# Y Combinator Companies Scraper (Startup Leads) (`scrapers_lat/ycombinator-companies-scraper`) Actor

Scrape the Y Combinator startup directory with company name, website, one-liner, batch, status, industry, subindustry, tags, team size, location and public profile link. Filter by keyword, batch or industry. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapers\_lat/ycombinator-companies-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Scrapers Lat](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $17.00 / 1,000 results

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 web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 (Startup Leads)

> Turn the Y Combinator startup directory into a clean, structured lead list. Get each company's website, one-liner, batch, status, industry, team size, public profile link, the founder roster (name, title, bio, LinkedIn and X/Twitter) and the company's LinkedIn, X/Twitter, GitHub, Facebook and Crunchbase, year founded and YC group partner. Filter by keyword, batch or industry and export ready for sales, sourcing and market research.

![Apify](https://img.shields.io/badge/Platform-Apify-1CE1CE?logo=apify\&logoColor=white)
![Startup leads](https://img.shields.io/badge/Data-Startup%20leads-blue)
![Output](https://img.shields.io/badge/Output-JSON%20%7C%20CSV%20%7C%20Excel-orange)

<table><tr>
<td align="center"><strong>Founders + LinkedIn</strong><br>name, title, bio, socials</td>
<td align="center"><strong>Website, batch, industry</strong><br>status, team size, socials</td>
<td align="center"><strong>JSON / CSV / Excel</strong><br>output formats</td>
</tr></table>

<br>

### Who is it for

| Use case | Who benefits |
|---|---|
| Sales and lead generation | Teams selling to funded startups who need websites and firmographics |
| Sourcing and recruiting | Investors and recruiters mapping companies by batch and industry |
| Market research | Analysts building sector maps of the YC portfolio |
| Data enrichment | Builders adding startup profiles to their own products |

### How to use it

1. Enter a **search keyword** (for example `AI`, `fintech`, `devtools`), or leave it empty to list every company.
2. Optionally add a **batch** filter (`W21` or `Winter 2021`) and an **industry** filter (`B2B`, `Fintech`, `Healthcare`).
3. Set **Max Items** and run. Export as JSON, CSV or Excel, or pull it through the Apify API.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Can I get only one batch?**
Yes. Use the batch filter with a short code like `W21` or a full label like `Winter 2021`. Both formats work.

**How do I filter by sector?**
Add an industry such as `B2B`, `Fintech`, `Healthcare`, `Consumer` or `Industrials`. Combine it with a keyword or batch to narrow further.

**Does every company have a website?**
Most active companies do, and it is captured in the **website** field. A few very early or inactive companies may not list one, in which case the field is null.

**Do I get the founders and their LinkedIn?**
Yes. Each record includes the founder roster with name, title, bio and their LinkedIn and X/Twitter when public, plus the company's own LinkedIn, X/Twitter, GitHub, Facebook and Crunchbase links, year founded and YC group partner. Turn the **Include founders & social profiles** toggle off for a faster, directory-only run.

**How fresh is the data?**
The directory is read live at run time, so each record reflects the company's public profile at the moment of the run (see observedAt).

### Export, API and AI agents (x402 + MCP)

Export the scraped data to **JSON, CSV or Excel**, pull it as a **dataset** through the Apify **API**, or wire it into your app with **no code**. This web scraper and data extractor also works for bulk data extraction and scheduled runs.

For AI agents: this Actor is available on **x402**, Apify's agentic payment standard built with Coinbase. An AI agent can discover, pay for and run it on its own with a funded wallet and a single HTTP request: no account, no subscription, no API key and no human in the loop. It also runs as an **MCP** tool inside Claude, Cursor and other AI clients out of the box. Learn more about [x402 agentic payments on Apify](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/x402).

### Related scrapers

- [Crunchbase Companies Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crunchbase-companies-scraper)
- [Polymarket Prediction Markets & Odds Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/polymarket-markets-scraper)
- [Yahoo Finance Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/yahoo-finance-scraper)

### More scrapers at scrapers.lat

This actor is built and maintained by [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat), where we publish scrapers for public platforms: finance, news, real estate, jobs, e-commerce and government data. Browse the full catalog or ask us for a custom scraper at [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat).

***

> This actor is an independent tool and has no affiliation with Y Combinator. It only accesses publicly available directory data. Use the results in accordance with the source's terms.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxCompanies` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of Y Combinator companies to collect. Optional.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Optional. Keyword to search across company names, one-liners and descriptions (for example 'AI', 'fintech', 'developer tools'). Leave empty to list every company.

## `batch` (type: `string`):

Optional. Keep only companies from one YC batch. Accepts a short code like 'W21' or 'S22', or a full label like 'Winter 2021' or 'Spring 2024'.

## `industry` (type: `string`):

Optional. Keep only companies in one industry (for example 'B2B', 'Fintech', 'Healthcare', 'Consumer', 'Education', 'Industrials').

## `includeFounders` (type: `boolean`):

On by default. For each company, also collect the founder roster (name, title, bio, LinkedIn and X/Twitter) plus the company's LinkedIn, X/Twitter, GitHub, Facebook and Crunchbase links, year founded and YC group partner. Turn off for a faster, directory-only run.

## `enrichContacts` (type: `boolean`):

Optional paid add-on, off by default. For each result without an email, attempt to find a public business contact email and a contact person's name. Billed per attempt, plus an extra charge only when an email is found.

## `enrichContactsMax` (type: `integer`):

Cap how many results the add-on tries to enrich, to control add-on cost. Leave empty to attempt all. Free Apify accounts are capped at 3.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxCompanies": 10,
  "searchQuery": "AI",
  "includeFounders": true,
  "enrichContacts": false,
  "enrichContactsMax": 50
}
```

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxCompanies": 10,
    "searchQuery": "AI"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapers_lat/ycombinator-companies-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxCompanies": 10,
    "searchQuery": "AI",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapers_lat/ycombinator-companies-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 '{
  "maxCompanies": 10,
  "searchQuery": "AI"
}' |
apify call scrapers_lat/ycombinator-companies-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapers_lat/ycombinator-companies-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/aqrFCKyNUPCiT1zFt/builds/ydMNJN40dHX6xu8tN/openapi.json