Garry Tan
InvestorFounderPresident & CEO at Y Combinator · President & CEO, Y-Combinator at Gold House Ventures · President & CEO, YC at Scott AI · Board director at Formic Technologies · Board director at Career Karma
San Francisco, CA
Writes $150K checks
Midas 2019 · #21Midas 2020 · #73Midas 2021 · #35Midas 2022 · #28Midas 2023 · #6
About
Garry Tan wrote the first check to Coinbase and backed Instacart and Flexport as co-founder of Initialized Capital, after earlier co-founding Posterous and designing at Palantir. He became Y Combinator's president and CEO in January 2023, winding down the Continuity growth fund and refocusing the accelerator on early-stage AI companies. He ranked No. 6 on the 2023 Forbes Midas List, his last appearance before returning to YC.
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningClimate TechCloud ComputingConsumerCrypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureDeep TechDeveloper ToolsE-commerceEnterprise SoftwareFintechFuture of WorkGamingGovTechHardwareMarketplacesPropTechRoboticsSaaSSector AgnosticSocial
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Tan co-founded Posterous, a blogging platform acquired by Twitter in 2012 for $20 million. Tan co-founded Posthaven after the shutdown of Posterous.
- Education
- Studied at Stanford University (BS, Computer Systems Engineering, 2003) Studied at American High School
- Boards
- Tan has served as a board member of GrowSF, a San Francisco pro-growth political group.
- Communities
- Tan is active in San Francisco politics, focusing his donations on housing development, public schools, and public safety, and has supported YIMBY housing groups.
- Family
- Tan was born in Winnipeg, Canada, to a Chinese Singaporean father and a Burmese Chinese mother, and the family settled in Fremont, California, in 1991. As of 2023 Tan lived in Noe Valley, San Francisco, with his wife and two children.
From Garry's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
President & CEO, YC at Scott AIYC F25
Intro paths
Garry went through Y Combinator (Fall 2025) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
Their group partner at YC was Garry Tan, President & CEO of Y Combinator — the partner who ran Scott AI's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗
In turn, Garry can intro founders to Scott AI's investors below.
Scott AI's investors · 3
Co-founders at Scott AI
Board director at Formic Technologies
Intro paths
In turn, Garry can intro founders to Formic Technologies's investors below.
Formic Technologies's investors · 15
Co-founders at Formic Technologies
Board director at Career Karma
Intro paths
In turn, Garry can intro founders to Career Karma's investors below.
Career Karma's investors · 14
Co-founders at Career Karma
Experience
- Garry's ListFoundercurrent2026 — presentSan Francisco County, California, United States
- Y CombinatorPresident & CEOcurrent2023 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- Initialized CapitalBoard Partner & Advisorcurrent2023 — present
- Initialized CapitalFounder & Managing Partner2012 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
- PosthavenCofoundercurrent2013 — presentSan Francisco, CA
- Y CombinatorPartner2010 — 2015
- Posterous.comCofounder2008 — 2011
- Palantir TechnologiesLead Engineer, Designer2005 — 2007
- MicrosoftProgram Manager2003 — 2005
- Sun MicrosystemsSoftware Engineer Intern2002 — 2003
- TheMan.comSoftware Engineer Intern2000
- SapientSoftware Engineer Intern1998 — 2000
Education
- Stanford UniversityBS, Computer Systems Engineering1999 — 2003
Skills & more
+12 more
Mobile ApplicationsProduct MarketingUser Experience DesignHuman Computer InteractionProduct ManagementCloud ComputingSoftware DevelopmentVenture CapitalE-commerceJavaScriptSaaSRuby on RailsFrom Garry's professional profile.
Deals · 4
Standard CognitionLed round
via Initialized Capital · filed Nov 2018
Standard HoldingsLed round
via Initialized Capital · filed Oct 2018
TruepillQuoted
via Initialized Capital · filed Aug 2020
GobbleQuoted
via Initialized Capital · filed Sep 2017
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Other disclosed investments
Per curated public sources.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Garry TanGarry Tan: Own Your Intelligence
Startup School
Alexandr Wang: “This is a Once-in-a-Civilization Opportunity”
Startup School
Sam Altman: "Never a Better Time to Do a Startup"
Startup School
Jensen Huang: The Mindset That Built NVIDIA
Startup School
Colleagues at Y Combinator
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Garry Tan?
- Garry Tan wrote the first check to Coinbase and backed Instacart and Flexport as co-founder of Initialized Capital, after earlier co-founding Posterous and designing at Palantir. He became Y Combinator's president and CEO in January 2023, winding down the Continuity growth fund and refocusing the accelerator on early-stage AI companies. He ranked No. 6 on the 2023 Forbes Midas List, his last appearance before returning to YC.
- Where does Garry Tan work?
- Garry Tan is President & CEO at Y Combinator and President & CEO, YC at Scott AI and Board director at Formic Technologies and Board director at Career Karma.
- What does Garry Tan invest in?
- Garry Tan invests in AI & Machine Learning, Climate Tech, Cloud Computing, Consumer, Crypto & Web3, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Developer Tools, E-commerce, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Future of Work, Gaming, GovTech, Hardware, Marketplaces, PropTech, Robotics, SaaS, Sector Agnostic, Social.
- What check size does Garry Tan write?
- Garry Tan typically writes checks of $150K.
- What companies has Garry Tan invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Coinbase, Flexport, Instacart, Coinbase, Cruise, Flexport, Instacart, Opendoor, Rippling, Standard Cognition, Truepill.
- Where did Garry Tan go to school?
- Garry Tan studied at Stanford University (BS, Computer Systems Engineering).
- Does Garry Tan lead rounds?
- Yes — Garry Tan has led 3 tracked investments.
Paths to reach Garry
People who overlapped with Garry at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at Initialized CapitalGarry: Co-founder & Managing Partner
Together at Y CombinatorGarry: President & CEO
Together at SapientGarry: Software Engineer Intern
Together at Posterous.comGarry: Cofounder
Together at PosthavenGarry: Cofounder
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Y Combinator337
+ 331 more
Also worked at Posthaven1
Also worked at Palantir Technologies204
+ 198 more
Also worked at Microsoft1,081
+ 1,075 more