4 ms·

Very disappointing and probably the least honest and transparant update from YC.

paulddraper 7y ago
What's dishonest/opaque about this? YC is generally Bay Area-only, and after consideration they decided to stick with that.
- brink 7y ago
  There's no real reason why given. It seems that HN's "No politics" policy flows over to their blog updates as well.
  - dang 7y ago
    HN doesn't have a no politics policy. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17014869 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17014869 https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20political%20overlap&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... Edit: maybe I should add that we do moderate posts that are just political, i.e. don't have an intellectually curious angle, as well as threads that depart from the path of curious discussion and sink into flames.
    - ddevault 7y ago
      I think you should adopt your "moderate with a light touch on sensitive YC-affecting topics" tactics for this thread.
      - dang 7y ago
        Indeed I am. This thread is much worse than we'd normally allow.
  - paulddraper 7y ago
    You do understand that YC China would have been an enormous change, right? They barely started doing NYC this year. The default answer is simply "no"/"not right now"; not a ton of explanation required.
  - incompatible 7y ago
    The reason given was "change of leadership", i.e., from Sam Altman to Geoff Ralston. Interestingly, Geoff wrote: "we are just working on launching YC China and I'll work hard to make sure Qi Lu has everything he needs to make that go well" after he was appointed, so it doesn't seem like he started out with different ideas. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19969490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19969490
  - tomnipotent 7y ago
    > "No politics" Maybe because politics was not involved and it was purely an operational capacity decision? I know it's not as fun as silly conspiracy theories.
crystaln 7y ago
Even YC is cowed into silence by the might of China. Understandably so, even if somewhat cowardly. Does YC want China to boycott or otherwise disable YC companies? Does YC want to threaten any future relationship with China? No. So they keep mum as to their real reasons.
- Analemma_ 7y ago
  Don't be silly, Sam Altman said that he was much more comfortable discussing controversial ideas in Beijing than in San Francisco; YC couldn't possibly be self-censoring because of fear of Chinese reprisal. /s
  - tptacek 7y ago
    These criticisms don't even make sense. YC is announcing that they're not expanding formally into China, which is something China very much would want them to do.
    - psds2 7y ago
      I am sure China would gladly welcome YC and all the IP it has access to. There is no question China presents an opportunity to generate capital returns on a scale that YC can no longer achieve in the more mature US venture capital market. They also present many risks that are hard to put in an equation.
    - azinman2 7y ago
      Until they make it be partnered with a local company, which eventually forces a majority ownership, spins out, and YC is left with nothing.
      - tptacek 7y ago
        Again: they are withdrawing from China. There's nothing to spin out.
        7y ago

What's dishonest/opaque about this? YC is generally Bay Area-only, and after consideration they decided to stick with that.

brink 7y ago
There's no real reason why given. It seems that HN's "No politics" policy flows over to their blog updates as well.
- dang 7y ago
  HN doesn't have a no politics policy. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17014869 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17014869 https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20political%20overlap&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... Edit: maybe I should add that we do moderate posts that are just political, i.e. don't have an intellectually curious angle, as well as threads that depart from the path of curious discussion and sink into flames.
  - ddevault 7y ago
    I think you should adopt your "moderate with a light touch on sensitive YC-affecting topics" tactics for this thread.
    - dang 7y ago
      Indeed I am. This thread is much worse than we'd normally allow.
- paulddraper 7y ago
  You do understand that YC China would have been an enormous change, right? They barely started doing NYC this year. The default answer is simply "no"/"not right now"; not a ton of explanation required.
- incompatible 7y ago
  The reason given was "change of leadership", i.e., from Sam Altman to Geoff Ralston. Interestingly, Geoff wrote: "we are just working on launching YC China and I'll work hard to make sure Qi Lu has everything he needs to make that go well" after he was appointed, so it doesn't seem like he started out with different ideas. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19969490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19969490
- tomnipotent 7y ago
  > "No politics" Maybe because politics was not involved and it was purely an operational capacity decision? I know it's not as fun as silly conspiracy theories.

crystaln 7y ago

Even YC is cowed into silence by the might of China. Understandably so, even if somewhat cowardly. Does YC want China to boycott or otherwise disable YC companies? Does YC want to threaten any future relationship with China? No. So they keep mum as to their real reasons.

Analemma_ 7y ago
Don't be silly, Sam Altman said that he was much more comfortable discussing controversial ideas in Beijing than in San Francisco; YC couldn't possibly be self-censoring because of fear of Chinese reprisal. /s
- tptacek 7y ago
  These criticisms don't even make sense. YC is announcing that they're not expanding formally into China, which is something China very much would want them to do.
  - psds2 7y ago
    I am sure China would gladly welcome YC and all the IP it has access to. There is no question China presents an opportunity to generate capital returns on a scale that YC can no longer achieve in the more mature US venture capital market. They also present many risks that are hard to put in an equation.
  - azinman2 7y ago
    Until they make it be partnered with a local company, which eventually forces a majority ownership, spins out, and YC is left with nothing.
    - tptacek 7y ago
      Again: they are withdrawing from China. There's nothing to spin out.
      - 7y ago