This Week at YC

June 9th, 2024

Hey all —

Garry here, jumping in for Greg this week to open the newsletter.

A few weeks ago I went to DC as a voice for startups and little tech to speak with policymakers and leaders from both of the major parties. You can read all about why here, but the short version: the world is at a pivotal moment in the development of AI, and we can’t let the biggest companies be the only ones with a voice.

We need policy that promotes fair, open, and competitive markets. Policy that prioritizes open source AI models, fosters competition, and moves us forward with steps like the FTC’s recent decision to ban employee noncompetes. We need policies that can help little tech thrive and which make room for new entrants; this is how we make American innovation truly bloom.

Whether or not you care about politics, politics cares about you. The decisions being made in the weeks and months ahead will steer the future of tech and startups for decades, and the only way to have a voice is to speak up. Find more about our trip, and what we shared in our conversations, here.

- Garry Tan

📺 The Latest

💡 Lightcone: Better AI Models, Better Startups

There's been a lot of news lately about the updates to some of the largest foundational AI models. But what does this mean for startups? How will future product releases from the AI giants effect the companies built on top of them? The hosts of Lightcone discuss how founders can take advantage of these developments and avoid being steamrolled by the competition.

5 common mistakes teams make when building with LLMs

Humanloop has helped hundreds of companies make better AI products. This week on the YC Blog Greg spoke with Humanloop CEO and co-founder Raza Habib about some of the most common mistakes people make when building on top of LLMs.

🌎 YC Community

Highlights and news from around YC

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If you were interested in applying for YC S24 but thought it was too late— it’s not! We're still accepting last-minute applications.

Apply by June 13, and we’ll get back to you by June 20.