# YC is betting on robotics and physical AI startups > Source: > Published: 2026-08-19 11:59:32+00:00 Went through 208 startups from YC's Winter and Summer 2026 batches to see what they're actually funding this year. Robotics was the biggest surprise. There are 32 robotics/physical AI companies, exactly as many as AI infrastructure companies. A lot of them are working on pretty specific problems: autonomous factories, CNC machining, warehouse work, waste management, solar construction, nuclear inspection, etc. Some other numbers that stood out: 145 of the 208 companies are tagged AI. 24 are building developer/agent tools. A lot of these aren't really about helping you write code anymore. They're about managing, monitoring, and debugging coding agents. 23 are fintech, 19 healthcare/bio. Only 5 are consumer companies. Only 3 are crypto/Web3, despite YC explicitly asking for startups in both areas. The teams are tiny too. The median company has just 2 people, and 146 of the 208 have 3 people or fewer. And YC is still very SF: 148 of the 208 companies are based there. Comments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49360345](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49360345) Points: 1 # Comments: 1