Icarus YC Application
Icarus went through Y Combinator in the Fall 2025 batch as a Industrials 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
- Fall 2025
- Industry
- IndustrialsDefense
- Team size
- 29
- Status
- Active
- Launched
- 2025
Founders
Henry KwanFounder
What Icarus does
Always-on intelligence and connectivity for Defense. Icarus builds autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 feet for weeks at a time, above the clouds harnessing the power of the Sun, but never too close. It’s the modern-day U-2 spy plane, except each costs $100K and is built by the thousands. The future of warfare is in the Stratosphere.
Icarus's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
Icarus, Fall 2025 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
Icarus
Stratospheric birds for defense
We make autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 feet for weeks to provide persistent intelligence and connectivity for defense. Our planes operate above the clouds, harvesting solar energy to stay aloft for extended missions at a fraction of the cost of traditional spy planes.
We are based in Los Angeles, CA, and intend to stay here after YC.
Los Angeles has a strong aerospace ecosystem and talent pool, which is critical for building complex hardware like stratospheric drones. It also suits the defense focus of our products.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the real Icarus YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Icarus's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Icarus would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was Icarus in?
Icarus was part of the Y Combinator Fall 2025 batch.
Who founded Icarus?
Icarus was founded by Henry Kwan.
What does Icarus do?
Stratospheric birds for defense
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of Icarus's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
