Open Motors YC Application

Winter 2016Inactive

Open Motors went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2016 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: Winter 2016
Industry: IndustrialsAutomotive
Team size: 11
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2015

Founders

Tin Hang LiuFounder/CEO
Yuki LiuCo-founder/COO

What Open Motors does

Open Motors (formerly OSVehicle): open, modular, electric vehicle platforms allow new and existing car manufacturers to develop their own models saving up to two years of R&D and millions of dollars in investments. At the same time, it is a reference platform for mobility startups to embed and develop their technology on. Open Motors (formerly OSVehicle) is also developing “EDIT”, the first self-driving vehicle designed & engineered for services in white label, extremely modular & open. Fleets can last 10X more thanks to an easy repairability & upgradeability. For more info visit

Open Motors's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Open Motors, Winter 2016 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Open Motors

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Open modular electric vehicle platforms

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

We build open, modular electric vehicle platforms that let car makers create new models faster and cheaper by reusing our core vehicle chassis and software. We're also developing EDIT, a self-driving vehicle designed for fleets to be repaired and upgraded easily, lasting much longer than typical vehicles.

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

We live in Palo Alto, CA with parts of the team remote. After YC, the company will remain based in Palo Alto.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Palo Alto is central for automotive technology startups and for recruiting engineers in robotics and electric vehicles. We also have remote members to access global talent but keep headquarters here.

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 Open Motors YC application?

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