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About
Claire Mao studied mathematics and computer science at MIT and has worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boston Consulting Group, and MIT Media Lab.
CEO at InstanceYC S26
Intro paths
Claire went through Y Combinator (Summer 2026) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
Their group partner at YC was Ankit Gupta, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Instance's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
In turn, Claire can intro founders to Instance's investors below.
Instance's investors · 4
Co-founders at Instance
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Claire Mao?
- Claire Mao studied mathematics and computer science at MIT and has worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boston Consulting Group, and MIT Media Lab.
- Where does Claire Mao work?
- Claire Mao is CEO of Instance.
- What companies did Claire Mao found?
- Claire Mao founded Instance.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia10,594
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia1,487
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
About this profile. Compiled from public sources — Instance's own website and public professional profiles — and summarised by Fundraising Fox; every fact is kept with where it came from. Spotted an error, or would rather not be listed? Email privacy@fundraisingfox.com · How we build profiles · Your rights