Latest news with #GarryTan
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
YC partners say AI founders are closing huge deals fast by taking a page out of Palantir's early playbook
AI founders should see themselves as "forward-deployed engineers," said Y Combinator partners. The term, popularized by Palantir, refers to engineers who embed themselves with clients. Founders have closed "six, seven seven-figure deals" by being forward-deployed engineers, said a YC partner. Some AI founders are landing big enterprise deals by doing something old-school: showing up, writing code, and building the perfect demo — fast. YC partners say this strategy is taking off, and it's straight out of Palantir's early playbook. Startup founders should see themselves as "forward-deployed engineers," said Garry Tan, YC's CEO, on an episode of the "Y Combinator" podcast published Friday. The term, popularized by Palantir, refers to engineers who embed themselves with clients to fine-tune the product on-site. Tan, who was Palantir's 10th employee, said the defense tech company's edge came from recognizing that many government agencies and Fortune 500 companies lacked deep technical expertise in the room. Palantir bridged that gap by embedding technically savvy engineers during sales and implementation. Much of Palantir's success comes from its business with the US government. The Department of Defense is its biggest customer, making up 41% of its fourth-quarter revenue. Startup founders need to be "technical," "great product people," and even "ethnographers" and "designers," said Tan, who worked at Palantir from 2005 to 2007." "You want the person on the second meeting to see the demo you put together based on the stuff you heard, and you want them to say, 'Wow, I've never seen anything like that.' And take my money," he added. This hands-on approach is already delivering big results. YC partner Diana Hu said she and her team have seen founders close "six, seven seven-figure deals" with large enterprises by being forward-deployed engineers. Sometimes, she said, a pair of founders wins a deal by walking into a boardroom, gathering context, and coming back the next day with a tailored AI demo. Once the deal is closed, some of these founders go on-site to work closely with customer support teams, continuously fine-tuning the software or language model to improve performance, said YC partner Harj Taggar. Tan said this model gives AI startups a chance to outmaneuver giants like Salesforce, Oracle, and Booz Allen. "You have big fancy salespeople with big strong handshakes, and it's like, how does a really good engineer with a weak handshake go in there and beat them?" Tan said. "It's actually you show them something that they've never seen before, and like, make them feel super heard." Y Combinator did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Y Combinator Garry Tan on San Francisco's reemergence as innovation hub
CNBC's Morgan Brennan sits down with Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan at the Reagan National Economic Forum to discuss the resurgent tech scene in San Francisco and the importance of AI technologies in boosting growth and innovation.
Forbes
18-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Y Combinator's AI Revolution And The Rise Startups Built By Vibe Coding
Vibe Coding searches, source: 'Vibe coding.' The term might sound like the latest startup slang or a Gen Z meme, but behind the catchy phrase lies a rapidly evolving trend in how software is written—and who's writing it. At its core, vibe coding refers to using large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to generate code from natural language prompts, effectively translating intentions into functional software with minimal traditional programming. Interest in the term has exploded—searches are up more than 6700% in just three months. But hype alone doesn't write software—or maintain it. As developers, startups, and enterprises rush to explore the benefits of AI-assisted programming, the question remains: Is vibe coding the future of software development—or just a compelling tool with hard limits? In Silicon Valley's high-stakes ecosystem, time is everything. That might be why vibe coding is finding early traction among Y Combinator startups. According to Garry Tan, CEO of the famed accelerator, roughly 25% of companies in the most recent batch are using AI to generate 95% or more of their code. That's no small experiment. Y Combinator alumni include Stripe, Airbnb, and DoorDash—companies that grew into giants on the strength of well-written code. This latest cohort, heavily tilted toward AI-based ventures (about 80% of them), is betting that LLMs can now handle much of that lift. Tan cites staggering growth figures, with some startups growing 10% week over week—not just the top one or two, but across the board. That momentum is largely credited to faster development cycles enabled by AI coding tools. 'It's like every founder just hired a superhuman engineer,' one YC mentor quipped. But just how good is AI-generated code? Enter benchmarks. Tools like SWE-Bench and SWE-PolyBench test AI models on hundreds of programming tasks and bug-fixing scenarios. In 2023, LLMs passed about 5% of SWE-Bench's challenges. Today, the best score over 60%. That's impressive—but still well short of expert human performance. And results vary. On Amazon's SWE-PolyBench, top models only solve 22.6% of problems. Meanwhile, on Artificial Analysis's Coding Index, the best model scores a 63—compared to 96 on its Math Index, suggesting AI is still better at formulas than functional code. Even benchmarks can be misleading, since outcomes are highly sensitive to the types of tasks included. 'We have a moving target problem,' noted one researcher. 