Article · 6 min read

Y Combinator and India are drifting apart

Manish Singh · TechCrunch Free Beginner India

This is the concrete India reality behind the in-person question, with real numbers. Indian and Southeast Asian startups in a YC batch fell from 44 (W21) to a single-digit handful once YC went back to in-person, and YC itself blames the relocation-plus-visa hurdle, admitting there is no replacement for being in the room. Read it to understand that the cost of an in-person batch for an Indian team is not just rent: it is a US visa in a tightening approval climate.

  • Indian participation in YC collapsed after the return to mandatory in-person, driven by the relocation requirement
  • US visa scrutiny for Indian founders has intensified, so budget the visa as the real gating item, not the airfare
  • YC concedes in-person investor and founder density is irreplaceable, which is exactly the access you are paying to relocate for
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The question it answers

  1. Can I join a top accelerator without moving my company or team to the US?

Read with it

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