# Y Combinator Companies Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/y-combinator-scraper`) Actor Extract company profiles from the Y Combinator startup directory. Covers 5,700+ funded startups across all YC batches. Returns name, website, one-liner, description, team size, location, industry, batch, stage, hiring status. Filter by batch, industry, region, or hiring status. - **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/y-combinator-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Social media - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Y Combinator Companies Scraper Scrape company profiles from the [Y Combinator startup directory](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies). Returns name, website, one-liner, description, team size, location, industry, batch, funding stage, hiring status, and more — covering 5,900+ funded startups from W05 to the latest cohort. --- ### Y Combinator Companies Scraper Features - Extracts all 5,900+ public YC companies in a few API calls — no pagination headache, no browser required - Filters by YC batch using shorthand (W21) or full names (Winter 2021), industry, region, or hiring status - Supports full-text search across company names, descriptions, and one-liners - Returns 20 structured fields per company: name, slug, website, description, team size, stage, tags, and more - Pure API scraping against YC's Algolia index — no proxies needed, no rendering overhead - Handles Algolia key rotation automatically by extracting the key fresh from YC on each run --- ### What Can You Do With YC Company Data? - **Lead generation teams** — Build prospecting lists of active YC companies hiring in your target industry, filtered by batch and region - **VC and angel investors** — Track new cohort companies by batch, industry, and funding stage to find deals before they're oversubscribed - **Researchers and journalists** — Analyze trends across YC batches: industry distribution, hiring velocity, company survival rates - **Startup founders** — Research competitors and peers funded by YC, identify potential customers or co-founders - **Recruiters** — Filter YC companies currently hiring to source engineering and design talent from founder-led teams - **Market intelligence tools** — Feed into competitive intelligence platforms that monitor the startup ecosystem --- ### How Y Combinator Companies Scraper Works 1. On each run, the scraper fetches the YC companies page and extracts the Algolia search key injected by YC's server — this keeps the actor working even as YC rotates keys. 2. It posts search requests to YC's Algolia index (`YCCompany_production`) with your filters applied, pulling up to 1,000 companies per page. 3. Each raw Algolia hit is transformed into a clean, typed record matching the output schema. 4. Records are saved to the Apify dataset. A full run without filters returns all 5,900+ companies in under a minute. --- ### Input ```json { "maxItems": 50, "query": "climate", "batch": "W24", "industry": "Climatetech", "region": "United States of America", "hiring_only": true } ```` | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | `maxItems` | integer | 10 | Maximum number of companies to return. Leave blank to return all matching companies. | | `query` | string | — | Full-text search query. Matches company names, one-liners, and descriptions. | | `batch` | string | — | Filter by YC batch. Accepts shorthand (W21, S22) or full name (Winter 2021, Summer 2022, Spring 2026). | | `industry` | string | — | Filter by industry. Examples: `Fintech`, `Healthcare`, `B2B`, `Consumer`, `Climatetech`. | | `region` | string | — | Filter by region. Examples: `United States of America`, `Europe`, `India`. | | `hiring_only` | boolean | false | When true, returns only companies currently listed as actively hiring. | *** ### Y Combinator Companies Scraper Output Fields ```json { "id": 271, "name": "Airbnb", "slug": "airbnb", "website": "http://airbnb.com", "one_liner": "Book accommodations around the world.", "long_description": "Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco...", "batch": "Winter 2009", "status": "Public", "stage": "Growth", "team_size": 6132, "industry": "Consumer", "subindustry": "Consumer -> Travel, Leisure and Tourism", "all_locations": "San Francisco, CA, USA", "regions": "[\"United States of America\",\"America / Canada\"]", "tags": "[\"Marketplace\",\"Travel\"]", "is_hiring": false, "top_company": true, "nonprofit": false, "small_logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/...", "ycombinator_url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/airbnb", "scraped_at": "2026-06-10T19:32:56.086Z" } ``` | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `id` | integer | YC internal company ID | | `name` | string | Company name | | `slug` | string | URL slug (e.g. `airbnb`) | | `website` | string | Company website URL | | `one_liner` | string | Short one-line description | | `long_description` | string | Full company description | | `batch` | string | YC batch (e.g. `Winter 2021`) | | `status` | string | Company status: Active, Acquired, Public, Inactive | | `stage` | string | Funding stage: Seed, Early, Growth | | `team_size` | integer | Number of employees | | `industry` | string | Primary industry category | | `subindustry` | string | Industry subcategory | | `all_locations` | string | Company location(s) | | `regions` | string | Geographic regions as JSON array string | | `tags` | string | Industry tags as JSON array string | | `is_hiring` | boolean | Whether the company is currently hiring | | `top_company` | boolean | YC top company designation | | `nonprofit` | boolean | Whether the company is a nonprofit | | `small_logo_url` | string | URL to company logo thumbnail | | `ycombinator_url` | string | Full URL to the YC company profile page | | `scraped_at` | string | ISO timestamp when the record was scraped | *** ### 🔍 FAQ #### How do I scrape all YC companies? Y Combinator Companies Scraper returns all public companies by default. Leave `maxItems` blank and run without filters — you get all 5,900+ companies in a single run. #### How much does Y Combinator Companies Scraper cost to run? Y Combinator Companies Scraper uses pay-per-event pricing at $0.001/company at GOLD+ tier. A full run of all 5,900+ companies costs about $6. Filtered runs cost proportionally less. #### Can I filter by YC batch? Y Combinator Companies Scraper accepts both shorthand and full names. `W21` normalizes to `Winter 2021`, `S22` to `Summer 2022`. Spring batches (introduced in 2026) use the full name: `Spring 2026`. #### Does Y Combinator Companies Scraper need proxies? No. YC's Algolia index is a public search API accessible from datacenter IPs. No proxies, no browser, no CAPTCHA. #### What data is included for each company? Y Combinator Companies Scraper returns 20 fields per company: name, website, description, team size, batch, industry, funding stage, hiring status, location, tags, and logo URL. Founder-level bios are not in the Algolia index. *** ### Need More Features? Need CSV export, founder contact details, or news mentions? [File an issue](https://console.apify.com/actors/issues) or get in touch. ### Why Use Y Combinator Companies Scraper? - **No proxy cost** — pure Algolia API, datacenter-accessible, fast and cheap - **Fresh credentials every run** — the Algolia key rotates; the scraper re-extracts it on each run so you never hit a stale-key failure six weeks after building your pipeline - **Batch shorthand support** — `W21` works. `Winter 2021` also works. You shouldn't have to look up the format to use a filter. # Actor input Schema ## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`): Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler. ## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`): Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements. ## `sp_contact` (type: `string`): Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of companies to return. Leave blank for all (~5,900+). ## `query` (type: `string`): Full-text search query (e.g. "fintech", "AI"). Leave blank for all companies. ## `batch` (type: `string`): Filter by YC batch (e.g. "W21", "S22", "Spring 2026"). Leave blank for all. ## `industry` (type: `string`): Filter by industry (e.g. "Fintech", "Healthcare", "B2B"). Leave blank for all. ## `region` (type: `string`): Filter by region (e.g. "United States of America", "Europe"). Leave blank for all. ## `hiring_only` (type: `boolean`): When true, return only companies currently hiring. ## Actor input object example ```json { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "maxItems": 10 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "maxItems": 10, "query": "", "batch": "", "industry": "", "region": "", "hiring_only": false }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/y-combinator-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "maxItems": 10, "query": "", "batch": "", "industry": "", "region": "", "hiring_only": False, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/y-combinator-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "maxItems": 10, "query": "", "batch": "", "industry": "", "region": "", "hiring_only": false }' | apify call jungle_synthesizer/y-combinator-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jungle_synthesizer/y-combinator-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Y Combinator Companies Scraper", "description": "Extract company profiles from the Y Combinator startup directory. Covers 5,700+ funded startups across all YC batches. Returns name, website, one-liner, description, team size, location, industry, batch, stage, hiring status. Filter by batch, industry, region, or hiring status.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "ulcSXcwG1wJnAnSfR" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~y-combinator-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jungle_synthesizer-y-combinator-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~y-combinator-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-jungle_synthesizer-y-combinator-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~y-combinator-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-jungle_synthesizer-y-combinator-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "sp_intended_usage": { "title": "What is the intended usage of this data?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler." }, "sp_improvement_suggestions": { "title": "How can we improve this crawler for you?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements." }, "sp_contact": { "title": "Contact Email", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of companies to return. Leave blank for all (~5,900+)." }, "query": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "Full-text search query (e.g. \"fintech\", \"AI\"). Leave blank for all companies." }, "batch": { "title": "YC Batch", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by YC batch (e.g. \"W21\", \"S22\", \"Spring 2026\"). Leave blank for all." }, "industry": { "title": "Industry", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by industry (e.g. \"Fintech\", \"Healthcare\", \"B2B\"). Leave blank for all." }, "region": { "title": "Region", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by region (e.g. \"United States of America\", \"Europe\"). Leave blank for all." }, "hiring_only": { "title": "Hiring Only", "type": "boolean", "description": "When true, return only companies currently hiring." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```