I think the whole Covid and remote work thing has given new perspectives to a lot of people who didn't think their companies could be run any way other than phy

I think the whole Covid and remote work thing has given new perspectives to a lot of people who didn't think their companies could be run any way other than physically and in person. Perhaps YC's previous succesess had them believing too much in their own method. As for the latest batch, others have commented and I've noticed that the kinds of companies YC chose last time seems to have a different focus than previous rounds. Notably, there's a heavy emphasis on dev tools and, to my way of thinking, more companies with quick go-to-market products and fewer moonshots. Perhaps the apparent changes in YC's selection criteria also contributed to their feeling that this batch was "more successful." Personally, judging from the "me, too" nature of many of the accepted companies in the last round, I find it hard to believe that many (any?) unicorns will come out of choosing the low-hanging fruit. It remains to be seen how these companies will be valued going forward or if their products will succeed in the marketplace, and those will be better indications of the success of the overall batch than any press release.