$175M Valuation Before YC... +$1M ARR Every 2 Weeks During the Batch

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