Inside Y Combinator: Building Startups in the Age of AI (Nicolas Dessaigne, YC) - #145

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In this episode, I have the pleasure of welcoming Nicolas Dessaigne, Partner at Y Combinator, one of the most influential startup accelerators in the world. Nicolas is a repeat founder who co-founded Algolia, a company that became one of Europe’s biggest B2B SaaS successes before expanding globally. Today, he supports hundreds of founders as part of YC, helping shape the next generation of iconic startups. We recorded this conversation in San Francisco, where Nicolas shared his unique perspective on how YC has evolved — from 2 batches a year to 4 — and how this new AI era is transforming the way startups are built. We talk about the new wave of AI-native founders, why product iteration speed matters more than ever, and how large companies are struggling to keep up with the pace of change. Nicolas also shares what makes YC truly unique, the role of technical founders, and why code is no longer the moat it used to be. If you’re a founder, a product builder, or just curious about how YC sees the future of startups in the AI era, this episode will give you a rare inside look.
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[00:00] Intro

[01:36] YC in 2025

[02:37] Batch model & investment strategy

[03:50] Billion-dollar success rates

[05:14] Alumni support post-YC

[06:44] What makes YC unique

[08:25] Partners are ex-founders

[09:20] New AI product categories

[11:13] AI in healthcare, robotics

[12:27] His product preferences

[14:03] Moonshot companies & YC goals

[16:00] Why some repeat YC

[17:11] Post-YC momentum as a predictor

[18:21] Founding with a family

[19:49] AI native vs integrated products

[20:30] AI as standard infrastructure

[22:11] Founders are getting younger

[24:43] How YC startups build fast

[26:52] Balancing speed vs quality

[29:39] Pressure creates creative founders

[31:25] Code is no longer precious IP

[33:11] Spring 2025 batch growth stats

[36:08] Rapid AI tool evolution

[38:00] AI vs humans in support

[39:46] Case study: Prosper

[40:54] Evals as a key asset

[43:15] AI amplifies all founder types

[44:41] AI’s effect on larger orgs

[46:54] Risk of inertia in scale-ups

[47:20] Future of PM and eng roles

[49:04] Tools lower the bar to entry

[50:47] How non-AI YC alumni adapt

[53:14] Pre-AI companies

[55:11] Examples: Replit, Vercel

[56:55] What Nicolas would work on today

[58:56] Backing founders

[59:28] Robotics vs. Progress

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