Axis YC Application

Winter 2026Active

Axis went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2026 batch as a Fintech company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2026
Industry: Fintech
Team size: 2
Status: Active
Launched: 2026

Founders

Ian Wang
Eric Zhu

What Axis does

Axis is building an AI Native Trading System, allowing a trader to deploy models that monitor and analyze relevant markets and strategies. We've chosen commodities as our first market. Commodities make up a third of global goods exports, and physical commodities traders decide the movement and storage of metals, agricultural products, and energy across the globe. They trade in public markets and bilateral OTC agreements. Engaging in these markets is complexing, covering derivatives positioning, refinery data, storage inventory, import/exports, geopolitical events and more. Axis is building an AI driven analytical layer for these markets.

Axis's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Axis, Winter 2026 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Axis

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

An AI Copilot for Trading Desks

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We're building an AI Native Trading System that lets traders deploy models to monitor and analyze commodity markets and trading strategies. It gives a layer of AI-driven analysis across complex inputs like derivatives, refinery data, storage inventories, imports/exports, and geopolitical events. Our first market focus is physical commodities trading, where decisions are high stakes and data is scattered and complex.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live in San Francisco, CA, and the company will be based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco has the technical talent and investor network we need. Being here also keeps us close to fintech and commodity trading hubs and partners as we grow.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Axis YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Axis's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Axis would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.