Blog

Every VC says 'we invest in people' and almost none define it. So we studied the founders behind all 91 of YC's Top Companies. Six archetypes recur — and the winners are almost always a blend of two.

AI has largely solved writing code. It hasn't solved trusting it. Theorem builds the trust layer — mathematically proving AI-written code is correct — and it's one of the clearest AGI-resilient bets we've made. Here's why we backed it.

The interesting story about quantum isn't whether it breaks Bitcoin — it's what it builds. The upside, a clear-eyed note on the signature risk, and why a quantum accelerator could reshape the economics of the AI data center.

LLMs are commoditizing generic software and thin AI wrappers are dying — yet some startups are still clearing a higher Series A bar. Drawing on the companies in our own portfolio that reached priced rounds, here are the three archetypes actually getting through.

Our complete YC playbook: why we invest before Demo Day, how our week-by-week process actually works, and how the AGI-resiliency lens is reshaping the portfolio with the P26 batch — toward AI agents, automation, infrastructure, and deep tech.

By the time Demo Day pricing spikes, the best YC companies already have paying customers, enterprise contracts, and sometimes exhausted server capacity. Here are the five traction signals we read weeks before everyone else shows up.

20,000 signups. 1,160% growth in 14 days. Servers down. When we saw the numbers behind Project X's Infinity product we didn't wait for a pitch — we reached out. Here's how we think about investments where the market validates the thesis before founders have even started fundraising.

The most common objection to YC-focused investing is entry valuation: aren't these companies too expensive? Here's the power-law math that explains why a higher entry price can still produce venture-scale returns — and why the J-curve is moving faster than the price.

Founder pedigree, enterprise validation, existing revenue, technical moat, market timing. These are the five things we verify before writing a check — weeks before Demo Day when most investors are still watching from the sidelines.

Before the first company pitches, we already know a lot about a YC batch. The demographics, sector mix, and founder profiles tell a story — and that story shapes where we focus our time. Here's how we read the W26 batch before anyone else had made a decision.

198 companies. 10 weeks. 17 investment decisions. Eight Capital backed 8.5% of the W26 batch — more than almost any other fund. Here's exactly what our evaluation process looks like under real time pressure.

He sold his first startup to Google and helped build the productivity tools millions of teams use every day. Now Wayne Crosby is back with OrgOrg — and on this episode of 8Spotlight, he tells us why making work better is the problem he can't stop thinking about.

There are two dominant bets on how we reach artificial general intelligence: keep scaling large language models, or build world models that learn how reality actually works. Here's the case for each, where each breaks down, and why the real answer is probably a fusion of the two.

Most people think autonomous surgery is decades away. Nick Damiano, founder of Andromeda Surgical, went from concept to live clinical cases in record time. On this episode of 8Spotlight, he explains why a software-first surgical platform changes the timeline — straight from the founder, not a VC's thesis.

QSBS may be the most underrated driver of venture returns. Here's what Section 1202 actually is, why early YC stock is almost tailor-made to qualify, and how — on a large, long-held exit — it can make your gains 100% federally tax-free.