The issue isn't so much YC's investment in projects that may not have scientific rigor, but that of individual investors via crowd-funding platforms. At an ext

The issue isn't so much YC's investment in projects that may not have scientific rigor, but that of individual investors via crowd-funding platforms. At an extreme, this results in a company like GoBe raising $1.1 million on IndieGogo with PR and a slick video. YCombinator has the sophistication and time to vet their investments. If they want to back something most of the scientific community thinks won't work, all the best to them. However, raising capital from mom-and-pop investors is another story.