Sponge YC Application
Sponge went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2026 batch as a B2B 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 2026
- Industry
- B2B
- Team size
- 3
- Status
- Active
- Launched
- 2026
Founders
Eric ZhangFounder
Jae ChoiFounder
Rishab LuthraFounder
What Sponge does
Sponge is the easiest way for agents to hold and spend money, and for businesses to sell directly to them. For agents: Sponge lets agents hold funds and transact autonomously with other agents and businesses using bank accounts, cards, and crypto. Agents can autonomously purchase services such as email, browser use, and premium data without human involvement. For businesses: Sponge makes it easy to onboard and accept payments from agents without human interaction. Businesses can sell their services directly to agents with a few clicks, no code changes required.
Sponge's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
Sponge, Winter 2026 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
Sponge
Financial infrastructure for the agent economy
We are building a platform for agents to hold and spend money autonomously via bank accounts, cards, and crypto. Our product lets agents transact directly with each other and with businesses, to purchase services like email, browser use, and premium data without manual approval. For businesses, we provide an easy way to onboard agents and accept payments with minimal integration, so they can sell directly to the agent economy.
We live in San Francisco, CA, and after YC we will base the company here as well.
San Francisco has the best access to talent, networks, and financial infrastructure that our product depends on. Being close to other fintech and B2B startups makes it easier to recruit and iterate quickly.
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 Sponge YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Sponge's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Sponge would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was Sponge in?
Sponge was part of the Y Combinator Winter 2026 batch.
Who founded Sponge?
Sponge was founded by Eric Zhang, Jae Choi, Rishab Luthra.
What does Sponge do?
Financial infrastructure for the agent economy
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of Sponge's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
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