'Each benchmark measures a different idea of 'intelligence'—and they all evolve.' Still, the democratizing potential of vibe coding is hard to ignore. Non-programmers are now experimenting with tools like ChatGPT to build functioning apps and games. One amateur coder described asking ChatGPT to write a basic space exploration simulation. The AI-generated Python code worked on the first try. When asked for upgrades—like graphics or story branches—ChatGPT complied, building progressively more complex iterations. If that sounds like a toy example, that's partly the point. It shows what AI can do for beginners: remove friction, provide instant feedback, and enable creation without formal training. This could unlock massive latent demand for software—from artists to entrepreneurs—who simply couldn't code before. Of course, building toy apps is one thing. Writing production-ready, enterprise-scale code is quite another. Debugging remains a critical bottleneck. Interest in "AI debugging" has risen 248% in the last two years, and for good reason: when AI-generated code breaks, the solution isn't always obvious—even to the AI itself. Microsoft is tackling this with Debug-Gym, a training system to help LLMs learn how to fix code like human developers do, using multi-step reasoning rather than just pattern matching. Early tests show notable improvements on benchmarks like SWE-bench Lite, but experts caution that robust debugging still requires human oversight. And there's a growing volume problem. The easier it becomes to generate code, the more code gets created—often without careful documentation or review. This increases the need for tools like Lightrun, which offers real-time code observability for both human- and AI-written software. Backed by Microsoft and Salesforce, Lightrun claims a 763% ROI over three years and promises up to 20% productivity gains. Still, even tools like these presume a developer is there to interpret and act on the data. Some startups are pushing toward a bigger leap: AI agents capable of completing full tasks autonomously. Interest in 'AI agents' has surged 1113% in two years, fueled by platforms like Manus, which aims to bridge 'the gap between conception and execution.' But can AI truly replace a human assistant or engineer? Not yet. Manus, while impressive in planning tasks like creating itineraries or course outlines, failed when asked to execute real-world actions—like booking flights or making reservations. ChatGPT performed comparably in ideation, suggesting the real bottleneck is execution, not creativity. In software development, the same applies. AI can suggest functions, explain logic, even scaffold entire apps. But without a human in the loop, the risk of bugs, hallucinations, and poor architecture increases exponentially. Developers interested in exploring AI-assisted coding now have a buffet of tools to choose from. ChatGPT's o4-Mini High model currently tops many coding benchmarks, with OpenAI's suite dominating LiveBench's leaderboard. Close contenders include DeepSeek R1, Claude, and Grok. Third-party platforms are also innovating. Cursor, a sleek AI-native IDE, lets users choose from multiple LLMs and integrates AI directly into the development workflow. The company hit $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) just months after launch. Meanwhile, GitHub Copilot Workspace now enables plain-language prompts across the entire software development process, from ideation to deployment. GitHub's ambition? One billion developers. The rise of vibe coding isn't just a tech trend; it's a shift in how we think about programming. AI is no longer a backseat driver—it's increasingly in the passenger seat, offering directions, fixing the map, and suggesting shortcuts. But the driver's seat still belongs to humans. At least for now. While AI can accelerate and democratize software creation, experts caution against full automation. Understanding what the code is doing—and what it should be doing—is more essential than ever. Without that clarity, we risk creating software systems so opaque even their creators can't fix them. In short: vibe coding is powerful, but not infallible. And as with most revolutions, its real impact will depend not just on what the tools can do—but how wisely we choose to use them.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Y Combinator to court: Google's search empire is a 'monopoly by cheque book, not ...'
Startup accelerator Y Combinator (YC) has labeled Google a " monopolist " that has "stunted" the US startup ecosystem in an amicus brief filed May 9 in the government's ongoing antitrust case against the search giant. YC charged that Google has "chilled independent firms like YC from funding and accelerating innovative startups that could otherwise have challenged Google's dominance," creating what it calls a "kill zone" that deters venture capital investment in potential Google competitors. "The result is a landscape that has been artificially stunted and stagnant," YC wrote in its filing. YC proposes remedies, not immediate breakup of Google Despite the harsh criticism, YC CEO Garry Tan clarified that the organization isn't calling for Google's immediate dismantling. "We love Google and what it represents as a paragon of US-led tech and innovation . We also want to make sure the excesses of big tech make way for tomorrow's little tech," Tan wrote on social media following the brief's submission. YC proposes several remedies, including ending Google's practice of paying billions to be the default search engine on devices like iPhones and opening Google's search index for competitors to train large language models. "We are not calling for a breakup of Google," Tan emphasized. "If anything we hope that a measured and thoughtful remedy between USG and Google from here (5 year term!) means a court-supervised spin-off is contingent, and a last resort." Google's has created distribution barriers YC argues Google's dominance creates nearly insurmountable barriers for startups entering the search market. "Google's 90% search dominion is a ladder-pull for startups. Exclusive default contracts commandeer >50% of search routes, Chrome grabs another 20%. That's 70% of distribution sealed off before a startup even ships v1," Tan wrote, calling it "Monopoly by checkbook [cheque book], not merit." The brief comes at a critical time as the government considers potential remedies after Google lost its antitrust case last year. Proposed penalties could include requiring Google to divest parts of its business if it doesn't implement changes within five years. "VC investment in a sector drops about 40% after a big tech consolidation/acquisition," Tan noted. "Founders aren't asking for a handout or a leg up. They want a level playing field, which we don't have." YC's stance may surprise some given its recent partnerships with Google, including access to dedicated GPU clusters for YC startups and Google's acquisitions of YC-backed companies Flutter and Fridge. "We want Google to succeed and we also want the next Google to succeed," Tan concluded.
