- Y Combinator is launching its first AI Startup School on June 16-17, featuring industry leaders and 2,000 AI students and researchers.
- The event is part of YC’s broader expansion, following its move to four accelerator batches per year and the launch of the Spring 2025 batch.
Y Combinator (YC) is set to host its inaugural AI Startup School on June 16-17 in San Francisco, bringing together 2,000 AI students and researchers. The event aims to connect top minds in artificial intelligence and provide insights from industry leaders.
“I’m proud to announce YC’s first AI Startup School,” wrote Garry Tan, CEO and president of YC, on LinkedIn.
“It’s a totally free conference bringing together the next top CS and AI minds in the world.”
Garry Tan
The event will feature key figures from the AI and tech industry, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy, and World Labs CEO Fei-Fei Li. Discussions will focus on the future of AI and strategies for building successful AI startups.
The AI Startup School is open to final-year undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students specializing in AI, as well as recent graduates in related fields such as computer science, applied mathematics, robotics, and AI research. YC will provide up to $500 for airfare and assist attendees in securing accommodations with local startup founders.
The announcement follows YC’s decision to expand its accelerator program. Last year, Tan revealed that the startup accelerator had increased its batch frequency from two to four cycles annually. Traditionally, YC ran two batches—Summer (June-September) and Winter (January-April). Starting in 2024, it added Spring and Fall batches.
In line with this expansion, YC recently opened applications for its first-ever Spring 2025 batch. The deadline for submissions is February 11, 2025, at 8 p.m. PT, with responses expected by March 12.
Founded in 2005, Y Combinator has backed over 4,500 startups, including Airbnb, Meesho, Zepto, Dropbox, Stripe, and Reddit. Since 2022, its standard investment deal has been $500,000 per selected startup. The accelerator remains a significant force in the startup ecosystem, supporting early-stage companies across various industries.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
