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Three-quarters of founders in the latest Y Combinator cohort are working on AI startups

Riding a wave that’s created trillion-dollar companies, AI startups are hoping to stick out from the crowd

David Crowther, William Coulman
8/23/24 6:19AM

If you want to understand the extent to which artificial intelligence (AI) has gripped Silicon Valley, look no further than the latest cohort of Y Combinator.

For nearly two decades, Y Combinator has been America’s pre-eminent startup factory, churning out dozens of unicorns (startups worth > $1 billion) including Airbnb, Stripe, Coinbase, and DoorDash. Getting accepted into one of its bi-annual programs has become an aspiration for an entire generation of coders and founders, who subscribe to Y Combinator’s advice to “build something people want”.

And using AI has now become hard-coded into a majority of those ambitions. Of the 208 startups currently listed in the YC S24 startup directory, a staggering 156 — or 75% — are working on AI-related products.

That’s more than any cohort in history, and it follows the news that nearly half of all US venture capital investment went to AI companies last quarter.

With stiff competition to get into Y Combinator, it’s unclear if that fact represents: Y Combinator deliberately selecting startups that are working in the space, more founders choosing to work in AI, or if more startups are actually just saying that their product is AI-related because they think that’s what investors or customers want to hear. It’s probably a combination of all three.

Share of Y Combinator startups working on AI
Sherwood News

So, what are all these companies trying to build? Well, there’s an AI-powered interior designer (Rastro), a GenAI interviewer for business interviews (Mindely), a “Conversational AI Sidekick for Kids” (Genie), a tool for making hit songs with AI (Sonauto), and a startup that wants to automate “taking orders at drive-thrus with a voice AI” (Lilac Labs).

Interestingly, you can track tech hype cycles throughout YC’s history. In 2022, when “Crypto / Web 3” was the hottest thing to work on, 33 YC startups were working in the space — in both of the most recent batches there was only 1.

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Apple AI was MIA at iPhone event

A year and a half into a bungled rollout of AI into Apple’s products, Apple Intelligence was barely mentioned at the “Awe Dropping” event.

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Oracle’s massive sales backlog is thanks to a $300 billion deal with OpenAI, WSJ reports

OpenAI has signed a massive deal to purchase $300 billion worth of cloud computing capacity from Oracle, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The report notes that the five-year deal would be one of the largest cloud computing contracts ever signed, requiring 4.5 gigawatts of capacity.

The news is prompting shares to pare some of their massive gains, presumably because of concerns about counterparty and concentration risk.

Yesterday, Oracle shares skyrocketed as much as 30% in after-hours trading after the company forecast that it expects its cloud infrastructure business to see revenues climb to $144 billion by 2030.

Oracle shares were up as much as 43% on Wednesday.

It’s the second example in under a week of how much OpenAI’s cash burn and fundraising efforts are playing a starring role in the AI boom: the Financial Times reported that OpenAI is also the major new Broadcom customer that has placed $10 billion in orders.

Exclusive | Oracle, OpenAI Sign Massive $300 Billion Cloud Computing Deal

Exclusive | Oracle, OpenAI Sign Massive $300 Billion Cloud Computing Deal

Yesterday, Oracle shares skyrocketed as much as 30% in after-hours trading after the company forecast that it expects its cloud infrastructure business to see revenues climb to $144 billion by 2030.

Oracle shares were up as much as 43% on Wednesday.

It’s the second example in under a week of how much OpenAI’s cash burn and fundraising efforts are playing a starring role in the AI boom: the Financial Times reported that OpenAI is also the major new Broadcom customer that has placed $10 billion in orders.

Large companies have started to drop AI from their businesses

Census data shows drop in large companies using AI

AI appears to be everywhere, but that doesn’t mean big companies have fully embraced the use of the technology in their day-to-day business.

