YC’s Requests for Startups for Winter 2027 are out!
11 ideas from 6 partners. Put side by side, the numbers behind them show where the money goes once the models are good enough:
SpaceX expects 10,000 Starship launches a year
Large power transformers for data centers take three years to arrive
New connected robots need more than 65% American components to get approved in the US
YC estimates US cities would collect $16B more in tax every year if permits came 10x faster
What changed? The bottleneck moved. For two years the race was about who has the best model. YC now sees the limits in hardware, power, financing, government and who owns the model.
📚 In this playbook we go through all 11 requests, the YC startups already building in each one, the ideas still open and 6 Claude skills that test whether your idea holds up.
Inside you will find:
The Physical Buildout: How to Sell Into the Largest Capital Project in US History See where robots, data centers and their financing are stuck and who is already selling into each gap.
How to Sell AI to 19,000 City Halls and Every Benefits Office Find out why YC says its government AI companies are among its fastest growers and where to start.
Why Companies Will Own Their AI Models: Four Requests and the Startups Already Selling Them Learn why YC asked four times for models companies own, run inside their walls or tune to one field.
The $15-an-Hour Expert: How to Build a Services Company on Smart People Without Credentials See which jobs have a credential as their only bottleneck and how AI turns a generalist into a specialist.
Startups for 10,000 Starship Launches a Year: What Becomes Possible When Space Gets 100x Cheaper Test which business models start working at a new launch price.
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