Spellbrush YC Application

Winter 2018Active

Spellbrush went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2018 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 2018
Industry: ConsumerGaming
Team size: 30
Status: Active
Launched: 2022

Founders

Cory LiFounder
Ruwen LiuFounder
Haitao MaoFounder

What Spellbrush does

Here at Spellbrush, we're passionate about making a good anime game. We also happen to be the world's leading generative AI studio - we're the team behind niji・journey. We are currently investigating how AI can be used to help human artists perform masterpieces in the most complex medium of our times: video games. Our games are characterized by a no-compromise approach to well-balanced gameplay married to a truthful love of visual arts.

Spellbrush's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Spellbrush, Winter 2018 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Spellbrush

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Making Anime Real

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

We build anime games with a strong emphasis on using generative AI to help human artists create high-quality visuals and gameplay experiences. Our product combines deep learning tools, like those behind niji・journey, with traditional game design to produce games that look and feel like the best anime.

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

We live in San Francisco and plan to keep the company based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco has the talent we need for both AI research and game development. The Bay Area also connects us to a community of creators and investors aligned with our ambitions.

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 Spellbrush YC application?

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