TechCrunch
13-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Y Combinator says Google is a ‘monopolist' that has ‘stunted' the startup ecosystem
Fabled startup investor and accelerator Y Combinator has some choice words for Google in an amicus brief it just submitted in the U.S.'s monopoly case against the search giant. In the brief, YC charged that Google is a 'monopolist' that has 'stunted' the U.S. startup ecosystem by making VC firms like itself hesitate to fund web search and AI startups in what it calls a 'kill zone' around Google. 'Google has chilled independent firms like YC from funding and accelerating innovative startups that could otherwise have challenged Google's dominance,' YC wrote in the filing. 'The result is a landscape that has been artificially stunted and stagnant.' YC's brief says it's currently seeking to fund startups developing question-based and agentic AI tools that could transform how people interact with information on the internet. But YC says there's a 'clear risk' that Google will use its monopoly power to slow down the future of those markets. 'Google has effectively frozen the web search and text advertising markets for over a decade,' YC wrote. The brief, filed May 9, was spotted on X by VC Sheel Mohnot, the general partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures and a prolific social media poster. But YC isn't calling for an immediate breakup of Google, as its CEO Garry Tan made clear in a reply to Mohnot. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Rather, YC is arguing Google should curb practices it considers anti-competitive, like paying Apple billions of dollars to make Google the iPhone's default search engine. It also wants Google to do things it argues would help startups, like opening up Google's search index so others can train LLMs on it. For perspective, Google's search algorithms have been its highly prized secret since its inception. For YC to ask the government to force Google to open it up to competitive LLMs is almost like demanding the government make Microsoft Windows open source, or forcing Amazon to freely deliver packages for competitors. If Google doesn't implement such changes within a five year timeframe, then YC advocates for the government to force Google to divest or spin out parts of itself. YC CEO Tan characterized this idea in an X post as a 'spinoff hammer' threat. He also posted that 'we love Google' but wants 'little tech' to succeed, too, in a separate X thread. YC released an amicus brief re: US v Google yesterday. We love Google and what it represents as a paragon of US-led tech and innovation. We also want to make sure the excesses of big tech make way for tomorrow's little tech. — Garry Tan (@garrytan) May 10, 2025 To recap, last year Google lost a massive antitrust case over its dominance of the search market. While Google appeals the decision, the U.S. government is mulling potential punishments ('remedies') that Google might be required to implement, such as spinning off Chrome. Those remedies are expected to be delivered by August 2025. YC's stance may come as a surprise to those who have followed its latest partnerships with Google: most notably, Google Cloud gave YC startups access to a dedicated cluster of Nvidia GPUs last year. Google co-founder Larry Page also made a rare in-person appearance to speak at a YC event in December. Google has also acquired at least two YC-backed startups: Flutter in 2014, and Fridge in 2011. It also invested in YC startup Infisical through its Gradient fund in 2023. However, YC is also closely tied to OpenAI, which is now directly competing against Google on search. OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman used to run YC, while OpenAI was the first group affiliated with YC Research. That's something Mohnot pointed to on X, writing that the biggest beneficiary of YC's proposed remedies, by far, would be OpenAI, rather than YC's famously early stage startups, while commenting that the amicus brief 'paints Google as more powerful than it is.' TechCrunch asked YC how it would respond to this critique, and whether it has any specific examples of areas that it probably would have funded had it not been for Google. So far, YC hasn't responded to our comment request. Google didn't respond to a request for comment about YC's amicus brief, either. However, it argued in a blog post last year that the DOJ's proposals are 'radical and sweeping' and would hurt consumers, business, and developers.
