We analyze the phenomenon of founders from Y Combinator, the cradle of startups, concentrating on OpenAI and Anthropic, which offer high-performance AI models and massive computing credit benefits.
Imagine you’ve been accepted into Y Combinator, the “startup academy” of Silicon Valley, with dreams of changing the world with new technology. When you go to build your product, you need the smartest AI model in the world. Now, you don’t even have to think about it—you knock on the doors of OpenAI or Anthropic. Recently in Silicon Valley, these two companies have been sucking in founders like a massive black hole. Why on earth is this happening?
Why does this matter?
This phenomenon isn’t just about where founders are going; it means that the foundation of the AI services we use every day is becoming dependent on a select few models. Anthropic’s Jeff Bleich warned that AI would reshape democracy, the economy, and even national security. In other words, our digital future could be determined by which models startups choose.
In simple terms, why them?
Let’s compare this situation to “chefs choosing ingredients.” In the past, chefs (founders) had to go to the market themselves to find a variety of produce (AI models). Now, two high-quality, large-scale wholesale marts (OpenAI, Anthropic) have appeared.
Moreover, these marts offer chefs a proposal: “If you use our ingredients, we’ll pay for your gas and electricity (computing credits, the right to use resources needed for AI operations).” Anthropic’s startup program provides up to $100,000 in credits to early-stage companies. Startups accepted into Y Combinator in 2026 have been able to stack these benefits from multiple places, securing millions of dollars worth of computing resources in advance without spending a dime. It’s not easy to turn down such a temptation.
Technical reasons are also significant. Founders seek them out because of the sophistication of their models. In fact, as of December 2025, over 52% of the tools built by Y Combinator founders were powered by Anthropic’s Claude model.
Where do we stand now?
OpenAI and Anthropic are inseparable rivals and colleagues. An interesting fact is that Anthropic was founded by 7 former OpenAI employees who broke away over safety concerns and other issues. Despite this, about 90 investment firms are backing both companies. About 42% of OpenAI investors have also invested in Anthropic. Sam Altman is also a former president of Y Combinator, and both companies have very deep ties to the startup ecosystem.
What lies ahead?
Currently, it is a “buyer’s market” where the two giants are competitively pouring in funds to attract founders. However, as startups become more dependent on specific models, the risks startups face if model prices rise or policies change in the future may also increase. The race between the two companies toward an IPO will also be a major variable for founders. A key point to watch is whether startups will start a counterattack to escape this “giant model dependency” and build their own independent AIs.
MindTickleBytes AI Reporter’s View
The phenomenon of the startup ecosystem becoming dependent on two giant AI companies enhances the efficiency of technological innovation, but it is also something that should be watched carefully as it can narrow the range of choices. In the end, true innovation will come from founders who go beyond cooking comfortably on the shoulders of giants and discover entirely new ingredients.
References
- Sam Altman - Wikipedia
- Anthropic - Wikipedia
- Are YC founders building on the wrong side of the model layer? Here’s how we know.
- From a tense split to dueling IPOs: A timeline of Anthropic and OpenAI’s rivalry
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[OpenAI and Anthropic Pour Up to $800M a Year in Free Credits Into YC Startups MLQ News](https://mlq.ai/news/openai-and-anthropic-pour-up-to-800m-a-year-in-free-credits-into-yc-startups/) -
[Anthropic Co-founder: Building Claude Code, Lessons From GPT-3 & LLM System Design : YC Startup Library Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Mp-anthropic-co-founder-building-claude-code-lessons-from-gpt-3-llm-system-design) -
[Anthropic was founded by a group of 7 former OpenAI employees who left over diff… Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46253476) - WhereYCFoundersWent Next:OpenAIandAnthropic- Startups.RIP
- WhereareYCfoundersnow?OpenAIandAnthropic,mostly
- OpenAI.fm
- OpenAI’s Sam Altman Talks ChatGPT, AI Agents and… - YouTube
- OpenAIandAnthropicshare 90 VCs
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[OpenAI Research & Deployment](https://openai.com/) - Anthropic’s hiring pipeline in the last 2 monthsisABSURD A Nobel…
- OpenAI.fm
- Anthropic,OpenAI, Google respond to Albanese’s AI announcement
- OpenAIandAnthropicHave a New Rivalry: Who… - Business Insider
- Free stock for all founders
- Massive computing credit support
- Compulsory technology transfer requirements
- Approximately 25%
- Approximately 52%
- Approximately 80%
- The two companies share no investors at all
- There are about 90 investment firms shared by both companies
- All investors are the same