YC alumni fund backing tomorrow’s winners
We aim to invest in the standout founders of every YC batch
Built by YC founders,
for YC founders
Founder Factor is an investment platform led by Y Combinator alumni investing in - and supporting - the top startups from Y Combinator, the world’s leading accelerator.

Our investing partners are accomplished YC alumni and operators. Collectively, our team has invested in more than 1,200 companies and co-founded over 100.
Human-machine selection approach
We pair a proprietary AI prediction engine with alumni diligence to validate and screen opportunities, building a diversified YC portfolio designed to outperform.

Our approach means we can move very fast.
European capital with operating reach
A large share of our capital comes from European YC alumni and leading European HNWs/founders. We open doors to EU/UK customers, hires, and partners - when you’re ready to scale beyond the U.S. We also provide warm intros to top European growth funds when it’s time to widen your cap table.
About us
We invest alongside Tier 1 VCs
Our team
Founder Factor Partners
Mats Stigzelius
Mats Stigzelius
Managing GP
A seasoned Founder and Investor. Co-founder of Startupbootcamp, the largest early stage investor outside of the US with over 1,800 startups globally.
Kasper Vardrup
Kasper Vardrup
GP
Serial tech founder and investor. 20 years’ experience as a tech entrepreneur, and investor in a variety of industries and markets. Founder of Rainmaking.
Leeho Lim
Leeho Lim
YC W21
Previously founded Encord, a YC-backed venture that has raised over $50mn in funding. Investor in startups across the US & EUR.
Martin Lykke Suhr
Martin Lykke Suhr
YC S21
Founder of Gamerpay and Trendsales, a leading Nordic C2C marketplace for second-hand, exited to Vinted in 2024. Investor in YC S22, F23.
Søren Therkelsen
Søren Therkelsen
YC W18
Cofounder at Qvin, the first healthcare service to use period blood as an opportunity for non-invasive blood testing.
Inna Thalmann
Inna Thalmann
YC S21
Cofounder at Mable (Acquired), a personalized migraine clinic using DNA to find and provide the right medication alongside continuous expert care.
Olcay Yilmazcoban
Olcay Yilmazcoban
YC S21
3x founder and a former VC investor with an engineering background.
Ilkka Ruotsila
Ilkka Ruotsila
Partner
Founder and angel investor with 20 investments across the Nordics and US since 2011, including Airbnb, Oura, Framery and Foodello. Five exits to date, with a 19x realized MOIC.
Mathias Hermansen
Mathias Hermansen
YC S21
Cofounder at GamerPay, a global marketplace for gamers and collectors. Previously at eBay.
Mats Terwiesch
Mats Terwiesch
YC F24
Former WHOOP product manager, Harvard health + AI researcher and US national rowing team member, now building HYBRD.
Our portfolio
Most recent investment
83 Sciences
AI-native materials discovery powered by unpublished experimental data
S26
Hard Tech
Advanced Materials
AI
Agentcard
Cards for AI agents
S26
Fintech
AI
COACH
The AI Coach for in-person sales reps
S26
saas
b2b
sales
AI
Assemble
Autonomous IT Delivery
S26
AI
saas
Enterprise Software
Billow AI Labs
AI-native accounting firm
S26
AI
finance
b2b
Workflow Automation
Bizmark
AI agents for manufacturers
S26
AI
Manufacturing
automation
Callbook AI
AI collections agency for late stage portfolios
S26
AI
Fintech
Cosmic Robotics
Autonomous construction on Earth and beyond
S26
Hard Tech
Robotics
Construction
Aerospace
Hardware Intelligence
AI tools for the chips your AI runs on
S26
AI
developer-tools
Hardware
Enterprise Software
Hebbian Robotics
APIs for robotics data teams to verify data quality for model training
S26
Robotics
Data Engineering
AI
Hop Aero
Rocket cargo delivery to contested environments
S26
Hard Tech
Aerospace
Defense
HyperProbe
AI engineer that debugs and fixes production incidents in realtime
S26
aiops
AI
developer-tools
devops
Inkbox
The identity and communication layer for AI agents
S26
developer-tools
Infrastructure
AI
Last Accounting Company
AI-native accounting firm
S26
AI
Fintech
finance
Marengo
AI-native engineering firm designing data centers
S26
Energy
AI
Infrastructure
Marker
Platform + FDEs that rebuild enterprises agent-first
S26
generative-ai
saas
b2b
Workflow Automation
Mass Magnetics
USA-made magnetics for robotics and defense
S26
Hard Tech
Robotics
Manufacturing
Defense
Neuron Industries
Industrial controllers built for AI
S26
Manufacturing
automation
Hardware
Omanta
A research lab for one
S26
AI
Digital Health
Healthcare
Ooak Data
We turn company data into training data
S26
AI
reinforcement-learning
OS3
Affordable, intelligent humanoid robots built to deploy at scale
S26
AI
Hardware
Robotics
b2b
Prescience
Superintelligent health insurance that keeps employees healthy
S26
b2b
Insurance
health-tech
Shiraz AI
Robots that learn on the job
S26
generative-ai
Robotics
Manufacturing
Traceforce
CrowdStrike for AI agents
S26
AI
saas
security
Cybersecurity
Trident
Autonomous offensive security agents
S26
security
Cybersecurity
AI
Other firms invest in deals,
we invests in founders
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