×
16 of the most interesting startups from YC W’26 Demo Day | TechCrunch

16 of the most interesting startups from YC W’26 Demo Day | TechCrunch

AI was once again the buzzword for this latest batch of YC Demo Day companies. Nearly 190 companies participated in Y Combinator’s Winter ‘26 cohort and presented their startups in a Demo Day on Tuesday. 

These companies are working on products across industries such as law, transportation, and healthcare.  

I did not, admittedly, listen to every single product pitch given the sheer size of the cohort and this year’s Demo Day format available to media: YC posted the pitch videos, one by one, around 20 minutes after their presentations (rather than a livestream, or an in-person session invite).  

Instead, I read about all 190 of the startups presenting and spent the day watching pitches from those we found intriguing, then narrowed it down to the 16 that stood out as the most interesting startups of this overflowing YC class. 

ARC Prize Foundation 
What it does: Creates benchmarks to help measure progress toward AGI.  

Why it’s interesting: A nonprofit in YC! But then again, when OpenAI, Anthropic, and GoogleMind are already using some form of the organization’s benchmarks, it makes sense why it would be included. This foundation aims to inspire more open-source AGI research by hosting competitions and awarding research grants. One reason for this AI revolution is to reach AGI (which Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says has already arrived), and it will be a matter of historical record for tracking how close or we are from AI machines that have a general intelligence. 

Asimov  
What it does: Collects human movement data to train humanoids  

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026

Why it’s interesting: People from around the world submit videos of themselves performing movements and tasks and to this company so it can then turn it into datasets that can help train robots. It’s part of the movement trying to make humanoids a thing, finding uses for them beyond the supply chain and entertainment. I’m bullish on humanoid technology, even though our “Rosey the Robot” era still might be eons away. Using data to teach humanoids the flow and — dare I biasly say, elegance — of human movement could help them less, well, robotic as they perform tasks.  

Avoice  
What it does: Helps automate the tedious non-design work for architecture firms  

Why it’s interesting: It’s not every day you hear about new technology targeting the architectural industry. The founders themselves noted that this market is underserved (though rich in potential). This tool uses AI to help automate tasks that creative types like architects my find tedious like reviewing specifications, drawings, contracts and proposals.  

Button Computer 
What it does: A wearable AI  

Why it’s interesting: Everyone is trying to make wearable AI a thing as the world awaits OpenAI’s product from its acquisition of Johnny Ive’s company. Two former Applers (can I call them that?) have joined together to launch Button, essentially a tiny computer, the founders explained, that’s built for AI. Button connects to apps like email, Slack, and Salesforce and operates them via voice command to perform certain tasks. The next must-have hardware is likely to be some form of AI wearable, so it’s interesting to see what’s emerging.  

CodeWisp 
What it does: Let’s anyone build games using AI  

Why it’s interesting: The founders say all you have to do is tell an AI how to make a game, and it will make the game. That’s fun, creative, exciting! I tried to build games as a child and always found it hard and tedious, but the excitement of imaging designing one never went away. While vibe coding has become the rage for building apps, tools like this make imaginative execution much easier. Maybe this will be the next generation of vibe building.  

Crosslayer Labs  
What it does: Helps detect website spoofs  

Why it’s interesting: The rise of agentic tools means that websites are becoming easier to spoof with the bad guys are not shying away from using this tech to scam people. Crosslayer Labs helps its customers detect and monitor their online setups so they can stay protected against this shade of emerging internet threats.  

Doomersion  
What it does: Teaches you languages as you doomstroll 

Why it’s interesting: We spend way too much time doomstrolling, just filling our brains with slop that ends up either irritating us or atrophying our brains. This startup is an app that shows users short videos, like how they would see and scroll through them on a TikTok feed, in the language they are trying to learn. If there should be some meaning to all the content we stuff into our heads all day, what a brilliant way to find that. It combines what consumers won’t stop doing (spending hours on their phone swiping through content) with something as cool as language learning. Très intéressant. 

