Who is behind Y Combinator?
Shows documented founders, leaders, board members, funders and owners.
Not who made decisions, or why.
A connection is not evidence of wrongdoing.
- Led by Sam Altman (president) 2014–2019
On the record
Sourced links that no one presents as their own account, as recorded so far. Others may exist.
Founded by
- Jessica Livingston founded Mar 2005 co-founder Primary record 12
- Paul Graham founded Mar 2005 co-founder Primary record 13
- Robert Tappan Morris founded Mar 2005 co-founder Primary record 12
- Trevor Blackwell founded Mar 2005 co-founder Primary record 12
Led by
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Sam Altman
head of
2014–2019
president
Primary record
45
Paul Graham announced the choice on 21 February 2014; he wrote that he and Jessica Livingston thought Altman best suited to grow YC, and that he had started trying to recruit him in 2012.
Proof 5 sources
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How Y Combinator Started, Paul Graham, Mar 2012.
Primary record
I agreed to put $100k into the new fund and Jessica agreed to quit her job to work for it. Over the next couple days I recruited Robert and Trevor, who put in another $50k each. So YC started with $200k.
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People (Y Combinator), Y Combinator.
Primary record
Jessica Livingston Founder, Retired
Robert Morris Founder, Retired
Trevor Blackwell Founder, Retired
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Summer Founders Program, Paul Graham, Mar 2005.
Primary record
Some friends and I have started Y Combinator, a new venture firm that specializes in funding very early stage startups.
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Sam Altman for President, Y Combinator, 21 Feb 2014.
Primary record
I’m delighted to announce that Sam Altman has agreed to become president of Y Combinator starting next batch.
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Sam Altman, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 24 Dec 2024.
Scholarship & press
Archived copy
Sam Altman (born April 22, 1985, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American entrepreneur who was president of the start-up accelerator Y Combinator from 2014 to 2019 and chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI beginning in 2019.
How this answer is built
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When a list is longer than the page shows, the links the public methodology ranks strongest stay (methodology 0.3), and the rest open in the explorer.
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