Y Combinator

The original Silicon Valley startup accelerator (founded 2005 by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris, Trevor Blackwell). Twice-yearly batches.

Snapshot

  • Founded: 2005
  • HQ: Mountain View, CA
  • Standard deal (W24+): 375K MFN follow-on = ~$500K, uncapped post-money SAFE
  • Batches per year: 2 (Winter / Summer); plus YC Fellowship historically
  • Alumni network: Pioneer Fund and Orange Collective are YC-alumni-LP funds that typically follow-on YC deals

Risotto Investment

Risotto was in the W24 batch. Per Risotto’s YC company page, the primary partner was David Lieb (ex-Bump CEO; built Google Photos; YC Visiting Group Partner during W24, full Group Partner since 2024). YC followed-on in Risotto’s $10M seed (Jan 2026, Bonfire-led).