Lexius 
What it does: Embeds advanced AI into security systems  

Why it’s interesting: This uses AI to enhance existing security camera systems, enabling footage to detect and report instances of theft or falls, replacing a fragmented, mainly manual process. The startup says its targeted businesses that have cameras without AI intelligence, where a camera might catch an incident, but the company is delayed in taking any action. 

Librar Labs 
What it does: An AI-powered library management system tool  

Why it’s interesting: This is AI touching one of those industries that the tech industry often overlooks — libraries. This startup has created an AI-powered library management system to specifically help, as of right now, schools with inventory and cataloguing. As the founder said in his pitch, there isn’t much competition when it comes to automating or innovating the tools already used in this space, making any new idea a contender for “the next big thing.”  

Milliray 
What it does: Radar system to help track small drones  

Why it’s interesting: Defense tech is one of the hottest categories in tech right now. As the founder of this company said, right now, people are in the fields doing everything they can to track tiny drones, but the human eye can miss so much or mistake a tiny drone for a bird and vice versa. This startup uses sensors to identify what is actually a tiny drone in the sky. Given the current state of geopolitics, new technology is needed — and emerging — so that every country can stay ahead of the game and its enemies.  

MouseCat  
What it does: Uses AI to investigate fraud  

Why it’s interesting: AI is a great tool for work, and that holds true for those whose work is fraud and scamming. This company pulls a company’s data from the large cloud storage like Databricks or Snowflake, analyzes consumer data and activity for anything suspicious, and gives recommendations on how to take action. AI-native tools like this are important when it comes to keeping up with the bad AI that is also capable of unleashing.  

Opalite Health  
What it does: Uses AI to help healthcare providers talk to non-English speakers 

Why it’s interesting: There is much left up to interpretation when two people cannot understand each other. In the medical world, it could be life or death. This AI medical translator helps break the language barrier, enabling healthcare providers to understand patients who speak a different language. In a globalized world (and in a country as diverse as America), it’s important for people to be able to access the healthcare they need, regardless of language. Of course, this idea isn’t completely original, as a number of other startups and healthtech providers offer a similar service. 

Sequence Markets  
What it does: Let’s people trade across various markets, like crypto and prediction, on one system.  

Why it’s interesting: As someone who likes everything in one place, I understand wanting a less fragmented process when executing trades in these markets. It’s the same reason I still like going to big-box retailers to buy brands (I like to see all my options at once).  

ShoFo  
What it does: A video library of basically everything 

Why it’s interesting: This startups is billing itself as the “world’s video library,” which is pretty cool if you ask me. I grew up on YouTube and Tumblr and remember how delicate search was back then, when you were looking for something specific. Though this is more of a custom video index to help AI Labs find diverse datasets efficiently, I love any tool that makes searching and organizing easier.  

Sonarly  
What it does: Helps software fix its own production issues  

Why it’s interesting: This startup is making tech that just sounds very cool. It connects to other monitoring systems, promises to reduce alert noise (a distraction from finding the alerts that actually matter), automatically identifies the root causes of problems, and then finds ways to either fix them or suggest further actions for the engineers. While there are a growing number of AI code review startups (and that feature is also being offered by the model makers), there should be room for independent ones once the code hits production systems. This is yet another aspect of the workflow that founders are automating.  

Terranox AI 
What it does: Uses AI to find uranium deposits in North America   

Why it’s interesting: Uranium will be needed to power the next generation of nuclear energy, the founders of this company reminded us. (Nuclear poweris generally considered safe these days, though the uranium itself is, obviously, toxic — and the founder didn’t include in the pitch how it could be safely excavated.) These founders believe that nuclear will be needed to help power all of the new data centers being built. Earth is going to need a lot of energy, from many sources, to ensure its human inhabitants can keep up with the ambitions of the AI revolution.  

