Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator held the second Demo Day for its Summer 2024 cohort on Thursday, and just like we saw on Day 1, AI remains the

9 startups that stood out on YC Demo Day 2

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2024-09-28 06:00:04

Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator held the second Demo Day for its Summer 2024 cohort on Thursday, and just like we saw on Day 1, AI remains the focus of most startups in this cohort.

However, we did also find a few interesting startups that are working on cool tech like drones that can’t be jammed, carpooling for freight, and weather prediction.

Why it’s a fave: I was intrigued when Entangl said it has talked to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy about automating data center verification. The fact that the startup already has deals with AWS and Vodafone is a big plus.

Why it’s a fave: One of the problems with AI is that it consumes a ton of energy. Early tests of Exa’s chips show that they are nearly 28 times more efficient than Nvidia’s H100s. What’s better, these chips can adapt to different models — you just need to configure them with software. Exa hopes to have them ready for usage by early 2025.

Why it’s a fave: Keytruda and other autoimmune drugs have been a game-changer for many cancer patients, but there’s still a long way to go. Kopra Bio is working on a drug that could change that. In early tests on animals, most were still alive after 250 days, while animals on an FDA-approved drug died in just 50 days. If the drug works the same way in humans, it could be a huge breakthrough for survival.