Famed Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator on Wednesday kicked off its two-day “Demo Day” event that showcases what the most recent YC batch, S24, companies are building.
Unsurprisingly, AI companies dominated the day, with startups looking to apply the technology to problems like estate planning and settlements, Elayne; automating clinical trial data, Baseline AI; and helping companies get goods through customs, Passage.
Sectors like fintech, healthcare, and web3, which dominated YC cohorts of the past, were noticeably quieter, or completely absent, from Wednesday’s presentation.
Here are the companies worth paying attention to from the first day of Demo Day. Spoiler alert: Pretty much all use AI.
What it does: Automates moving baggage at airports with robots
Why it’s a fave: This seems like an ideal use case for robots, considering that collecting and moving baggage at airports is an entirely manual process, which can also be dangerous. This may also be technology that airports would actually be willing to pay for.
What it does: AI automation of clinical trial documents
Why it’s a fave: I’m a fan of anything that is aiming to make clinical trials work better and run faster, considering how important they are in the process of getting new drugs and treatments to market. The company claims it can save companies $18 million in costs and lost revenue, which seems like a notable improvement.
What it does: AI-powered estate planning and settlements
Why it’s a fave: As someone who has watched a family member navigate this process, I’m glad someone is building a better solution. Plus, the fact that Elayne is looking to reach consumers through their employers is a smart way to get more people thinking about this before they have to.
What it does: Automated testing for AI voice agents
Why it’s a fave: There are so many startups building customer support AI systems, but do they work? I think Hamming’s strategy of testing out these AI customer service bots is a needed service in this growing ecosystem.
What it does: Data centers in space
Why it’s a fave: This company stood out because it seems like an extreme moonshot, and yet it’s already landed customers and is launching a demonstrator satellite next year. The concept of using solar energy to power data centers may be one we might want to consider doing on Earth, too.
What it does: Helps cities optimize transit
Why it’s a fave: Ontra Mobility’s quest to help local governments better utilize their public transit options is a solid one. Most cities don’t have the budget to expand public transit options despite population growth, so figuring out a smarter way to utilize what options they already have makes sense.
What it does: AI-assisted customs support
Why it’s a fave: Considering how easy it is for consumers to get packages held up by customs, I can only imagine how complicated the importing process is for companies moving a lot of goods across the border all the time.
What it does: AI Price optimization
Why it’s a fave: This is a super interesting approach to ecommerce pricing. Promi’s AI looks to help companies offer data-informed fluctuating discounts to customers that change based on interest and activity. This makes a lot of sense.
What it does: TurboTax for building rebates
Why it’s a fave: Personally I’m a fan of any company that helps consumers or other companies unlock the government incentives they are eligible for. I like RetroFix’s approach in particular because it’s unlocking government money for contractors to make buildings more sustainable.
What it does: Automates government approvals for construction projects
Why it’s a fave: This is the kind of application AI was made for. SchemeFlow’s software helps construction companies automate technical reports shrinking the process to minutes. Further impressive, the young company has already generated reports for more than 400 construction projects.
What it does: Synthetic datasets for vision models
Why it’s a fave: There is only so much quality data available for large language models to train on, which leaves many LLM companies tempted to get data from sources they shouldn’t — or aren’t allowed to. Help stop AI companies from illegally scraping data? Sounds like a good goal to me.
What it does: Network of in-space refueling stations
Why it’s a fave: The space industry is booming; many entrepreneurs are looking to build and send satellites, rockets, and other devices up into space. Building a company that services this growing economy seems like a smart strategy.
What it does: Helps businesses become employee owned
Why it’s a fave: The company’s mission to help companies transition into employee owned is a novel one. Selling a company to its employees helps create wealth for the employees and generally results in a bigger payout for the seller. Sounds like a win-win.