Machine Zone YC Application

Winter 2008Acquired

Machine Zone went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2008 batch as a Consumer 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 2008
Industry: ConsumerGaming
Team size: 501
Status: Acquired
Launched: 2012

Founders

Gabriel LeydonFounder/CEO
Halbert NakagawaFounder/CTO
Mike SherrillFounder

What Machine Zone does

Live data powers everything we do - from our global, multiplayer mobile games to our mobile ad buying to our live data ecosystem, Satori. MZ is creating new futures for people, enterprises, cities, and countries. The possibilities are endless.

Machine Zone's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Machine Zone, Winter 2008 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Machine Zone

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Pioneers of mobile social gaming

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

We build global multiplayer mobile games that connect millions of players in real-time. Our platform uses live data to power gameplay, ad buying, and an ecosystem called Satori that supports our games and external customers.

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

We live in Palo Alto, CA, and would keep the company based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Palo Alto puts us near other founders, investors, and the mobile gaming ecosystem. It's where the team lives and has access to necessary resources.

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 Machine Zone YC application?

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