Contrary to many peoples' expectations, I found that YC companies do not seem to have grown more quickly since the advent of generative AI. One explanation for this is that AI tools didn't become valuable until the last ~1 year. If this is true, we should expect to see different results next year.

On Sept 1 2026, I will rerun exactly the methodology from that blog post (unless someone points out a bug, in which case I will disclose it here). Of the companies that I find most grew their valuation in the year after having done YC, how many of them will have done a YC batch in 2024 or later?