Chestnut YC Application

Spring 2025Active

Chestnut went through Y Combinator in the Spring 2025 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: Spring 2025
Industry: FintechCredit and Lending
Team size: 2
Status: Active
Launched: 2025

Founders

Spencer BrownFounder

What Chestnut does

Chestnut is the first AI mortgage lender. We automate 99% of human work with AI agents, saving customers 0.5%+ in interest. This is Spencer's second mortgage startup; the first processes 2% of US mortgages annually. So far, Chestnut is licensed in Texas and Colorado where we power purchases, refinances, cash-outs, and more.

Chestnut's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Chestnut, Spring 2025 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Chestnut

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

The first AI mortgage lender

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

We built an AI-driven mortgage lender that automates 99% of the human work in providing mortgages. Our AI agents handle purchases, refinances, and cash-outs, allowing us to save customers at least 0.5% on interest compared to traditional lenders.

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

We are based in San Francisco, and the company will remain headquartered here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where we live and work, and it's the best place for access to talent, investors, and partners in fintech and real estate.

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 Chestnut YC application?

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