Claire Yubin Oh, Jon Keegan9/10/25
tech
Jon Keegan
9/9/25

Report: Microsoft adds Anthropic alongside OpenAI in Office 365, citing better performance

In a move that could test its fraught $13 billion partnership, Microsoft is moving away from relying solely on OpenAI to power its AI features in Office 365 and will now also include Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4 model, according to a report from The Information.

The move is a tectonic shift that boosts Anthropic’s standing, heightens risks for OpenAI, and has huge ramifications for the balance of power in the fast-moving AI field.

Per the report, Microsoft executives found that Anthropic’s AI outperformed OpenAI’s on tasks involving spreadsheets and generating PowerPoint slide decks, both crucial parts of Microsoft’s Office 365 productivity suite.

Microsoft will have to pay the competition to provide the services —Amazon Web Services currently hosts Anthropic’s models while Microsoft’s Azure cloud service does not, The Information reported.

OpenAI is also reportedly working on its own productivity suite of apps.

Microsoft to Buy AI From Anthropic in Partial Shift From OpenAI

Microsoft to Buy AI From Anthropic in Partial Shift From OpenAI

The move is a tectonic shift that boosts Anthropic’s standing, heightens risks for OpenAI, and has huge ramifications for the balance of power in the fast-moving AI field.

Per the report, Microsoft executives found that Anthropic’s AI outperformed OpenAI’s on tasks involving spreadsheets and generating PowerPoint slide decks, both crucial parts of Microsoft’s Office 365 productivity suite.

Microsoft will have to pay the competition to provide the services —Amazon Web Services currently hosts Anthropic’s models while Microsoft’s Azure cloud service does not, The Information reported.

OpenAI is also reportedly working on its own productivity suite of apps.

tech
Jon Keegan
9/9/25

Apple announces extra slim iPhone Air, iPhone Pro with longer battery life, updated AirPods Pro 3 with live language translation, and refreshed Apple Watch line

At today’s “Awe Dropping” Apple event, the company announced its yearly refresh of the iPhone lineup. The new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max were joined by a brand-new addition: the iPhone Air, a superthin model with tougher glass and faster processors.

Apple shares dipped on news of the product releases and are down about 1.4% on the day in afternoon trading.

The company also announced an updated Apple Watch line — Series 11, SE3, and Ultra 3 — with new features like 5G, high blood pressure detection, 24-hour battery life, and satellite communication. 

Apple iPhone 17
Apple’s iPhone 17 (Apple)

Here’s a breakdown of the new products Apple announced:

  • The ultrathin iPhone Air was described by Apple as “a paradox you have to hold to believe.” The sleek 5.6-millimeter-thin iPhone features a crack- and scratch-resistant front and back and “Macbook Pro levels of compute,” which you can pair with a weird $59 cross-body strap. It starts at $999.

  • The iPhone 17 has a faster A19 chip, an improved smart selfie camera, and a higher-resolution screen. It starts at $799.

  • The iPhone 17 Pro has a new design, ever-faster A19 Pro chip, a tougher “ceramic shield” on the front and back, better cameras, and a bigger battery that gets an extra 10 hours of video playback compared to its predecessor. It costs $100 more than the previous generation, but the minimum storage has doubled to 256 gigabytes. It starts at $1,099.

  • The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199.

  • The AirPods Pro 3 have AI-powered live translation, a new heart rate sensor, eight hours of battery life, and improved active noise cancellation. The new AirPods can also track workouts, and Apple says they are built to fit more people’s ears with a new design and foam ear tips. They start at $249.

  • The Apple Watch Series 11 has 5G, a new high blood pressure detection feature, improved sleep tracking, a more scratch-resistant face, and 24 hours of battery life.

  • The entry-level Apple Watch SE 3 gets 5G, new health-tracking features, and an always-on display. It starts at $249.

  • The chunky Apple Watch Ultra 3 has an impressive 42-hour battery life, satellite communications for emergencies, and a brighter and bigger display. It starts at $799.

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