Y Combinator’s W21 Batch: A Surge in Global Startups

Y Combinator’s most recent cohort, designated W21, comprises 350 startups originating from 41 different countries. Notably, a record-breaking fifty percent of these companies are headquartered outside of the United States.

India’s Prominent Role

India represents the second-largest national representation within the W21 batch. As the world’s second-largest internet market, India has contributed 43 startups to the program, establishing another benchmark in the venture firm’s history.

This figure contrasts with previous batches: W20 featured 25 Indian startups, while S20, S19, and W19 each had 14 and 12 respectively. Earlier batches, such as W16, S15, and W15, included only one Indian startup each.

The Impact of Remote Operations

“The shift to remote operations at YC has broadened the program’s appeal to companies at various stages and in geographically diverse locations,” stated the firm in a communication to TechCrunch. “For Indian companies, founders are no longer required to dedicate three months away from their customer base or teams.”

The firm further explained that the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the viability of a remote, software-driven program, enhancing accessibility for founders globally.

Selection Criteria in India

When evaluating founders in India, Y Combinator applies the same standards as it does for companies worldwide. A crucial skill for Indian founders is the ability to effectively convey their understanding of the local market to potential investors.

Indian Startups in YC W21

The following is a list of startups from India that have been accepted into YC W21, along with details about their respective ventures, where available.

Innovative Platforms and Services

QuestBook, developed by CreatorOS, is an application enabling professionals to deliver instruction through concise courses utilizing chat and a mobile-centric interface. CreatorOS was previously highlighted last year.

Leap Club aims to replicate the Good Eggs model in India, offering users access to fresh, organic produce sourced directly from local farms via their website or WhatsApp. Deliveries are promised within 12 hours of harvest, and the startup currently generates over $14,000 in monthly revenue.

CashBook is developing a cash management application tailored for small businesses in India. With over 60 million small businesses in the country largely relying on manual bookkeeping methods, CashBook has already acquired 200,000 monthly active users within six months of launch, processing $511 million in cash transactions in February.

GimBooks addresses a similar need as CashBook, but with a distinct approach. It provides industry-specific invoicing and bookkeeping tools integrated with banking and payment systems, boasting over 1.4 million downloads, 11,000 paying customers, and revenues exceeding $450,000.

Leveraging WhatsApp for Business

BusinessOnBot capitalizes on the widespread popularity of WhatsApp in India, with over 450 million monthly active users. The startup is building a Shopify-like platform on WhatsApp, enabling direct-to-consumer brands and small businesses to acquire customers and automate sales processes.

ZOKO facilitates sales, marketing, and customer support operations for businesses through the WhatsApp platform.

Healthcare and Education Solutions

Prescribe functions as a Shopify for hospitals, providing a platform for doctor’s offices to manage their online operations, including appointment scheduling, virtual consultations, payments, and referrals via WhatsApp.

Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement suite, positioned as an alternative to Intercom and Zendesk. Currently used by over 1,000 companies, it generates $32,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from six customers.

Weekday assists companies in recruiting engineers through a network of scouts, addressing the scalability limitations often associated with referral programs.

Fountain9 focuses on reducing food waste for food brands and retailers, addressing an estimated $260 billion in annual losses due to inventory mismanagement.

Advanced Technologies

Dyte is developing a Stripe-like solution for live video calls, allowing businesses to integrate branded, configurable, and programmable video calling services within 10 minutes using the Dyte SDK.

YourQuote has created a writing platform with over 100 million posts and 250,000 daily active users, achieving profitability with $200,000 in revenue last year.

Fifthtry is building a GitHub-like platform for product documentation, preventing code changes until documentation is approved. Piloted with three companies, each with over 100 developers, it is slated for public launch next month.

Voosh is developing an OYO-style model for restaurants and dark kitchens in India, aiming to improve their financial performance through technology.

Financial and Logistics Innovations

Kodo aims to be the Brex equivalent for India, assisting Indian startups and small businesses in obtaining corporate credit cards, a currently underserved market.

Krab offers instant loans to trucking companies in India, targeting the inefficiencies within the country’s $160 billion logistics market.

Bueno Finance seeks to provide financial services to the next billion users in India, focusing on short-term cash needs through digital credit cards linked to UPI.

Marketplace and Subscription Services

Betterhalf is creating a Match.com for India’s 100 million singles, generating $75,000 in monthly revenue with a 30% monthly growth rate.

Pensil empowers teachers utilizing YouTube to monetize their courses, providing tools for content creation, discussion facilitation, and payment collection.

AcadPal offers an app for India’s 10 million teachers to share homework assignments with a single tap, targeting a $1.4 billion market encompassing over 400,000 private schools.

Professional Development and Subscription Sharing

Pragmatic Leaders provides a cost-effective alternative to traditional MBA programs, currently generating $112,000 in monthly revenue and operating at a cash-flow positive level.

Splitsub addresses subscription fatigue among Indian users, offering a Pinduoduo-like platform for group buying and sharing of online subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify.

Transportation and Entertainment

Zingbus has developed a platform for bus travel between Indian cities, a largely untapped market segment.

Tilt is building a docked bike-sharing platform for Indian campuses, achieving profitability within the last 18 months and generating approximately $20,000 in revenue this month.

FanPlay is a platform for social media influencers to monetize their reach by playing mobile games with their fans and followers.

Insurance Market Disruption

Only a small percentage of India’s 1.3 billion citizens currently have insurance coverage, presenting a significant opportunity for digital firms to expand access to these services. As of 2017, insurance products reached less than 3% of the population.

The average Indian earns approximately $2,100 annually, and those with insurance spend less than $50 per year on it, according to estimates from 2017.

Three startups in the current batch are focused on disrupting this market, traditionally dominated by state and bank-backed insurers.

GroMo is an app for independent agents to sell insurance in India, currently generating over $200,000 in monthly revenue.

Bimaplan aims to replace traditional agents with an app and a referral network, having already sold 700 policies in its first month.

BimaPe helps users understand their insurance policies and make informed decisions, leveraging New Delhi’s new regulations to access policy information through government-issued ID cards.

Emerging Technologies and Healthcare

Zealth, a two-month-old startup, has developed software for remote monitoring of cancer patients, currently used by five hospitals serving over 100,000 patients annually.

Codingal provides an online after-school program for K-12 students in India to learn computer science, targeting the country’s 270 million K-12 students.

Unschool offers professional education for college students in India, addressing the gap between academic preparation and real-world skills.

Flux Auto is developing self-driving kits for trucks.

SigNoz is an open-source alternative to DataDog, a $30 billion company, helping developers identify and resolve issues in cloud-deployed software, driven by regulations like GDPR and CPRA.

Pibit.ai provides APIs to convert unstructured documents into structured data.

Invoid creates identity workflows in India, tapping into a market of approximately 11 billion know-your-customer authentication processes conducted annually.

Redcliffe Lifesciences offers genetic testing and IVF treatments across India, with revenues exceeding $600,000 in March.

Veera Health is an online clinic specializing in the treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a condition affecting 10-20% of women in India, with 85% of members reporting improved control over their condition after one month.

Snazzy is positioned as the SmileDirectClub for India, offering clear aligners at a 70% lower cost than traditional dental options.

BeWell Digital is building an operating system for India’s 1.5 million hospitals, labs, clinics, and pharmacies, starting with insurance regulatory compliance.

Jeevam Health, a five-month-old startup, is betting on the telemedicine revolution in India, offering an online platform for patients with chronic conditions – numbering around 200 million in the country – to connect with doctors digitally.

Triomics operates a SaaS platform for end-to-end automation of clinical trials.