YC cohort patterns from W25.

Most people saw “AI startups.” The real shift? AI as infrastructure.

~160 companies accepted. The signal was clear:

1. Agentic AI (~30%+)
   Not wrappers.
   Systems executing multi-step workflows autonomously.
   Replacing humans, not assisting them.
   

2. The vibe-coding edge (~25%)
   1 in 4 companies had ~95% AI-generated codebases.
   AI wasn’t just a tool; it was the development process.
   Speed became the moat.
   

3. Vertical > Horizontal
   Generic productivity lost to domain automation.
   Tighter workflows. Clear ROI. Stronger defensibility.
   

4. Workflow automation (~15–20%)
   Hiring. Ops. Onboarding.
   Expensive, repetitive systems, now automated.

@Y Combinator didn’t fund “AI companies.”

It funded companies removing humans from core loops.

So if you're building now:
Are you automating a workflow or just making it conversational? What's your take on the pattern?