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ExploreYC

Open-source API for Y Combinator & a16z company data

APIOpen SourceDeveloper ToolsGitHub
739votes70commentsLaunched 47h agoWebsite

By Konstantin Borimechkov

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One open-source API for startup data across Y Combinator AND a16z - 6,600+ companies with funding, stage, IPO/M&A exits, and founders. Filter by VC (yc/a16z/all), batch, industry, country, or search. Grab a free API key, read the docs (curl/Node/Python + Swagger), and build in 30 seconds. Plus the full web app: map, analytics, funding data, a live hiring board, and AI tools.

Top comments10 of 70

  • [REDACTED]·2d ago182
    hey PH - we're back! 👋 I'm Konstantin. We first launched ExploreYC - here as a web app for exploring Y Combinator's portfolio, and the response was awesome — thank you 🙏. Ever since, the #1 request has been the same one thing: "Can I get the data through an API?" So this launch is exactly that. This is ExploreYC's open-source + API edition - the same cleaned, enriched dataset, now something you can query, script, and build on. And it grew up: it now covers a16z's portfolio alongside YC. 👉 New here? Welcome. Caught our first launch? This is the developer edition you asked for. 🎉 ✨ What's new since our first launch: - A public REST API - YC + a16z, filter by VC (`source=yc | a16z | all`) - The entire project is now **open source** - Developer accounts, API keys, rate limits, docs & a usage dashboard - a16z portfolio data (exits, acquirers, founders, tickers) sitting next to YC 🔌 The API (the star of this launch): - One base URL, JSON over HTTPS: `https://api.exploreyc.com/api/v1` - Filter by VC - `source=yc | a16z | all` — plus batch, industry, country, hiring status, or full-text search - Company detail by id or slug: funding, stage, **IPO/M&A exits**, acquirer, founders, ticker - Portfolio stats, sources, geo/map data, and batch "Wrapped" analytics - Get an API key in 30 seconds - non-expiring, with per-key rate limits (`X-RateLimit-*` headers, `Retry-After`) - A full docs site with copy-paste curl / Node / Python examples + interactive Swagger - A developer dashboard to manage keys, watch your usage (7-day charts + top endpoints), and set a profile ```bash curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" \ "https://api.exploreyc.com/api/v1..." ``` 🌐 And the whole thing is open source → github.com/KonstantinMB/exploreyc 🎯 Why: researching startups means jumping between YC's directory, a16z's site, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, and 20 browser tabs. I cleaned + enriched all of it into one dataset — and now anyone can build on it. 🧰 Everything the API powers is also a polished web app: 🔍 Search & filter 6,800+ YC + a16z companies 🗺️ Interactive global map 🤖 AI company research 📊 Analytics + funding data 💼 Live hiring board (1,400+ companies hiring) 💡 Startup idea validator 🎁 Batch "Wrapped" shareables Would love your feedback - especially from anyone building tools for founders, investors, or the startup ecosystem. What would you build with this API?
  • [REDACTED]·40h ago2

    Is it free?

  • [REDACTED]·47h ago2

    Nice to see ExploreYC back. I remember trying the earlier version for startup/category research, and the API edition feels like the more powerful direction. YC + a16z in one open-source dataset is useful not just for browsing, but for actually building tools on top of it.

    The thing I would probably build first is a category research layer: search a market, see funded companies, batches, exits, hiring signals, geography, and similar companies in one place. Curious how you handle data freshness and corrections over time. if a company pivots, gets acquired, shuts down, or changes category, can the community help update the dataset?

  • [REDACTED]·7h ago1

    But this isn't authorized by YC, and you didn't license the right to use "YC" in the product name, did you?

  • [REDACTED]·14h ago1

    The hiring insights and batch analytics stand out since most YC directories focus on basic company search. How often is the underlying data refreshed, and do you surface historical changes so users can spot trends over time rather than just a snapshot?

  • [REDACTED]·24h ago1

    Really useful tool — love the simplicity of the UI.

    How are you planning to monetize this long term?

  • [REDACTED]·24h ago1

    Open-sourcing the API for YC and a16z data is an interesting positioning move, most tools in this space keep the data layer proprietary. Curious what the actual business model is if the API is free and open-source, does the web app and AI tools layer carry the monetization or is there something else going on?

  • [REDACTED]·25h ago1

    I like that you exposed the same dataset as an API instead of only a UI — the `source=yc|a16z|all` filter is the bit I'd probably reach for first. Curious if rate limits are per key only, or also per endpoint when people build public dashboards?

  • [REDACTED]·29h ago1

    going from web app to a real API is the right move, that was always going to be the limiting factor for anyone who wanted to build something on top of the data instead of just browsing it. adding a16z alongside YC is a nice bonus too, cross-referencing overlap between the two portfolios could surface some interesting patterns. how fresh is the data kept, is it a scheduled scrape or closer to real time when a company updates their info

  • [REDACTED]·30h ago1

    An open-source API across YC + a16z with a 30-second free key is exactly the data layer I would rather hit than scrape and babysit myself for founder/sourcing research. The one thing I would test first: how fresh is the funding/exit/hiring data, is it re-crawled on a schedule (and roughly how often), or is a chunk of it a static snapshot from launch that drifts over time? And what are the rate limits on the free key before I would need to self-host the open-source side?