I think this is actually a perfect example of YC finding its way again! They found a team they believed in, said, "Go build" and let them run. Then they dropped what they were doing and did something else. That's exactly how YC should be, and used to be.
My complaint with YC lately is the exact opposite -- they keep investing in companies that have product market fit and profits. Those are great derisked investments, but not at all what YC used to do, which was investing in people, sometimes without any company at all.
They've done a good job of moving back towards those types of investments, but Demo Day is still filled with, "Hi, we're the top experts in our field and we started a company a few years ago and have $1MM+ ARR and are profitable but we want investment to grow faster". And a lot of those companies look like they'll settle into a nice low 9-figure valuation, which is great for the company and YC, but boring for someone looking for the moonshots YC used to be known for.
My complaint with YC lately is the exact opposite -- they keep investing in companies that have product market fit and profits. Those are great derisked investments, but not at all what YC used to do, which was investing in people, sometimes without any company at all.
They've done a good job of moving back towards those types of investments, but Demo Day is still filled with, "Hi, we're the top experts in our field and we started a company a few years ago and have $1MM+ ARR and are profitable but we want investment to grow faster". And a lot of those companies look like they'll settle into a nice low 9-figure valuation, which is great for the company and YC, but boring for someone looking for the moonshots YC used to be known for.