Y Combinator, a startup accelerator, has said it will invest in stablecoin-oriented startups, among others, in 2024.
The accelerator disclosed this as it released a new list, tagged ‘Request for Startups,’ of twenty categories it would be funding.
“We would like to fund great teams building B2B and consumer products on top of stablecoins, tools and platforms that enable stablecoin finance and more stablecoin protocols themselves,” the accelerator said.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to address the issue of volatility among traditional cryptocurrencies. The preference for stablecoins hinges on the fact that they are tied to the dollar’s value, which protects against inflation and eliminates the fear of volatility seen with other digital assets.
According to the accelerator, stablecoins will play a big role in the future of money.
“There’s been much debate about the utility of blockchain technology, but it seems clear that stablecoins will be a big part of the future of money. We know this because YC companies have been effectively incorporating stablecoins into their operations for years now – for cross-border payments, to reduce transaction fees and fraud, and to help users protect savings from hyperinflation. This utility is so straightforward it seems inevitable traditional finance will follow suit,” the accelerator continued.
Other categories Y Combinator will be funding include those applying machine learning to robotics, using machine learning to stimulate the physical world, new defence technology, bringing manufacturing back to America, new space companies, and climate tech.
Commercial open-source companies, spatial computing, new enterprise resource planning software, developer tools inspired by existing internal tools, explainable Artificial Intelligence, LLMs for manual back office processes in legacy enterprises, and AI to build enterprise software, among others.
The firm noted that its list is not all-encompassing, as new ideas are welcome for submission.
“These are by no means the only ideas we’ll accept — many of the best ideas are the ones we would never expect — but if you aren’t sure what you want to work on, these RFSs should provide a useful jumping-off point to begin your ideation process,” it added.
