F25 Demo Day: YC's Biggest EVER Valuation

YC F25 just produced one of the wildest Demo Days we’ve seen: AI everywhere, hardware roaring back, and a drone startup raising at ~$200M straight out of the batch. 

If you care about where early-stage markets are really going, this is your field report.

In this episode of The Lobster Talks Podcast, we break down YC F25 Demo Day just hours after it wrapped. 

We walk through the real themes behind the noise: AI as default, healthcare and finance getting rebuilt, deeptech and defense going mainstream, and why some YC valuations are starting to look… ambitious. 

We also dig into Absurd (AI launch videos as a service), whether AI-powered services can be truly venture-backable, and what a $200M YC seed round means for fund math and future returns.

You’ll learn:

• Why “every startup is an AI startup” is no longer a hot take, it’s table stakes.
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• The under-discussed YC F25 trends: healthcare, financial services, “AI for the real world,” and deeptech/hardware.
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• How AI-enabled service providers like Absurd are rewriting the rules on what’s considered “venture-backable.”
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• The inside view on a YC F25 drone company raising at ~$200M and what that implies for fund-return math.
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• How YC valuations have quietly crept back up post-2023, and what that means if you’re raising or investing.
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• Why narrative, defense, space, and truly hard tech (Starcloud, Astroforge, Array Labs, Harper, etc.) are shifting what “normal” outcomes look like.
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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: Surprising Valuations and Market Dynamics

00:54 Sponsor Message: Stable's Business Address Solution

01:54 Welcome to Lobster Talks Podcast

02:45 Recap of YC F25 Demo Day

03:56 Diverse Categories in YC F25 Batch

05:31 AI's Impact on Various Industries

06:26 Deep Tech and Hardware Innovations

07:23 Consumer Startups in YC F25

09:53 The Rise of AI-Enabled Service Providers

16:11 Debate: Service Providers and Venture Backed Outcomes

22:44 Scaling Ad Production Challenges

23:11 The Future of Video Content

23:58 Absurd Valuations in YC Companies

24:21 Drone Company with a $200M Valuation

25:59 Investment Returns and Valuation Math

28:47 High Valuations and Market Trends

36:43 Ambitious YC Startups and Their Potential

39:17 The Cycle of YC Valuations

42:50 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

This podcast episode is sponsored by Stable. Click here to sign up for a virtual address: 

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