Y Combinator’s NEW 2025 Startup Request – AI is Taking Over
Y Combinator's Latest RFS is Out – Here’s What You Need to Know
Y Combinator just released its 2025 Request for Startups (RFS), and the message is clear: AI is no longer just an assistant—it’s replacing entire job functions. If you're building in AI, this is your roadmap. YC used to publish requests for startups no more than once a year, but they decided to publish this list just 3 months after our last one to help point founders to the idea spaces that have just opened up!
We initially came across this report in a LinkedIn post by Greg Isenberg—credit to him. We read the full article and summarize the key insights.
Key Takeaways:
→ AI is Moving from Assistance to Full Automation
→ Industry-Specific AI Applications – The real potential isn’t in making better AI models, but in applying AI to high-value, repetitive tasks across industries.
→ Infrastructure & Developer Tools – As AI scales, YC is looking for the operating system of AI apps, better deployment tools, and system-level optimization.
Top Areas YC Wants to Fund:
→ AI App Store & Infrastructure – A platform for AI agents, focusing on privacy, shared memory, and distribution. Think “iOS App Store for AI.”
→ Vertical AI Agents – AI that can do specialized job functions like tax accounting, legal compliance, and medical billing.
→ Developer Tools for AI – Tools to manage, deploy, and monitor AI agents, making AI development more scalable and reliable.
The Full List:
A secure AI App Store
Datacenters
Compliance and Audit
Docusign 2.0
Browser & Computer Automation
AI Personal Staff for everyone
Devtools for AI Agents
The Future Of Software Engineering
AI Commercial Open Source Software
AI Coding Agents for Hardware-Optimized Code
B2A: Software where the Customers Will Be Agents
Vertical AI Agents
Startup Founders with Systems Programming Expertise
Inference AI Infrastructure in the World of Test-Time Compute
👉 Read YC’s full RFS here