YC Startup School

YC Startup School

2026

I went to Y Combinator's Startup School for technical builders. It ran for two days at the Chase Center in San Francisco, on July 25 and 26, 2026. Entry was by application, more than 6,000 people came, and the speakers included Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Patrick Collison, Jeff Dean and Boris Cherny.

The Startup School 2026 Y outside the Chase Center
Startup School 2026 on the Chase Center's screens before a talk

The talks ran in the arena itself, in the round. I came in on a student pass.

Two Startup School 2026 student badges

Exa, the search engine built for AI, threw a soirée.

Me in a Spartan helmet at Exa's Startup School party