When Is the Next YC Batch? W27 Dates and Deadline

When Is the Next YC Batch? Winter 2027 Dates and Deadline

The next YC batch is Winter 2027 (W27). The on-time application deadline is November 2, 2026 at 8pm PT, on-time applicants get a decision by December 11, interviews run by video in November and December, and the batch runs January to March 2027 in San Francisco. Verified against ycombinator.com/apply on September 25, 2026. YC now runs four batches a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), each admitting roughly 150 to 200 companies from over 10,000 applications, an acceptance rate around 1 percent. We analyzed 5,900+ YC companies from the public directory to show how batch sizes, industries, and geography shifted, and you can compare YC with every other program in the SF accelerator directory.

Most articles about YC batches still describe the old two-batch system. The four-batch switch changed the math founders should plan around.

How Many Batches Does YC Have Per Year?

YC runs four batches per year as of 2026 (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), replacing the old two-batch Winter/Summer system it used through 2024. Each runs in person in San Francisco for three months. Here is the 2026 calendar:

The mechanics that matter:

• On-time Winter 2027 applicants hear back by December 11; interviews run by video in November and December.
• Late applications are still read, without a promised response date.
• Early Decision lets you apply now for Spring, Summer, or Fall 2027 and get an answer months ahead.
• Funding lands at acceptance, not batch start: the $500K standard deal (detailed in our YC equity guide) is committed the day you get in.
• Every batch runs in person in San Francisco, with a 3-day kickoff and weekly small-group dinners.

How Many Companies Does YC Accept Per Batch?

YC accepts roughly 150 to 200 companies per batch in 2026: Winter 2026 had 199 and Spring 2026 had 193 in the public directory, down from the peak of 398 in Winter 2022. Across four batches a year, that is about 600 to 800 companies annually. From our analysis of the YC public directory:

Three shifts founders should read from that table:

• The ZIRP-era mega-batches are gone. YC peaked at 398 companies in Winter 2022, then deliberately shrank cohorts by roughly half.
• Four smaller batches replaced two big ones. The 2025 batches totaled about 626 companies across four cohorts, comparable annual intake to the old system, but each cohort is smaller, which YC frames as more partner attention per company.
• 2026 cohorts are growing again: Winter (199) and Spring (193) both outsized every 2025 batch, a mild expansion signal for applicants.

What Is the YC Acceptance Rate in 2026?

The YC acceptance rate in 2026 is roughly 1 percent, ranging from about 0.6 to 2 percent depending on the batch and application volume. Here is the honest breakdown:

• YC's own investor page states over 10,000 companies apply every 3 months with roughly a 1 percent acceptance rate.
• Third-party analyses put recent batches between 0.6 and 2 percent depending on application volume, with Summer 2025 reported as the most selective on record.
• The four-batch cadence is the founder-friendly part: a rejection now costs you three months, not six, and YC states that rejected teams reapplying with progress get accepted very often.

What moves the odds is not application polish but demonstrated momentum: launched products with real usage convert to interviews at multiples of idea-stage rates. Our application guide covers the form itself and the interview guide the ten minutes that follow.

What the Recent Batches Look Like Inside

Recent YC batches are roughly two-thirds B2B, over 80 percent US-headquartered, and about 13 percent Industrials, based on the Winter 2026 (199 companies) and Spring 2026 (193 companies) cohorts in our dataset:

• B2B dominates: 129 of 199 Winter 2026 companies (65 percent) and 118 of 193 in Spring 2026 (61 percent) are B2B, with Industrials the clear second at about 13 percent, reflecting the hard tech pivot YC signaled in its Requests for Startups.
• Fintech and Healthcare hold steady at 8 to 9 percent each; pure Consumer is down to single digits.
• Geography concentrated further: over 80 percent of recent-batch companies list a US headquarters, with the UK the largest international contingent. International founders still get in every batch, but they overwhelmingly incorporate in the US (YC invests in US, Canada, Cayman, and Singapore entities).
• The AI density inside those B2B numbers is covered in our W26 batch themes analysis.

Planning Around the Calendar: Where Round Funded Fits

Four batches a year means a YC decision is never more than a quarter away, which makes the correct strategy parallel, not sequential: apply on the calendar, and run your raise continuously underneath it.

