The 10 most exciting AI agent startups at Y Combinator's Demo Day for its first-ever spring cohort
When Y Combinator issued a callout earlier this year for more founders building so-called "agentic" AI — software that can essentially think and perform tasks on its own — entrepreneurs were all ears. Of the 144 companies in YC's spring 2025 batch, 70 build agents, according to the accelerator's startup directory. Many of the spring batch startups showed off their technology at YC's Demo Day on Wednesday.
Each batch brings together a few hundred early-stage startups for a three-month sprint of product development and mentorship in San Francisco. Tens of thousands apply, and only a fraction make the cut. YC invests $500,000 in every company it selects, and its alumni roster includes success stories such as Stripe, Airbnb, DoorDash, Coinbase, and Instacart.
2025 marks the first time YC has run a spring cohort, which ran from April to June.
For its inaugural spring batch, YC partners said they were especially keen on startups exploring new and creative ways to harness artificial intelligence. Many of the startups that made the cut apply agentic AI across industries — from cybersecurity to consumer fintech to healthcare.
BI dug through YC's Spring 2025 cohort to find 10 AI agent startups revolutionizing their respective industries. To represent the spread of startups in the overall cohort, we picked a handful of the many startups YC categorized as B2B, two healthcare startups, and one each of fintech, consumer, and industrials.
From technology that teaches old robots new tricks, to agents that help consumers apply for the best mortgage, here are some of the most exciting agentic startups in YC's inaugural spring batch.
Approval AI What it does: A co-pilot that automates the mortgage process, from rate shopping to negotiation to paperworkYear founded: 2025 in San Francisco by Arjun Lalwani and Helly ShahYC Partner: Pete KoomenIndustries: Fintech, Consumer Finance
Beluga Labs What it does: A Rippling for content creators that uses AI agents to organize income and expenses and analyze tax incentivesYear founded: 2024 in San Francisco by Fernando Young and Jack SwisherYC Partner: Dalton CaldwellIndustries: B2B, Operations
Willow What it does: A voice dictation app that replaces the keyword with spoken word and uses an AI agent to craft messages in a user's tone.Year founded: 2025 in Palo Alto by Allan Guo and Lawrence LiuYC Partner: Nicolas DessaigneIndustries: Consumer
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