Y Combinator, the renowned startup accelerator behind companies like Airbnb and Stripe, is set to expand its cohorts from two to four annually starting in 2025. According to a report by Bloomberg, This change means the accelerator will be active almost year-round, with new spring and fall cohorts joining the traditional winter and summer ones.
Garry Tan, YC’s president, confirmed this shift, noting that each program will last about 11 weeks and culminate in a Demo Day where startups pitch to top venture capitalists. As reported by Bloomberg, the new schedule, devised by Tan, aims to be more responsive to founders, providing funding as soon as they start.
Starting in 2025, the spring session will follow the winter one, with each batch being roughly half the size of the most recent cohort of 256. This adjustment addresses concerns about the growing size of YC cohorts, aiming to maintain the program’s exclusivity.
Despite the increase in cohorts, the total number of startups per year will remain around 500. Tan believes this expansion will enhance YC’s value by creating more meaningful startups and leveraging the strength of YC’s network.
Demo Day for the summer 2024 batch is scheduled for September 25-26, just before the fall 2024 batch begins. YC companies receive a $500,000 investment, including $125,000 for a 7% stake and $375,000 on terms to be determined at the next funding round.
