Garry Tan
InvestorCo-founder & Managing Partner at Initialized Capital · President & CEO at Y Combinator · President & CEO, Y-Combinator at Gold House Ventures · President & CEO, YC at Scott AI · Board director at Formic Technologies · +1 more
San Francisco, CA
Writes $150K checks
Midas 2019 · #21Midas 2020 · #73Midas 2021 · #35Midas 2022 · #28Midas 2023 · #6
Find your path to Garry
4,238 people in our graph share verified history with Garry — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
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.
Contact· published on Garry's own website
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.
Mentioned above: the Stanford University mafia →
From Garry's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
President & CEO, YC at Scott AIYC F25
Intro paths
Scott AI went through Y Combinator (Fall 2025) — Garry sits on its board, so any YC alum in your network can reach them through the company's founders.
Scott AI's 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 · 16
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
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
The New Physics of Business — Garry Tan, Y Combinator
AI Engineer
How The Best Companies Defend Against Mediocrity And Rot
Main Function
6 more appearances
- How to Build the Future: Demis Hassabis2026-04-29
- Inside Garry Tan's AI Coding Setup2026-04-23
- How To Build The Future: Max Hodak2026-03-09
- The New Way To Build A Startup2026-02-14
- What Everyone Is Getting Wrong About AI And Jobs2025-10-14
- Founder Mode: Garry Tan, President & CEO, Y Combinator2025-08-22
Colleagues at Initialized Capital
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 Co-founder & Managing Partner at Initialized Capital 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).
- What podcasts and interviews feature Garry Tan?
- Tracked appearances include "Garry Tan: Own Your Intelligence", "Alexandr Wang: “This is a Once-in-a-Civilization Opportunity”", "Sam Altman: "Never a Better Time to Do a Startup"", and 9 more.
- Does Garry Tan lead rounds?
- Yes — Garry Tan has led 3 tracked investments.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia10,230
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 10,223 more
Stanford University mafia1,934
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 1,927 more
Y Combinator mafia24
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 18 more
Initialized Capital mafia8
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 1 more
Career Karma mafia4
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Posthaven2
Also worked at Y Combinator427
+ 421 more
Also worked at Palantir Technologies291
+ 285 more
Also worked at Microsoft2,000
+ 1,994 more