How to build what YC wants in 2025
Saw this post on LinkedIn, curious to hear this subreddits opinion. Credits to Greg Isenberg. Image post
"Y Combinator just announced what startups they want to fund next in 2025. And it's mostly AI that replaces $100k/year job functions."
1. Big Themes from YC's Latest RFS:
- AI isn't just assisting humans anymore - it's replacing entire job functions
- Opportunity isn't in building better AI, it's in applying AI to specific industries
- Focus on infrastructure and tools that help AI scale
- System-level optimization is becoming critical again
2. Most Interesting Opportunities:
- AI App Store & Infrastructure
- Build the "operating system" for AI apps
- Focus on privacy, shared memory, and distribution
- Think iOS App Store but for AI agents
- Vertical AI Agents
- Build AI that replaces specific job functions
- Focus on highly specialized tasks (tax accounting, medical billing)
- Don't just assist humans - fully automate the work
- Developer Tools for AI
- Help developers manage teams of AI agents
- Build tools for deployment, testing, and monitoring
- Focus on making AI development easier and more reliable
3. The Math Behind It:
- 4M people work in compliance/audit
- $8-50k/year spent on legal templates
- Entire job categories becoming automated
- Focus on high-value, repetitive work
4. Non-Obvious Opportunities:
- Hardware-optimized AI code generation
- Data center automation
- AI-first document handling
- B2A (Business-to-Agent) infrastructure
5. What Makes a Good YC AI Startup:
- Deep domain expertise in a vertical
- Focus on full automation, not assistance
- Clear path to revenue
- Infrastructure or tools that help AI scale
"YC isn't looking for better AI - they're looking for better applications of existing AI."