Y Combinator

Y Combinator is a Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator founded in March 2005 by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Tappan Morris and Trevor Blackwell, investing a standard funding package per company across twice-yearly batches. Garry Tan has served as President and CEO since January 2023. YC has funded more than 5,000 companies to date, including Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox and Coinbase, with a combined portfolio valuation reported at roughly $600 billion. Its MENA-founded alumni include UAE fintech Alaan (W23 batch), which raised a $48M Series A in August 2025, alongside Egypt-founded logistics marketplace Trella (S19) and UAE investing app Baraka (S21).

Founded

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GCC relevance

International, Active in GCC

How to reach out

Apply via YC application

Recent activity: Portfolio company Alaan (UAE, YC W23) raised a $48M Series A, one of the largest in MENA, in August 2025. · source