Y Combinator (YC) has just released its latest Request for Startups (RFS), outlining the types of companies it is most interested in funding for 2025.
The message is clear:
AI is no longer a productivity booster; it’s becoming the worker. Companies are actively looking for AI-powered replacements for expensive, repetitive, and high-value job functions. The best AI startups in 2025 will fully automate workflows that businesses currently spend millions on.
The formula is simple: find a well-defined, high-cost job function and automate it with AI.
Below is a list of the most promising areas according to YC:
1.) AI-First Workflows (Not Just Assistants)
1.) Vertical AI Agents pic.twitter.com/VqnHKYvSIM
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 9, 2025
The era of AI assistants is over. Businesses don’t want tools that ‘help’ humans – they want fully-automated workflows that replace them.
Focus on:
- Legal & Compliance Automation – Automate contract analysis, policy enforcement, and auditing.
- Financial Reporting & Tax AI – Remove accountants from the equation.
- Medical Billing & Claims Processing – AI can eliminate billing errors and speed up approvals.
- HR & Recruiting Automation – Resume screening, compliance checks, and candidate matching with no human involvement.
The key is full-stack automation, not just incremental improvements.
2.) The AI Operating System
2.) AI App store pic.twitter.com/G1F3mowX1c
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 9, 2025
Right now, AI tools are scattered and disconnected. There’s an opportunity to build the ‘Windows’ or ‘iOS’ of AI applications – a centralized hub that:
- Manages AI agents and their workflows
- Handles shared memory and knowledge transfer between models
- Provides an App Store-like distribution for AI-powered applications
Whoever solves AI interoperability and efficiency will dominate the space, says YC.
3.) AI-Powered Developer Tools
3.) Devtools for AI Agents pic.twitter.com/uDbvPf7sDs
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 9, 2025
AI engineers are already managing teams of AI agents. There’s a massive opportunity to build:
- AI DevOps Tools – Solutions for debugging, testing, and monitoring AI models.
- Agent Collaboration Platforms – AI teams need tools to coordinate multiple AI workers efficiently.
- Data Pipelines & AI Training Infrastructure – Optimizing how data is fed into AI systems will be crucial for scaling models.
The winners will be the ones that make AI easier, faster, and more reliable for developers.
4.) B2A (Business-to-Agent) Infrastructure
4.) Business-to-Agents (AI) Software pic.twitter.com/6OLWMghxQK
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 9, 2025
AI isn’t just for end-users anymore. Businesses will increasingly interact with AI agents instead of humans. This means a new category of infrastructure is needed:
- APIs that let businesses plug into AI agents
- Enterprise-grade AI orchestration tools
- Agent-to-agent communication protocols
The companies that build the plumbing for AI will be just as valuable as those building the AI itself.
YC’s latest RFS makes it clear: AI is transforming the workforce faster than ever. The best startups in 2025 will either replace $100K jobs entirely or enable AI adoption at scale. Entrepreneurs who understand this shift – and build the right solutions – will lead the next generation of billion-dollar companies.
If you’re working on an AI startup that fits these themes, now is the time to apply to Y Combinator. The future of work is AI-driven, and YC wants to fund the companies shaping that future.
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