Y Combinator stages, portfolio and investment profile

YC commits $500,000 upon acceptance and begins the investment process immediately: $125,000 for a fixed 7% and $375,000 on an uncapped SAFE with a most-favored-nation provision.

No. The first $125,000 converts into a fixed 7%, while the separate $375,000 MFN SAFE adds ownership when it converts on later financing terms. YC also receives participation rights in future rounds.

YC primarily makes pre-seed and seed investments through its accelerator. It accepts idea-stage companies as well as launched businesses and can continue investing through participation rights in later financings.

YC currently runs four three-month batches each year: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Its current program includes an in-person kickoff and regular meetups in San Francisco.

No. YC says it funds companies ranging from the idea stage to businesses with users and revenue. Founders must commit full-time if accepted.

Apply through ycombinator.com/apply. Answer the current form directly, make product links accessible, follow YC's one-minute founder-video instructions, and verify the active batch deadline on the official page.

YC fixes 7% for the first $125K and adds an MFN SAFE; Speedrun fixes 10% for the upfront $500K and commits another $500K to the next round within 18 months.

August 2026: Adaptyv closed a $40 million Series A with YC returning (/2026-adaptyv-40m-series-a-highland-yc). Clerky (S11) said it agreed to join Stripe (/2026-clerky-joins-stripe). YC is also on Starcloud’s $250 million / $2.3 billion Series A extension (/2026-starcloud-250m-2-3b-orbital-inference). September 2026: AfterQuery is reported at $3.2 billion (/2026-afterquery-3-2b-yc-fastest-unicorn-reported) — Alströmer called it YC’s fastest launch-to-unicorn; round size unknown. Frontier Computing (S26) disclosed a $10 million pre-seed led by General Catalyst (/2026-frontier-computing-10m-pre-seed-general-catalyst). Blee closed a $20 million Series A with YC returning — $27 million is lifetime, not the round (/2026-blee-20m-series-a-yc-marketing-compliance). Herdr closed a $6 million seed led by Bessemer with YC in (/2026-herdr-6m-seed-bessemer-yc). VideoGen (S24) $3.3 million seed is roundup-only on /2026-september-9-investment-news-antioch-truebridge-yc. Sirdab (W23) $10 million Series A is on /startup/sirdab and the September 3–4 index. The live apply page lists Winter 2027 (on-time November 2 / decision December 11). Summer Demo Day is September 10. See /yc-fall-2026-application-deadline-interview-guide and /2026-september-vc-news.