Y Combinator Winter 2018 (W18) Companies

Aalo makes modular, Lego-like furniture aimed at design-focused consumers.

3 investors

Acely offers an AI tutor for the digital SAT and ACT, aimed at high school students preparing for college admissions. The tool is designed to help students study for standardized tests and build confidence in the college-readiness and test-prep space.

2 investors

Aerones builds a robotic system for maintaining wind turbine blades, performing tasks including lightning conductivity testing, high-resolution inspection, drainage hole cleaning, cleaning, painting, and leading-edge repair. It serves the wind energy sector with automated turbine maintenance technology.

14 investors

AesculaTech designs custom smart materials with adaptive responses to stimuli for biomedical, commercial, and industrial applications. Its materials can be tailored for biocompatibility and strength, with an initial focus on ophthalmic treatment of dry eye disease.

1 investor

AlgoSurg develops surgical AI and planning software—including anatomy AI and patient-specific planning—that medical device companies embed in their robots, navigation systems, and patient-specific devices. Its knee planning AI is licensed to implant OEMs and used commercially on a robotic knee platform across India, with applications for hip, TAVR, bone tumor, shoulder, spine, CMF, and intraoperative use at various stages.

1 investor

Anjuna provides software that runs applications and data inside hardware-encrypted secure enclaves across major chip, cloud, and system vendors, protecting them from malware, insiders, and other threats. Its "lift and shift" approach lets enterprises achieve confidential computing protection without recoding applications.

12 investors

Archform makes software that lets orthodontists design, create, and 3D print clear teeth aligners within their own offices. It targets orthodontic practices looking to compete with direct-to-consumer aligner companies and reduce the cost of alternatives like Invisalign.

2 investors

Aspire provides an all-in-one finance operating system for businesses, combining tools to pay, manage, and earn across functions typically handled separately by a bank, bookkeeper, or rewards program. It targets entrepreneurs and company owners seeking consolidated financial tools.

12 investors

Assembly is an AI-powered client management platform for professional service firms, combining a branded client portal (tasks, payments, messages, files, contracts, forms) with a CRM and an AI assistant with full client context. It supports extensions via embeds, Zapier/Make, webhooks, a public API, and custom apps to handle onboarding and back-office workflows.

6 investors

Atrium is a technology-enabled law firm serving startups, using in-house software to manage corporate legal work with an emphasis on efficiency and transparency. It operates on a non-billable-hour model.

1 investor

Avro Life Science develops transdermal skin patches for delivering generic drugs. The company operates in the biotech and drug delivery space.

9 investors

Beanstalk operates vertical farms using industrial robotics and plant science to grow produce such as lettuces, spinach, basil, carrots, and lavender for local customers including restaurants. The company combines automation and plant science to supply fresh, locally grown produce.

4 investors

Bear Flag Robotics develops autonomous driving technology that equips farm tractors and implements so growers can automate and optimize common field tasks. It also provides analytics to help farmers gain insights about their crops and operations, addressing farm labor shortages and worker safety.

12 investors

Ben is a mobile app that lets people learn about, buy, sell, and store cryptocurrency in one platform, integrating crypto education, news, and investing Q&As. It targets newcomers to blockchain and crypto investing.

1 investor

Biobot Analytics is a wastewater epidemiology company that measures biomarkers in sewage to assess population health in cities, using technology developed at MIT. It serves government and public health officials with products tracking the opioid epidemic and Covid-19, operating across hundreds of U.S. communities.

15 investors

BioRender is a software tool that enables scientists to create and share professional scientific illustrations and figures. The platform serves researchers and scientists across life sciences disciplines globally.

5 investors

Blueberry Pediatrics offers 24/7 concierge pediatric telemedicine, pairing families with on-call pediatricians and at-home diagnostic tools to manage children's illnesses and reduce emergency room visits.

7 investors

California Dreamin makes all-natural cannabis-infused beverages positioned as an alternative to alcoholic drinks. The company targets the consumer beverage market.

1 investor

CaptivateIQ makes commission management software that lets companies design, deploy, and adjust incentive compensation plans. It serves sales and finance teams looking to simplify and bring transparency to commission calculations.

11 investors

ClearBrain is a self-serve AI platform for growth marketing that automatically predicts and retargets users based on their likelihood to purchase. It serves growth teams at large enterprises, including Fortune 1000 companies, using automated machine learning for user prediction and personalization.

3 investors

Closer Sports operated a mobile streaming platform that connected professional athletes with their fans. The company is listed as inactive.

1 investor

CodeStream is a developer collaboration platform offered as IDE plugins that handle code reviews, letting developers request feedback on a snapshot of their repository including uncommitted and unpushed code. It serves software development teams within the developer tooling category.

3 investors

Cognition IP is an intellectual property law firm that provides patent and trademark filing, prosecution, innovation harvesting, and portfolio management on a flat-fee basis. It serves clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 enterprises.

2 investors

CoinTracker is a crypto tax platform with over 100,000 paying subscribers, and is launching Nino, an AI-driven financial planning service paired with dedicated CPA and CFP professionals. Nino connects a user's investments, equity compensation, cash, real estate, retirement, and crypto accounts to model net worth and simulate financial decisions, targeting founders, startup employees with ISOs or RSUs, and executives.

10 investors