YC24 is Ridiculously Flooded with Indian AI Startups ??

This is total madness. Y Combinator (YC) has started accepting applications for its Fall 2024 batch, running from September to December in San Francisco, offering startups early investment, dedicated mentorship, and access to a powerful alumni network, with an application deadline of August 27.

AIM noted that this is the first time YC is planning to start a new Fall batch to keep up with the influx of ideas and developments happening in AI.?

Interestingly, the YC24 batch is ridiculously jam packed with Indian AI startups—focused on LLMOps, AI agents, AI coding, cybersecurity, and more. At this rate, YC should officially consider relocating to Bengaluru (India), instead of San Francisco (USA). (see below)

As discussions around India housing 100 AI unicorns in the next decade continue, it’s interesting to note that investors betting on these startups are increasingly emerging from the far West, with Y Combinator playing a crucial role for many of them.

YC is one of the world's largest startup accelerators. Sam Altman’s first venture Loopt was also accepted into the YC program in 2011. Even OpenAI was originally incubated at YC Research, before Elon Musk and Altman chose a different path, and the rest is history.?

As of early 2024, YC has funded over 4,500 startups with a combined valuation of more than $600 billion, making it an attractive lifeline for many emerging startup founders.

For the YC W24 program, 260 companies were selected from over 27000 applications. “With an acceptance rate under 1%, this was one of the most selective cohorts in YC history,” said Garry Tan, president and CEO of Y Combinator.        

According to the demographics of YC’s 2024 winter batch, selected founders were 36% white, followed by 25% Asian and 18% South Asian.

YC also experienced a notable 45% rise in applications from India between the Winter 2020 and the Winter 2022 batches. This year as well, a number of Indian startups were selected for the program.?

Usually held in two batches of three-month programs, summer and winter batches, YC helps early-stage startups rapidly grow and succeed by providing seed funding, mentorship, access to a vast network of industry experts among many other things.

The YC catch: Y Combinator invests $500,000 in startups, securing a 7% stake with $125,000 and converting the remaining $375,000 into shares in future funding rounds. This gives them a strategic advantage in backing promising Indian startups and participating in their long-term growth.

Going by the previous track record, YC has witnessed impressive growth from a number of their Indian startup investments. The notable one being that of quick commerce platform, Zepto. Not just the seed funding rounds, but the accelerator was part of its growth rounds too.

“They were constantly in touch with us and said, hey, you guys are growing really fast and you’re now getting to millions of dollars in sales. Why don’t you talk to the growth folks at YC,” said Aadit Palicha, co-founder and CEO of Zepto, in an interview last year.?

The discussion paved the way to a Series-C funding round of $100 million, which was again led by YC. Not just Zepto, but other Indian startups that have hit unicorn status, including Meesho, Razorpay, and Groww, have all been YC-backed.

The dream of every Indian startup founder: While YC will be at an advantage by investing in startups that will potentially hit millions, the YC programs are equally enticing for the Indian founders too. With no requirement on formal degree or actual returns, YC simply bets on a founder and their idea.?

Enjoy the full story here.?

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