companies acquired post funding including:

Checkars. The Argentina-based used-car marketplace company was acquired by Kavak after raising a $10M Series A.

Finmark. The North Carolina based financial planning software provider that simplifies financial planning and cash flow insights for SMBs was acquired by Bill.com after raising a $6.5M Seed round.

Cron. The San Francisco based next-generation calendar for professionals and teams was acquired by Notion after raising a $3.3M Seed round.

Phonic. The Foster City CA global market research platform company designed to build voice and video surveys, analyze insights, and create media-enabled research was acquired by Infillion after raising a $2.1M Seed round.?

Explore the full list of Y Combinator Class of 2020 acquired companies

THE DEPARTED

Not every venture from the Y Combinator Class of 2020 found its footing and survived. While some companies raised substantial funds, their journey ultimately led to an unfortunate end. In fact, 41 companies or 9% of the cohort are inactive or closed including:

Openbase. The San Francisco based company raised a $2.4M Seed round and had set out to be the Yelp of Open Source software, helping developers find packages.?

GoDutch. The Mumbai-based group payments startup had raised a $1.7 million Seed round led by Matrix Partners India, with participation from Global Founders Capital, Soma Capital, and VentureSouq.

OneTool. The Berlin-based company set out to consolidate all 30k+ SaaS apps into one app-store for business software so companies could manage all their software in one place shut down after having raised a $1.7M Seed round.

Explore the full list of Y Combinator Class of 2020 company shut downs

NOTABLE FOUNDERS

The driving force behind all of these startups is their tenacious founders. Some founders of note from the class include:

Michael Trycot. Founder and CEO of Airbyte and former Founding Member and Director of Engineering at rideOS and Director of Engineering and Head of Integrations at LiveRamp.?

Rami Essaid. Founder and CEO of Finmark now VP of Products at Bill.com and former Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund and IDEA Venture Partners.?

Grant LaFontaine. Founder and CEO at Whatnot, the former Product Manager AR/VR at Facebook, and co-founder of Kit.com (acquired by Patreon) and Product Manager at Google.?

Explore the full list of Y Combinator Class of 2020 founders

PARTING THOUGHTS

As Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic that counts…The credit belongs to those in the arena”. So here’s to you, Y Combinator class of 2020. Some of you made great strides, securing funding, expanding your operations, soaring to new heights. Some of you were acquired and found a new home. Some of you faced the harsh realities of the market, your ambitions curtailed by unforeseen challenges or the winds of competitive forces and, sadly, shut down.?

But here’s to all of you, regardless of the outcome. You did it all through a global pandemic. You are a reminder to all that the startup journey is an unpredictable rollercoaster, with twists and turns that test even the most resilient entrepreneurs.

Here’s to you founders, whose spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship inspire us all.?

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