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Y Combinator success rate: 43.1% of YC companies from 2005 to 2019 raised a Series A or exited

Updated 23 Oct 2026

43.1% of the 2,034 companies in Y Combinator's 2005 to 2019 batches raised a Series A or later, were acquired or went public. 32.2% are inactive by YC's own count and 3.5% carry Crunchbase's unicorn tag. Source: FundingWatcher, October 2026.

Value
43.1%
Unit
share of companies in Y Combinator's 2005 to 2019 batches that raised a Series A or later, were acquired or went public
Data as of
23 October 2026
Source
FundingWatcher, October 2026

Definition

Cohort
2,034 companies in Y Combinator's public directory with a batch from 2005 to 2019, including inactive and acquired ones
Success
raised a Series A or later, or YC lists the company as acquired or public
Series A or later
Crunchbase last round Series A to J, private equity or post-IPO
Inactive
YC's directory status Inactive
Unicorn
Crunchbase unicorn or exited unicorn tag
Where each Y Combinator batch year stands now, share of companiesAcquired or publicActive, Series A or laterInactiveActive, no Series AAcquired or public, 2005-09: 33%33%Active, Series A or later, 2005-09: 4%Inactive, 2005-09: 57%57%Active, no Series A, 2005-09: 7%2005-09Acquired or public, 2010: 51%51%Active, Series A or later, 2010: 2%Inactive, 2010: 38%38%Active, no Series A, 2010: 10%10%2010Acquired or public, 2011: 42%42%Active, Series A or later, 2011: 5%Inactive, 2011: 35%35%Active, no Series A, 2011: 18%18%2011Acquired or public, 2012: 34%34%Active, Series A or later, 2012: 5%Inactive, 2012: 44%44%Active, no Series A, 2012: 17%17%2012Acquired or public, 2013: 36%36%Active, Series A or later, 2013: 11%11%Inactive, 2013: 37%37%Active, no Series A, 2013: 16%16%2013Acquired or public, 2014: 38%38%Active, Series A or later, 2014: 10%10%Inactive, 2014: 30%30%Active, no Series A, 2014: 23%23%2014Acquired or public, 2015: 31%31%Active, Series A or later, 2015: 11%11%Inactive, 2015: 29%29%Active, no Series A, 2015: 28%28%2015Acquired or public, 2016: 21%21%Active, Series A or later, 2016: 17%17%Inactive, 2016: 34%34%Active, no Series A, 2016: 28%28%2016Acquired or public, 2017: 27%27%Active, Series A or later, 2017: 14%14%Inactive, 2017: 28%28%Active, no Series A, 2017: 31%31%2017Acquired or public, 2018: 19%19%Active, Series A or later, 2018: 21%21%Inactive, 2018: 25%25%Active, no Series A, 2018: 35%35%2018Acquired or public, 2019: 16%16%Active, Series A or later, 2019: 19%19%Inactive, 2019: 25%25%Active, no Series A, 2019: 40%40%2019Acquired or public, 2020: 18%18%Active, Series A or later, 2020: 19%19%Inactive, 2020: 24%24%Active, no Series A, 2020: 40%40%2020Acquired or public, 2021: 11%11%Active, Series A or later, 2021: 16%16%Inactive, 2021: 18%18%Active, no Series A, 2021: 55%55%2021Acquired or public, 2022: 8%8%Active, Series A or later, 2022: 9%9%Inactive, 2022: 14%14%Active, no Series A, 2022: 69%69%2022Acquired or public, 2023: 11%11%Active, Series A or later, 2023: 13%13%Inactive, 2023: 13%13%Active, no Series A, 2023: 64%64%2023Acquired or public, 2024: 4%Active, Series A or later, 2024: 6%Inactive, 2024: 6%Active, no Series A, 2024: 84%84%2024
Figure 1. Where each Y Combinator batch year stands now, share of companies. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026.

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Batches 2005 to 2019

OutcomeCompaniesShare95% interval
Raised a Series A or later, acquired or public87743.1%41.0 to 45.3
Raised a Series A or later47023.1%21.3 to 25.0
Acquired53626.4%24.5 to 28.3
Public221.1%0.7 to 1.6
Inactive65532.2%30.2 to 34.3
Unicorn tag723.5%2.8 to 4.4

Table 1. Y Combinator success rate, by batches 2005 to 2019. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026. Base: 2,034.

Batch year

Batch yearCompaniesSeries A or later, acquired or publicSeries A or laterAcquired or publicInactiveUnicorn tag
2005 to 200914337.1%12.6%32.9%56.6%2
20106354.0%15.9%50.8%38.1%2
201110546.7%11.4%41.9%35.2%6
201214941.6%22.8%33.6%43.6%7
20139850.0%25.5%35.7%36.7%4
201415249.3%19.7%37.5%29.6%7
201521444.4%22.4%31.3%29.4%10
201622443.3%28.6%21.4%33.9%14
201724143.2%22.8%27.0%28.2%8
201827743.3%29.6%19.1%24.9%9
201936837.8%25.0%16.3%24.7%3
202043839.0%23.7%17.6%24.0%4
202172627.5%16.9%11.3%18.3%0
202263117.6%9.5%8.4%13.8%0
202349423.9%13.0%11.1%12.6%0
20245909.5%5.8%3.7%6.3%0
All, 2005 to 20192,03443.1%23.1%27.4%32.2%72

Table 2. Y Combinator success rate, by batch year. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026. Base: 4,913.

Previous values

MonthData as ofValue

Table 3. Y Combinator success rate, value at each monthly update. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026.

Method: 6,322 companies in Y Combinator's public company directory, read 2026-10-21, joined to Crunchbase (read 2026-10-21) by website domain; 83.2% of the 2005 to 2019 companies matched. Acquired, public and inactive are YC's own status. A company with no Crunchbase match counts as not having raised a Series A. Acquisitions include small acquisitions and acqui-hires. Crunchbase's unicorn tag misses some companies valued at a billion dollars or more, so the unicorn count is a floor. Batches from 2020 on are shown for reference and left out of the totals because they are too young. Accelerator success rate. Startup failure rate. Full method.

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43.1% of the 2,034 companies in Y Combinator's 2005 to 2019 batches raised a Series A or later, were acquired or went public. 32.2% are inactive by YC's own count and 3.5% carry Crunchbase's unicorn tag. Source: FundingWatcher, October 2026.
https://fundingwatcher.com/data/y-combinator-success-rate/
<a href="https://fundingwatcher.com/data/y-combinator-success-rate/"><img src="https://fundingwatcher.com/static/figures/y-combinator-success-rate.png" alt="43.1% of the 2,034 companies in Y Combinator&#x27;s 2005 to 2019 batches raised a Series A or later, were acquired or went public. 32.2% are inactive by YC&#x27;s own count and 3.5% carry Crunchbase&#x27;s unicorn tag." width="1200" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://fundingwatcher.com/data/y-combinator-success-rate/">FundingWatcher</a>, October 2026</p>

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