Madrone YC Application

Spring 2026Active

Madrone went through Y Combinator in the Spring 2026 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: Spring 2026
Industry: IndustrialsEnergy
Team size: 2
Status: Active
Launched: 2026

Founders

Erik MeikeFounder
Akshay TrikhaFounder

What Madrone does

Madrone builds cooling systems for data centers. In Texas, where most new sites are, Madrone can cool using 30% less power and water, thanks to novel dew-point cooling technology.

Madrone's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Madrone, Spring 2026 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Madrone

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Maximizing compute via hyper-efficient cooling

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

We build cooling systems for data centers that reduce power and water usage. Our dew-point cooling technology cools servers more efficiently, especially in Texas where many new data centers are being built. It saves about 30% of the energy and water compared to current methods.

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

We live in Mountain View, CA, and after YC the company will remain based here.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Mountain View is where we live and have access to advanced hardware resources and customers in tech. Staying here helps us move quickly and maintain partnerships while building our hardware tech.

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 Madrone YC application?

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