At Y Combinator’s Spring 2025 Demo Day on Wednesday, almost each presenting startup had one thing to do with AI — they’re both growing AI brokers or creating instruments to facilitate their growth.
Certainly, a number of founders appear to be taking a web page out of the playbook of a number of profitable AI startups: About half a dozen startups have been presenting variations of “Cursor for X.” For instance, Den is constructing a “Cursor for information employees,” and Vesence is on its option to make a “Cursor for attorneys.”
It wasn’t all solely about AI, although. We observed a number of startups are engaged on robotics, which appears to be having a little bit of a revival in the mean time.
Under are among the startups that caught each traders’ and our consideration.
Anvil
What it does: web optimization for LLMs
Why it’s a favorite: How folks seek for content material is altering, with of us utilizing numerous AI instruments like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to search out content material. Understandably, manufacturers must discover a option to enhance their visibility on these platforms. Anvil claims it helps manufacturers measure, optimize, and enhance their presence on these AI instruments.
Atum Works
What it does: Builds 3D chips
Why it’s a favorite: Transistors aren’t getting smaller as quick as they used to, so Atum’s founders suggest the perfect new option to put extra transistors on a chip, and subsequently enhance processing energy, is to stack them in three dimensions. Buyers instructed me that Atum’s imaginative and prescient is so revolutionary that the corporate has an opportunity to turn into the following Nvidia.
Auctor
What it does: Automates enterprise software program implementation
Why it’s a favorite: The startup says distinguished software program distributors like SAP, ServiceNow, AWS, and Field have already reached out to make use of Auctor’s answer themselves and doubtlessly for assist with integrating software program at buyer websites.
Cactus
What it does: AI copilot for solopreneurs
Why it’s a favorite: Cactus says individuals who run companies all by themselves are sometimes too busy to pursue new alternatives. The startup says its AI bot can take off among the load by answering calls and accepting funds in your behalf.
Den
What it does: Cursor for enterprise information employees
Why it’s a favorite: Buyers instructed me this is without doubt one of the hottest corporations within the batch. Den guarantees its AI brokers can exchange Slack and Notion, enabling an organization’s staff to work together and share info with software program tailor-made to every enterprise’s particular wants.
Eloquent AI
What it does: Automates buyer operations with AI
Why it’s a favorite: Eloquent says its AI bots can assist clients of economic companies corporations do issues like robotically unfreeze financial institution accounts or add drivers to automotive insurance coverage insurance policies. In different phrases, Eloquent guarantees an finish to lengthy waits for human customer support. The startup claims monetary corporations can deploy its AI close to immediately while not having to contain inner engineering groups. Eloquent has already raised “a big seed spherical,” Tugce Bulut, the startup’s co-founder and CEO mentioned on the TBPN podcast.
LLM Knowledge Firm
What it does: Tooling for analysis and reinforcement studying
Why it’s a favorite: Evaluating all the brand new AI instruments for high quality is snowballing into a giant, troublesome drawback. LLM Knowledge Firm says it might assist with its personal LLMs that may consider the standard of an AI agent, and it’s already working with clients, together with Perplexity.
Scalar Discipline
What it does: AI-powered Bloomberg terminal
Why it’s a favorite: “Terminals are dashboards and never considering instruments,” says Amandeep Singh, co-founder of Scalar Discipline. Whereas the startup’s AI brokers received’t “suppose” for you, it claims they’ll manipulate monetary knowledge with extra flexibility than present monetary instruments.
Sygaldry
What it does: Quantum accelerated AI servers to hurry up AI coaching and inference
Why it’s a favorite: Whereas a totally functioning quantum laptop should still be years away, the business has been making progress. What caught my eye about Sygaldry is that its co-founder and CEO is Chad Rigetti, who based and took his firm public by way of a SPAC in 2021.
Vybe
What it does: Vibe coding to construct purposes
Why it’s a favorite: Buyers who noticed a demo of Vybe constructing apps instructed me that it might create all kinds of cool instruments. One particular person I talked to even known as it a “clear winner” of the batch.
