- Garry Tan, president of Y Combinator, emphasized that startups going all in on artificial intelligence could achieve growth and profitability within eight months.
- During the Startup School 2026 event, Tan discussed the concept of personal AGI and how it allows entrepreneurs to leverage AI agents across various roles.
- Emergent, a startup from the summer 2024 batch, achieved nine figures of revenue within eight months of its public launch.
- Retell, launched in winter 2024, reached an annualized revenue of $60 million with a team of about 40 people.
- Tan stated that the latest batch of startups is on track to be one of the fastest growing and most profitable in Y Combinator's history.
- Tan noted that many companies in Y Combinator are now structured around AI agent models, with at least one in four having codebases that are 95% AI-generated.
- He explained that personal AGI can run on its own infrastructure, compounding knowledge over time and enhancing the ability to act on ideas.
- Tan highlighted that the revenue per person achieved by these startups was previously unprecedented in various industries.
Garry Tan, president and CEO of Y Combinator, asserts that startups fully committed to artificial intelligence can achieve growth and profitability within eight months. At the recent Startup School 2026, he introduced the concept of personal AGI (artificial general intelligence), which allows entrepreneurs to utilize AI agents that are adaptable across various roles and ventures.12
Tan explained that these agents operate on their own infrastructure, enhancing their knowledge over time and significantly boosting productivity. He stated, “Before you ever incorporate anything, before you have a co-founder or a logo or a deck, you can already be running an organization – an organization of one plus your agents.” This innovative approach has led to remarkable success stories within the incubator.
For instance, Emergent, a startup from the summer 2024 batch, achieved nine figures in revenue within eight months with just 15 employees. Similarly, Retell, launched in winter 2024, reached $60 million in annualized revenue with around 40 staff members. Tan noted that such rapid revenue generation was previously unattainable, stating, “Not in software, not in oil, not in railroads.”34
Currently, one in four Y Combinator ventures have codebases that are 95% AI-generated, and the latest cohort is on track to become one of the fastest-growing and most profitable in the incubator's history. Tan himself claims to be 400 times more productive than he was 13 years ago, thanks to the use of AI agents, emphasizing their transformative potential in the startup landscape.56
“Tan highlighted that a majority of Y Combinator companies now build with AI agent models, and at least one in four have codebases that are 95% AI-generated. He also cited Emergent's leap to nine figures in revenue within eight months and Retell's $60 million annualized run with just 40 people.”
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