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Lygg
YC W21San Francisco, US · Founded 2020 · 1 employees · 4 known investors
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Lygg develops a photostable chemical ingredient for skincare that provides enhanced protection against UVA radiation, tripling the effectiveness of existing FDA-approved options for sun damage prevention.
Also known as Lygg Corp. · Lygg Corporation
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W21)
Lygg was founded in 2020 by Graham Dick.
Investors · 4
How we know: StartX's portfolio page · web.startx.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Y Combinator directory · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Lygg Corporation is a chemistry-driven personal care ingredient developer working on new sunscreen and anti-aging actives for skincare. The company's stated premise is that up to 90% of skin aging is caused by UV light, most of it UVA, while only one FDA-approved chemical ingredient protects against UVA. Lygg has developed a patented, photostable and safe ingredient that it says triples current UVA protection.
The company describes its suncare ingredients as inspired by lignin. It operates with a very small team, listed as one employee, and maintains an address at 2627 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, California, while Y Combinator lists its location as San Francisco.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Graham Dick, originally from Vancouver, Canada, earned a PhD in Chemistry from Stanford University and was previously a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. He founded Lygg in 2020 following the ban of two common sunscreen ingredients in Hawaii and amid growing concerns about the skin penetration of remaining approved ingredients, with the aim of creating a new generation of sunscreen ingredients.
Business model
Lygg develops sunscreen and anti-aging active ingredients rather than finished consumer products, placing it in personal care product manufacturing.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Lygg positions itself against the limited set of approved UVA-protective chemical filters, noting that only one FDA-approved chemical ingredient offers UVA protection and that two common sunscreen ingredients have been banned in Hawaii.
Key claimed differentiators are photostability, safety, patent protection, and roughly triple the UVA protection of existing approved chemical filters.
Technology
Lygg's core technology is a patented, photostable chemical UV filter said to be safe and to triple the UVA protection provided by currently available FDA-approved chemical options. The company frames its suncare ingredient work as inspired by lignin, a natural polymer.
Go-to-market
The ingredient is intended for use in skincare and suncare products addressing UV-driven skin aging and sun damage.
Geography
Lygg lists an office at 2627 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, California; Y Combinator records its location as San Francisco.
History
Lygg was established in 2020 and participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2021 batch. It is listed among Y Combinator's apparel and cosmetics companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an active status and a team size of one.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 6
Companies working in the same space as Lygg.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsLygg is listed as a Y Combinator Winter 2021 (W2021) company in the anti-aging and beauty categories.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Contact - LYGGlyggcorp.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Lygg do?
- Lygg develops patented photostable sunscreen ingredients, inspired by lignin, that aim to triple current UVA protection.
- Who founded Lygg?
- Lygg was founded by Graham Dick in 2020.
- Who are Lygg's investors?
- Lygg's investors include StartX, Y Combinator, LLLP, Willow Growth Partners.
- Where is Lygg headquartered?
- Lygg is headquartered in San Francisco, US.