Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan has expressed his desire to reintroduce the accelerator’s Demo Day presentations as in-person events by the end of the year.
During Tan’s opening remarks at Wednesday’s YC summer cohort Demo Day, he mentioned that the current online presentations may be the last, with plans for an in-person element at the fall cohort Demo Day on December 4.
Demo Days serve as graduation events for startups completing the program, offering a platform to pitch their products to investors and the tech community. Tan stated that the in-person event will have limited seating, reserved for investors who have invested at least $50,000 in YC companies over the past two years.
Tan highlighted the value of the in-person event as an opportunity for networking and staying informed about the latest innovations in tech, emphasizing its importance for attending VCs.
The shift back to in-person Demo Days is a natural progression after the program and events went virtual in response to the pandemic. YC has been a key player in attracting startups to the Bay Area, hosting various in-person events for alumni and the startup community.
Y Combinator has expanded its startup cohorts to four per year, with the first fall cohort scheduled to begin on September 29 and plans for a spring program in 2025.
