Happy 20th birthday, Y Combinator

Perceived decline vs. changing baseline of YC outcomes

• Many note that YC’s early cohorts produced disproportionately famous hits (Reddit, Dropbox, Airbnb, Stripe, DoorDash, Instacart), while recent batches feel less impressive despite much larger volume.
• Some argue this is mostly time-lag and power laws: early companies had 15–20 years to compound; mega-wins are rare and early outliers skew expectations.
• Others think the big “greenfield” opportunities of web2 + mobile are gone; current startups target narrower niches or aim for acquisition by incumbents.
• Links shared suggest YC still has solid portfolio-level returns, but dominated by a few huge outcomes.

Selection biases and AI/crypto trend-chasing

• Commenters highlight YC’s strong biases: multi-founder teams, US incorporation, now heavy focus on AI. Solo founders and non-US entities appear underrepresented.
• Reasons suggested: young founders are volatile; a cofounder gives YC more leverage; YC understands US context better.
• Debate over solo founders: can hire employees, but inability to attract a cofounder may be a negative signal.
• Several criticize recent “crypto” and now “LLM for X” waves as solution-in-search-of-a-problem; fear that AI-heavy batches will look bad in a few years.
• Others counter that backing hyped frontier areas (crypto, AI) with high failure rates is exactly what early-stage VCs are supposed to do.

Macro view of startups and technology cycles

• One line of argument: entrepreneurial “refactoring” has already erased many big inefficiencies; remaining opportunities are smaller or require deep domain expertise.
• Another: people said “it’s over” after the dotcom bust too; there are still many industries to disrupt, but they now demand more specialized knowledge than early web startups.
• AI may spawn some new winners, but commenters are split on whether it can rival the internet’s impact; some speculate solar and genetics might be richer veins.

HN / YC culture, moderation, and politics

• Large number of posts express gratitude: YC and HN described as career-changing, inspirational, and one of the last high-signal, text-based communities online.
• Multiple long-time lurkers (up to ~15–19 years) say they read daily and only now created accounts.
• Moderation sparks a long subthread: critics call it opaque “censorship”; moderators describe HN as intentionally curated, informal, and case-by-case, inviting users to email for clarification.
• Many defend the current “benevolent dictator” model and credit it with preventing HN from devolving like other forums.
• Some raise discomfort with YC leadership’s alignment with Musk/X and broader “anti-democratic” or eugenics-adjacent figures; others want politics kept out of HN discussions.