Source link
#interesting #startups #W26 #Demo #Day #TechCrunch


With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer.

During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.

“It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.”

Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.

At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming">‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon
                With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer. During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the 0 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.

  We announced yesterday that MGM is extending the exclusive theatrical window for PROJECT HAIL MARY so it won’t be on streaming anytime soon. This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen – and w a full return to IMAX screens for 1 week only starting this weekend, make… https://t.co/suK8NYpgWM — Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) April 16, 2026  “It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.” Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.

 At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again.  Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.      #Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming

thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer.

During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.

“It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.”

Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.

At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming">‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon
                With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer. During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.

  We announced yesterday that MGM is extending the exclusive theatrical window for PROJECT HAIL MARY so it won’t be on streaming anytime soon. This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen – and w a full return to IMAX screens for 1 week only starting this weekend, make… https://t.co/suK8NYpgWM — Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) April 16, 2026  “It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.” Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.

 At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again.  Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.      #Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming

With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer.

During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.

“It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.”

Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.

At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming

Let’s use our car again, but this time we’ll get real numbers from the accelerometer in our smartphone. Say we start at a red light and then accelerate at 2 m/s2 (meters per second squared) for five seconds. From the equation above, Δv1 would be 2 x 5 = 10 m/s, so that’s our velocity. Now, after cruising for a while, we accelerate again at 1 m/s2 for five more seconds. Δv2 is then 1 x 5 = 5 m/s. Adding these two changes, our velocity is now 15 m/s. And so on.

The only problem is that inertial measurement isn’t as accurate as the Doppler method over long periods, because small errors will keep accumulating. That means you need to recalibrate your system periodically using some other method.

Optical Navigation

On Earth, people have long navigated by the stars. In the northern hemisphere, just find Polaris. It’s called the North Star because Earth’s axis of rotation points right at it. That’s why it appears stationary, while the other stars seem to revolve around it. If you point a finger at Polaris you’ll be pointing north, and you can use that orientation to go in whatever direction you want.

Now, if you can measure the angle of Polaris above the horizon, you’ll also know your latitude. If the angle is 30 degrees, you’re at latitude 30 degrees. See, it’s easy. And once you can measure position, you just need to do it twice and record the time interval to find your velocity.

But celestial navigation works because we know how the Earth rotates, and that doesn’t help in a spacecraft. Oh well, can we just use the stars like you would use the cows on the side of the road? Nope. The stars are so far away, astronauts would need to travel for many, many generations to detect any shift in their position. Like the airplane flying over the sea, you’d seem to be stationary, even while traveling 25,000 mph.

But we can still use the basic idea. For optical navigation in space, a spacecraft can locate other objects in the solar system. By knowing the precise location of these objects (which change over time) and where they appear relative to the viewer, it’s possible to triangulate a position. And again, by taking multiple position measurements over time, you can calculate a velocity.

In the end, even though spaceships lack speedometers, it’s possible to track their speed indirectly with a little physics. But it’s just another example of how flying in space is really, totally different—and way more complicated—than driving or flying on Earth.

