Y Combinator

In this session from Startup School Paris, YC partners field questions from the audience on how founders should be operating in the AI era.

Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs

Chapters:

00:00 — AI Costs vs. Engineer Costs 00:55 — Intelligence Is Getting 10x Cheaper 01:42 — How to Build a Startup Ecosystem 02:18 — GoCardless and the London Origin Story 03:58 — Where Should AI Judgment Stop? 06:18 — What's the Hard Bit Now? 08:13 — When AI Becomes a Better Partner Than You 10:18 — Why Founder-Partners Are Irreplaceable 10:50 — Research vs. Selling: When to Switch 13:09 — Get Out of Your Comfort Zone 14:02 — US Export Restrictions on Frontier AI 15:08 — Solo Founder or Co-Founder? 17:47 — Pick a Co-Founder for This Reason 19:35 — Is the VC Funding Path Still Relevant? 21:58 — What Are the Real Moats Now? 24:13 — Will Anyone Care Which Model They Use? 25:05 — AI Wrapper vs. Real Wedge 27:11 — Deep Tech Founder vs. Vibe Coder 28:24 — European Builder, No Budget, No Visa 29:48 — Early Decision Applications 31:38 — Habits of Top YC Startups 34:38 — Metrics for AI-Native Companies 36:10 — How to Actually Build an AI-Native Loop 38:04 — The Last Thing You'd Ever Automate 39:05 — When and How to Pivot 42:28 — Is High Agency a Muscle? 44:27 — Standing Out When Everything Is Easy to Build