Round Funded is the continuous track: a database of 60,000+ active investors filterable by stage and sector, AI-drafted personalized outreach from your own Gmail, and reply tracking. If YC accepts you, warm investors compound with Demo Day. If not, the raise never depended on it.

The batch data in this article comes from Round Funded's own YC Insights: all 5,900+ Y Combinator companies browsable by batch, industry, and geography, each with application-style answers and founder profiles, including reconstructed applications for Airbnb, Dropbox, Coinbase, and Reddit. Applicants use it as a cheat sheet before writing their own form.

Browse accelerators and 60,000+ investors on Round Funded →

How to Plan Your YC Cycle: Step by Step

1. Map your program options in the Round Funded directory: YC's calendar is fixed, but Antler, Techstars, and vertical accelerators run their own cycles you can interleave.
2. Pick your batch by readiness, not urgency. Applying one batch later with a launched product beats applying now with a deck; momentum is the strongest acceptance predictor.
3. Submit on time (November 2, 8pm PT for Winter 2027): on-time applications get a guaranteed decision date, late ones do not.
4. Use the 4 to 8 week decision window to ship, because YC's own guidance says progress between application and interview is the best preparation that exists.
5. Run investor outreach in parallel through Round Funded: 50 to 100 stage-matched contacts, so the quarter is never wasted whatever YC decides.
6. If rejected, book the next batch immediately and read the rejection playbook: with four cycles a year, reapplying with progress is a strategy, not a consolation.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the next YC batch?

The next YC batch is Winter 2027, running January to March 2027 in San Francisco. The on-time application deadline is November 2, 2026 at 8pm PT, decisions arrive by December 11, and YC funds the $500K deal at acceptance. Compare YC with the other programs in the SF accelerator directory before you commit a quarter to it.

When is the next YC deadline?

November 2, 2026 at 8pm PT, for Winter 2027. On-time applicants receive decisions by December 11, with video interviews in November and December, and the batch runs January to March in San Francisco. Late applications are considered without a promised timeline. See the application guide for the form itself.

How many batches does YC run per year?

Four since late 2024: Winter (January to March), Spring (April to June), Summer (July to September), and Fall (October to December), all in person in San Francisco. The old system ran only Winter and Summer, which is why much published advice about YC timing is outdated.

When does the YC winter batch start?

The YC winter batch starts in January and runs through March, in person in San Francisco, opening with a 3-day kickoff. For Winter 2027 that means a January 2027 start, with video interviews in November and December 2026 and decisions by December 11. Funding does not wait for the start date: it lands at acceptance.

When does the YC fall batch start?

The YC fall batch starts in October and runs through December in San Francisco. Fall 2026 applications closed in July, so the next open window is Winter 2027 (deadline November 2). Founders who want a fall start can use YC's Early Decision track to apply for Fall 2027 months ahead of its own deadline.

How many companies are in a YC batch?

Recent batches admit 150 to 200 companies: Winter 2026 had 199 and Spring 2026 had 193 in the public directory, versus the peak of 398 in Winter 2022. YC deliberately shrank cohorts when it moved to four batches a year. Browse every cohort company by company in YC Startups.

What is the YC acceptance rate in 2026?

Roughly 1 percent, with third-party estimates for recent batches spanning 0.6 to 2 percent depending on application volume. YC itself cites over 10,000 applications per batch and about a 1 percent admit rate. Launched companies with real usage convert at several times the rate of idea-stage applications. The stage-by-stage funnel is in our acceptance rate breakdown.

Does YC fund companies before the batch starts?

Yes. The $500K standard deal is committed the day a company is accepted, with no milestones, and paperwork starts immediately. Founders routinely use it to go full-time weeks before the batch begins, and the check is the same size for every batch. Full mechanics in the YC equity guide.

Should I wait for the next batch or raise now?

Do both. A batch decision is 4 to 8 weeks; a seed raise is 3 to 6 months, so waiting serializes what should run in parallel. Build the investor pipeline in Round Funded now, and let YC be an accelerant rather than a dependency.

Final Word

The four-batch calendar changed YC planning: smaller cohorts, quarterly deadlines, decisions in weeks, and funding on acceptance. Apply when your momentum is real, treat November 2 as the next gate, and keep the raise running underneath, because roughly 99 percent of applicants will need the direct path anyway.

Compare accelerators and start your raise on Round Funded →

Four gates a year, one percent through each. Build the path that does not need a gate. Raise on Round Funded.