How to Find YC Founders by Batch and Industry (2026)
How to find Y Combinator founders filtered by batch and industry using YCs directory, datasets, and B2B enrichment tools like Clay, Apollo, and Crunchbase.
Founding AI Engineer @ Origami
Quick Answer: To find YC founders by batch and industry, use YC's own directory (ycombinator.com/companies), filter by batch (e.g. W24, S23) and tag/industry, or use a dataset/API. Third-party options include YC-focused lists on LinkedIn, Crunchbase (YC filter), and data tools like Clay or Apollo with "YC" or batch in company attributes. There's no official bulk export of all founders by batch—you combine YC's directory with enrichment or a B2B database to get contact and company data.
YC's directory is the source of truth for "who's in which batch." Finding those founders by batch and industry, then getting contact and company data, is a mix of YC's site plus filters and (optionally) enrichment tools.
Here's how to do it cleanly.
How to Find YC Founders by Batch and Industry
1. Use YC's company directory
Where: ycombinator.com/companies
- By batch: Use the batch filter (e.g. W2025, S2024, W2024). Each company page usually lists founders.
- By industry/topic: Use the tag/category filters (e.g. AI, B2B, Fintech, Healthcare). Combine with batch to get "YC founders in AI from W24."
- Export: YC doesn't offer an official CSV of all companies/founders. You can scrape the directory (respecting ToS and rate limits) or use a third-party dataset.
2. Use a YC dataset or API
- YC's public data: YC has shared company data (e.g. on GitHub or in blog posts) for some batches. Search "YC batch dataset" or "Y Combinator companies JSON" for community or official dumps.
- APIs/datasets: Some providers aggregate YC companies and founders (e.g. Crunchbase, PitchBook, or niche YC lists). Use their filters for "Y Combinator" + batch + industry.
3. Use B2B and enrichment tools
- Clay: Import or connect a list of YC companies (from a dataset or manual list), then filter by industry/tags and enrich for founder names and contact info.
- Apollo, LinkedIn: Search for "Y Combinator" in company name or "founder" + "YC" in title/company. Filter by batch if the data has it (e.g. "W24" in company description or a custom field).
- Crunchbase: Filter by "Y Combinator" in investors and by industry; export or view founder profiles.
4. Combine batch + industry manually
- Go to YC Companies → filter by batch (e.g. S24).
- Note the tags/categories for each company (industry).
- Manually or with a script, keep only companies that match your industry (e.g. "B2B," "AI").
- Use the company names and founder names from YC to enrich in Apollo, Clay, or LinkedIn to get emails and socials.
What You Can Get
- From YC: Company name, batch, description, tags (industry), website, sometimes founder names and LinkedIn/Twitter.
- From enrichment: Founder emails, LinkedIn URLs, company size, funding (if you add a funding data source).
Best Tools for "YC Founders by Batch and Industry"
| Goal | Tool / approach |
|---|---|
| List companies by batch + industry | YC directory filters |
| Structured dataset | YC public data, GitHub datasets, or Crunchbase |
| Founder emails and company data | Clay, Apollo, Lusha, Cognism (match company/founder name) |
| LinkedIn list | LinkedIn search (company = Y Combinator or company name) + Sales Navigator filters |
Summary and Next Step
How to find YC founders by batch and industry: Start with YC's directory → filter by batch and tag/industry → get company and founder names → enrich with Apollo, Clay, or Crunchbase for emails and firmographics.
Next step: Pick one batch (e.g. W24) and one industry (e.g. AI). Build a list of 20–50 companies from the YC directory, then run them through one enrichment tool to get founder emails and titles.