#Astronauts #Fast #Theyredot physics,physics,astronomy,space,spacecraft,moon landing,navigation,acceleration">How Can Astronauts Tell How Fast They’re Going?Let’s use our car again, but this time we’ll get real numbers from the accelerometer in our smartphone. Say we start at a red light and then accelerate at 2 m/s2 (meters per second squared) for five seconds. From the equation above, Δv1 would be 2 x 5 = 10 m/s, so that’s our velocity. Now, after cruising for a while, we accelerate again at 1 m/s2 for five more seconds. Δv2 is then 1 x 5 = 5 m/s. Adding these two changes, our velocity is now 15 m/s. And so on.The only problem is that inertial measurement isn’t as accurate as the Doppler method over long periods, because small errors will keep accumulating. That means you need to recalibrate your system periodically using some other method.Optical NavigationOn Earth, people have long navigated by the stars. In the northern hemisphere, just find Polaris. It’s called the North Star because Earth’s axis of rotation points right at it. That’s why it appears stationary, while the other stars seem to revolve around it. If you point a finger at Polaris you’ll be pointing north, and you can use that orientation to go in whatever direction you want.Now, if you can measure the angle of Polaris above the horizon, you’ll also know your latitude. If the angle is 30 degrees, you’re at latitude 30 degrees. See, it’s easy. And once you can measure position, you just need to do it twice and record the time interval to find your velocity.But celestial navigation works because we know how the Earth rotates, and that doesn’t help in a spacecraft. Oh well, can we just use the stars like you would use the cows on the side of the road? Nope. The stars are so far away, astronauts would need to travel for many, many generations to detect any shift in their position. Like the airplane flying over the sea, you’d seem to be stationary, even while traveling 25,000 mph.But we can still use the basic idea. For optical navigation in space, a spacecraft can locate other objects in the solar system. By knowing the precise location of these objects (which change over time) and where they appear relative to the viewer, it’s possible to triangulate a position. And again, by taking multiple position measurements over time, you can calculate a velocity.In the end, even though spaceships lack speedometers, it’s possible to track their speed indirectly with a little physics. But it’s just another example of how flying in space is really, totally different—and way more complicated—than driving or flying on Earth.#Astronauts #Fast #Theyredot physics,physics,astronomy,space,spacecraft,moon landing,navigation,acceleration

flying in space is really, totally different—and way more complicated—than driving or flying on Earth.

#Astronauts #Fast #Theyredot physics,physics,astronomy,space,spacecraft,moon landing,navigation,acceleration">How Can Astronauts Tell How Fast They’re Going?

Let’s use our car again, but this time we’ll get real numbers from the accelerometer in our smartphone. Say we start at a red light and then accelerate at 2 m/s2 (meters per second squared) for five seconds. From the equation above, Δv1 would be 2 x 5 = 10 m/s, so that’s our velocity. Now, after cruising for a while, we accelerate again at 1 m/s2 for five more seconds. Δv2 is then 1 x 5 = 5 m/s. Adding these two changes, our velocity is now 15 m/s. And so on.

The only problem is that inertial measurement isn’t as accurate as the Doppler method over long periods, because small errors will keep accumulating. That means you need to recalibrate your system periodically using some other method.

Optical Navigation

On Earth, people have long navigated by the stars. In the northern hemisphere, just find Polaris. It’s called the North Star because Earth’s axis of rotation points right at it. That’s why it appears stationary, while the other stars seem to revolve around it. If you point a finger at Polaris you’ll be pointing north, and you can use that orientation to go in whatever direction you want.

Now, if you can measure the angle of Polaris above the horizon, you’ll also know your latitude. If the angle is 30 degrees, you’re at latitude 30 degrees. See, it’s easy. And once you can measure position, you just need to do it twice and record the time interval to find your velocity.

But celestial navigation works because we know how the Earth rotates, and that doesn’t help in a spacecraft. Oh well, can we just use the stars like you would use the cows on the side of the road? Nope. The stars are so far away, astronauts would need to travel for many, many generations to detect any shift in their position. Like the airplane flying over the sea, you’d seem to be stationary, even while traveling 25,000 mph.

But we can still use the basic idea. For optical navigation in space, a spacecraft can locate other objects in the solar system. By knowing the precise location of these objects (which change over time) and where they appear relative to the viewer, it’s possible to triangulate a position. And again, by taking multiple position measurements over time, you can calculate a velocity.

In the end, even though spaceships lack speedometers, it’s possible to track their speed indirectly with a little physics. But it’s just another example of how flying in space is really, totally different—and way more complicated—than driving or flying on Earth.

#Astronauts #Fast #Theyredot physics,physics,astronomy,space,spacecraft,moon landing,navigation,acceleration

Post Comment