Channel3 YC Application

Summer 2025Active

Channel3 went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2025 batch as a B2B 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: Summer 2025
Industry: B2BRetail
Team size: 5
Status: Active
Launched: 2025

Founders

Alexander SchiffFounder
George LawrenceFounder

What Channel3 does

Channel3 is building a database of every product on the internet. Google and OpenAI maintain vast product graphs, but keep that valuable data to themselves. Channel3 gives every developer access, opening a world of possibility for new shopping experiences across any vertical. For instance, developers could build AI fashion stylists or give their agents shopping capabilities. We don’t just collect product data; we actually understand it. With the latest image classification and reasoning models, we can match products across merchants - even when listings and images differ - recognize variants, and surface the perfect matches for every search. As we grow, we’ll capture unique insights into what users want, click, and buy. As AI models get smarter and cheaper, our flywheel accelerates: our catalog will improve, and it will be even easier for developers and vibe-coders to build on our infrastructure. To further incentivize building on Channel3, we provide built-in monetization; developers earn commissions on sales they drive. Alex discovered this need while building an AI tutor that could recommend products and earn affiliate revenue. When no solution existed, he persuaded his smartest friend from Duke and former co-founder George to leave Palantir and build Channel3 together.

Channel3's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Channel3, Summer 2025 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Channel3

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Database of every product on the internet

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

We're building a single database that contains every product listed on the internet. Unlike Google or OpenAI, who keep their product data private, we give developers full access so they can build new shopping experiences, like AI fashion stylists or shopping agents. We use advanced image classification and reasoning to match products across merchants, even when listings and pictures don't line up. Over time, we gather insights on user behavior to improve search and matching.

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

We live in New York, NY and will keep the company based there after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We built our network and team here, and New York has great access to retail partners and AI talent. Staying here keeps us close to both product and merchant communities we serve.

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 Channel3 YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Channel3's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Channel3 would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.