Y Combinator (YC) is hosting its first Startup School event in India, a free one-day conference in Bengaluru on April 18 aimed at engineers and entrepreneurs. The event will feature talks from YC partners and prominent Indian founders who are YC alumni.
The article provides background on YC as a major startup accelerator and notes a sharp recent decline in Indian startups selected for its core program. This drop is attributed to YC's requirement for foreign incorporation and its shifting focus toward AI and deeptech startups.
Main topics covered: Y Combinator's Startup School event in India, details about the YC accelerator program, and the reasons for the declining number of Indian startups in YC's cohorts.
Startup accelerator programme Y Combinator (YC) is hosting its first-ever Startup School event in India. The one-day event will be held in Bengaluru on April 18. The event is free to attend, but it will have a selective application process.
YC partners Jared Friedman, Ankit Gupta, and Jon Xu will be attending the event. Some of the key speakers include Vidit Aatreya, founder and CEO of Meesho, Harshil Mathur of Razorpay, Lalit Keshre of Groww, and Mukund Jha of Emergent.
All three founders are YC alumni and have been part of the programme in the past. More speakers from the Indian startup ecosystem are expected to be present at the event.
What is Y Combinator?
Y Combinator is one of the worldâs most influential startup accelerators and early-stage venture capital (VC) firms. Established in 2005 by Paul Graham and three other cofounders, the programme was created to reshape startup financing by backing strong founders and ideas at a very early stage.
YC runs two accelerator cohorts each year. Selected startups participate in a three-month programme that provides $500,000 in seed funding, hands-on mentorship, and access to an extensive network of investors and founders. The programme culminates in Demo Day, where startups present their companies to a global audience of venture capitalists and potential partners.
Since its inception, YC has funded over 5,400 startups, including global companies Airbnb, Coinbase, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch.
Previously, ET had reported that the number of Indian startups selected by YC had dropped sharply, from 66 in 2021 to just four in 2024, reflecting changing dynamics in both the acceleratorâs strategy and Indiaâs startup ecosystem.
One major reason is YCâs requirement that accepted startups establish a parent entity in jurisdictions such as the US, Canada, Singapore, or the Cayman Islands. Many Indian founders have been seen to be reluctant to do this because an increasing number of startups are preparing for domestic IPOs and are shifting their holding entities back to India. This reverse flipping is usually expected to be expensive due to tax liabilities.
At the same time, YCâs investment thesis has shifted toward deeptech and artificial intelligence (AI)-first startups, which often rely on US-based research talent, making it harder for many early-stage Indian startups to qualify.
What is Startup School by YC?
Started in 2017, Startup School is a free online course designed to provide startups with personalised coaching and lectures.
Who is this event for?
The India leg of the school is aimed at engineers, builders, and budding entrepreneurs interested in the startup ecosystem. The conference is open to computer science students, industry professionals, and senior secondary students with a strong interest in technology and innovation.
YC has mentioned that participants do not necessarily need to be actively building a startup to be able to attend.
How to attend the event?
Individuals can apply using their YC account on the website for the event. The YC team will then screen the applications and send confirmations to individual applicants.
The website mentions that the school will bring together around 2,000 founders, engineers, and startup builders from across the country.
YC partners Jared Friedman, Ankit Gupta, and Jon Xu will be attending the event. Some of the key speakers include Vidit Aatreya, founder and CEO of Meesho, Harshil Mathur of Razorpay, Lalit Keshre of Groww, and Mukund Jha of Emergent.
All three founders are YC alumni and have been part of the programme in the past. More speakers from the Indian startup ecosystem are expected to be present at the event.
What is Y Combinator?
Y Combinator is one of the worldâs most influential startup accelerators and early-stage venture capital (VC) firms. Established in 2005 by Paul Graham and three other cofounders, the programme was created to reshape startup financing by backing strong founders and ideas at a very early stage.
YC runs two accelerator cohorts each year. Selected startups participate in a three-month programme that provides $500,000 in seed funding, hands-on mentorship, and access to an extensive network of investors and founders. The programme culminates in Demo Day, where startups present their companies to a global audience of venture capitalists and potential partners.
Since its inception, YC has funded over 5,400 startups, including global companies Airbnb, Coinbase, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch.
Previously, ET had reported that the number of Indian startups selected by YC had dropped sharply, from 66 in 2021 to just four in 2024, reflecting changing dynamics in both the acceleratorâs strategy and Indiaâs startup ecosystem.
One major reason is YCâs requirement that accepted startups establish a parent entity in jurisdictions such as the US, Canada, Singapore, or the Cayman Islands. Many Indian founders have been seen to be reluctant to do this because an increasing number of startups are preparing for domestic IPOs and are shifting their holding entities back to India. This reverse flipping is usually expected to be expensive due to tax liabilities.
At the same time, YCâs investment thesis has shifted toward deeptech and artificial intelligence (AI)-first startups, which often rely on US-based research talent, making it harder for many early-stage Indian startups to qualify.
What is Startup School by YC?
Started in 2017, Startup School is a free online course designed to provide startups with personalised coaching and lectures.
Who is this event for?
The India leg of the school is aimed at engineers, builders, and budding entrepreneurs interested in the startup ecosystem. The conference is open to computer science students, industry professionals, and senior secondary students with a strong interest in technology and innovation.
YC has mentioned that participants do not necessarily need to be actively building a startup to be able to attend.
How to attend the event?
Individuals can apply using their YC account on the website for the event. The YC team will then screen the applications and send confirmations to individual applicants.
The website mentions that the school will bring together around 2,000 founders, engineers, and startup builders from across the country.
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