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> For the first time since the Winter 2020 batch, the Summer 2022 batch was in person. Nice. > For the Summer 2022 batch, we received 19,000 applications from

> For the first time since the Winter 2020 batch, the Summer 2022 batch was in person. Nice. > For the Summer 2022 batch, we received 19,000 applications from founders around the world and funded 240. Acceptance rate of 1.26%. For context, Harvard has a 3.19% [0] > Demo day is on September 7th and 8th. [1] > United States: 140 startups, India: 19 startups, United Kingdom: 11 startups, Israel: 8 startups Interesting how the country breakup does not represent country GDPs at all. I would expect more from Germany or Japan if it were the case. But it shouldn't surprise people who are familiar with YC and tech startups in general. Besides Michael's post, which provides some details, I think it would be interesting to hear from YC their view on the upcoming months/years of high uncertainty in geopolitical and economical terms, and how is this going to affect companies that apply for YC, and want to graduate and go build great companies. [0]: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/4/1/admissions-class-of-2026/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/4/1/admissions-class... [1]: https://www.ycombinator.com/demoday/faq/ https://www.ycombinator.com/demoday/faq/

herval 4y ago
I know a couple people from Germany doing startups - a couple of them told me they don't bother w/ programs like this because they can get a grant from the government, w/o giving out any equity. Or just bootstrap, since their costs are lower, free healthcare, etc. They tend look for later stage funding (which is when you realize that the power of YC is actually the credentials. Been there!)
- Nanana909 4y ago
  The US also provides such a program: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/ https://seedfund.nsf.gov/ > Or just bootstrap, since their costs are lower, free healthcare, etc. Germany does not have free healthcare. From the employer side, the employer is responsible for paying 7.5% of employees income. Among numerous other taxes you’ll need to pay for each employee you bring on. I think a lot of it is probably just the language barrier for YC specifically. Not that German founders don’t speak English, but it’s a whole different ball game trying to fund a startup and hire talent in a country where prospective industry contacts and even employees will need to speak German in order to really feel at home. Not to mention a different regulatory environment. That’s not to say there aren’t accelerators focusing on Germany, because there are. But building such a network when YC is based in the US isn’t an overnight thing. Whereas in the US/UK it’s really trivial to find support, contacts, and devs from all over the world who are willing to relocate just by nature of the fact that the local native language is one they already know.
  - solarmist 4y ago
    I don't know anyone that's not from academia that's successfully applied and gotten a seed fund grant as a startup (1-3 people trying to get their first funding). And articles I've read say a minimum of 80 hours of effort for the application. I've looked at it and it seems very bureaucratic. I believe there is an entire cottage industry around writing applications.
    - nl 4y ago
      The NSF Seedfund program is designed for academics to take research and start a company (and that's entirely ok!)
      - solarmist 4y ago
        I’m talking about the SBIR seed fund.
  - herval 4y ago
    Germany has low-cost healthcare for the unemployed. I used to pay 80 euro/mo while doing my startup - it's essentially free, compared to the american system
lnsru 4y ago
Absolutely no hustling culture in Germany. Getting job at Siemens or BMW or VW group is equal to the great exit for one billion $. And staying there for few decades. Personally I like it safe too. And the digital culture in general. Fax is still a king, no fertile ground for SaaS. Hardware ideas are cool, but too risky compared to any software venture.
epolanski 4y ago
All I see is that the representation comes from countries where english is spoken by the majority of adults, not the case for germany, definitely not japan.
- wefarrell 4y ago
  The majority of Germans speak English: https://howwidelyspoken.com/how-widely-spoken-english-germany/ https://howwidelyspoken.com/how-widely-spoken-english-german...
  - Simon_O_Rourke 4y ago
    Well, mostly West Germans... Good luck finding many 40+ year olds in places like Rostock or Dresden that have more than a few words.
shafyy 4y ago
> For the first time since the Winter 2020 batch, the Summer 2022 batch was in person. Interesting, because on the application page for the next batch this winter it says that it will be fully remote. But maybe they didn't update it yet?

herval 4y ago

I know a couple people from Germany doing startups - a couple of them told me they don't bother w/ programs like this because they can get a grant from the government, w/o giving out any equity. Or just bootstrap, since their costs are lower, free healthcare, etc. They tend look for later stage funding (which is when you realize that the power of YC is actually the credentials. Been there!)

Nanana909 4y ago
The US also provides such a program: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/ https://seedfund.nsf.gov/ > Or just bootstrap, since their costs are lower, free healthcare, etc. Germany does not have free healthcare. From the employer side, the employer is responsible for paying 7.5% of employees income. Among numerous other taxes you’ll need to pay for each employee you bring on. I think a lot of it is probably just the language barrier for YC specifically. Not that German founders don’t speak English, but it’s a whole different ball game trying to fund a startup and hire talent in a country where prospective industry contacts and even employees will need to speak German in order to really feel at home. Not to mention a different regulatory environment. That’s not to say there aren’t accelerators focusing on Germany, because there are. But building such a network when YC is based in the US isn’t an overnight thing. Whereas in the US/UK it’s really trivial to find support, contacts, and devs from all over the world who are willing to relocate just by nature of the fact that the local native language is one they already know.
- solarmist 4y ago
  I don't know anyone that's not from academia that's successfully applied and gotten a seed fund grant as a startup (1-3 people trying to get their first funding). And articles I've read say a minimum of 80 hours of effort for the application. I've looked at it and it seems very bureaucratic. I believe there is an entire cottage industry around writing applications.
  - nl 4y ago
    The NSF Seedfund program is designed for academics to take research and start a company (and that's entirely ok!)
    - solarmist 4y ago
      I’m talking about the SBIR seed fund.
- herval 4y ago
  Germany has low-cost healthcare for the unemployed. I used to pay 80 euro/mo while doing my startup - it's essentially free, compared to the american system

lnsru 4y ago

Absolutely no hustling culture in Germany. Getting job at Siemens or BMW or VW group is equal to the great exit for one billion $. And staying there for few decades. Personally I like it safe too. And the digital culture in general. Fax is still a king, no fertile ground for SaaS. Hardware ideas are cool, but too risky compared to any software venture.

epolanski 4y ago

All I see is that the representation comes from countries where english is spoken by the majority of adults, not the case for germany, definitely not japan.

wefarrell 4y ago
The majority of Germans speak English: https://howwidelyspoken.com/how-widely-spoken-english-germany/ https://howwidelyspoken.com/how-widely-spoken-english-german...
- Simon_O_Rourke 4y ago
  Well, mostly West Germans... Good luck finding many 40+ year olds in places like Rostock or Dresden that have more than a few words.

shafyy 4y ago

> For the first time since the Winter 2020 batch, the Summer 2022 batch was in person. Interesting, because on the application page for the next batch this winter it says that it will be fully remote. But maybe they didn't update it yet?