Story · Sam Altman
Y Combinator Turns Chase Center into AI Startup Pep Rally
Y Combinator hosted its annual Startup School at San Francisco's Chase Center, drawing over 6,000 aspiring founders. The two-day event featured AI industry leaders including Sam Altman and Jensen Huang, who gave advice and offered product freebies such as Anthropic's Claude Max plan and Meta credits. Attendees participated in breakout sessions, an ML research symposium, and an 'Office Hours Simulator' where they could speak to an AI version of a YC partner. The event drew comparisons to a megachurch, with some critics calling it a 'megachurch for people who only worship money.' YC partners defended the scale, stating the accelerator's goal was never scarcity. The event was three times larger than the previous year.
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