Comparison
Y Combinator vs Benchmark
Side-by-side comparison of Y Combinator and Benchmark — check sizes, focus areas, stages, and portfolio overlap.
| Y Combinator | Benchmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio in index | 204 | 14 |
| Type | accelerator | vc |
| Founded | 2005 | 1995 |
| HQ | San Francisco | San Francisco |
| AUM | — | — |
| Check size | $500K standard deal | $5M–$15M typical Series A |
| Stages | pre-seed, seed | series-a |
| Sectors | AI, SaaS, Fintech, Dev Tools, Marketplace | AI, Open Source, Dev Tools |
| Top cities | Remote, San Francisco, London | San Francisco, New York, Amsterdam |
| Notable exits | Airbnb, Stripe, DoorDash, Coinbase, Reddit | Uber, Twitter, Snapchat, Discord, Dropbox |
Portfolio overlap
Y Combinator and Benchmarkdon't share any portfolio companies in our index — they may operate in different sectors or stages.