We pulled every Y Combinator founder from Winter 2020 through Fall 2026, matched each one to their LinkedIn profile and found a work email for most of them. The whole dataset is free through the Mindcase API. Here is what it says about YC.
A quarter of the 2020 batch is gone
Four years in, close to a quarter of the 2020 batch has shut down. The newer batches look healthier mostly because they have had less time to fail.
B2B dominates
Almost nobody goes solo
San Francisco is still the center
LinkedIn is filled for 98% of founders and a work email for 75%. Some founders have moved on from the company they built in YC, and their email reflects where they work now.
What you get for each founder
How to get it
- Create a free Mindcase account. You land in the console with an API key.
- Open the YC Founders Dataset and press Run. Pass a batch such as
W25orF26if you only want one. - Export the result as CSV, or pull it straight into your CRM, sheet or agent with the API.
curl -X POST https://api.mindcase.co/v1/data/ycombinator/founders-dataset/run \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCASE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"params": {"batch": "F26"}}'Questions
Yes. Create an account and run it. There is no charge for this API, and each account can run it once a day. Your results stay in your runs to export as often as you like.
Every batch from Winter 2020 to Fall 2026. Founders are as listed on each company's YC page, so CEOs and CTOs listed there are included.
Founders move on. When a company was acquired or shut down, the email we found is often for where that founder works today.
Yes. The same API is available over MCP, so an agent can pull the list and filter it for you.