$175M Valuation Before YC... +$1M ARR Every 2 Weeks During the Batch
- S2E93
- 38:19
- May 5th 2026
The growth bar for YC just hit the stratosphere.
In this episode, we dive into the staggering metrics of the latest Y Combinator batch (P26), where startups are hitting $11M ARR before Demo Day and hardware is making a massive comeback. We break down the "Request for Startups," the future of SaaS in an AGI world, and why the most "defensible" companies are now escaping the screen.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How a startup raised at a $175M valuation before even starting YC.
- The rise of "Barbarian" founders disrupting defense and space.
- Why YC is betting on "AI escaping the screen" (Robotics, Agriculture, Medicine).
- The "Build vs. Buy" shift: Why SaaS prices are about to compress.
- The "FDE" (Forward Deployed Engineer) model and how AI agents are scaling enterprise sales.
📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.
Chapters:
00:00 Record Batch Revenue Buzz
00:40 Free YC Application Feedback
01:21 P26 RFS Episode Kickoff
02:02 YC at 175M Valuation
04:46 Robotic Bird Spy Drones
06:12 AI vs Hardware Bifurcation
09:20 How to Underwrite Defense
10:52 AI Escapes the Screen
16:06 Is SaaS Actually Dead
19:24 Moats Still Matter
19:59 Build vs Buy Tradeoff
20:33 SaaS After AGI
20:38 Agent Services Wave
22:03 Adobe and Price Compression
23:45 Claude Says Just Buy
24:12 Apple OS and Hardware Shift
25:55 Founder Age and Deep Tech
27:07 Is Hardware Defensible
28:22 Fresh Eyes Disrupt Industries
31:25 Selling to Big Companies
33:27 AI Enables Enterprise GTM
35:56 AI First Companies and Wrap
🎧 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 Lobster Talks episode is brought to you by YC Roaster, a free tool helping founders improve their YC applications.
🔗 https://ycroaster.com
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