Sam Altman makes surprise offer to every Y Combinator startup

During a Y Combinator event Tuesday night, Sam Altman delivered what partner Tyler Bosmeny described as a “mic drop moment.” The OpenAI CEO offered $2 million worth of OpenAI tokens to every startup in the current cohort in exchange for equity.

Instead of investing cash, Altman promised that OpenAI would back the entire class with AI credits that founders can use to build their products. “I am excited to see what will happen with tokenmaxxing startups, both for how they work internally and the products they can build,” he posted on X.

According to Y Combinator’s directory, the current batch includes roughly 169 startups. The exact equity each startup will surrender remains unclear at signing. That figure depends on the company’s valuation at its first priced funding round , the point where investors assign a formal valuation.

Y Combinator managing director Jared Friedman told TechCrunch the deal will be structured as an “uncapped SAFE.” That means “it will convert in the next priced round, which is typically the Series A,” he explained. A SAFE is YC’s standard agreement for early-stage companies raising money before their first valuation-backed rounds. An uncapped SAFE removes the ceiling on that valuation, which benefits founders because a higher conversion price reduces the equity stake the investor receives.

Some chatter on X suggests that if a startup hits a $100 million valuation, OpenAI could end up with roughly 2% equity. Without seeing the actual terms, that figure remains unverified.

For OpenAI, the deal operates on two levels. First, it gains equity in this batch of early-stage companies, profiting if they succeed. Second, it encourages these startups to build their businesses on and with OpenAI. Even if the arrangement doesn’t lock them in permanently, it reduces the likelihood they’ll default to competitors like Anthropic’s Claude Code.

The tokens themselves could become increasingly attractive. As inference costs continue to drop, what OpenAI gives away today may cost very little to produce tomorrow, making the equity it receives in return look ever cheaper.

Unsurprisingly, opinions on X are divided about whether this is a smart move for startups.

Proponents argue the deal helps startups eliminate one of their biggest expenses , AI infrastructure bills. Those costs can spiral quickly and consume a disproportionate share of an early-stage startup’s budget at a time when cash is typically scarce.

Skeptics offer warnings. Seed investor Jason Calacanis, who runs a competing accelerator and fund, issued a be-afraid-of-Big-Tech caution. “If you take these tokens, there’s a non-zero chance that OpenAI will study exactly what your startup is doing, copy your idea and put your app into their free offering. This is the classic platform playbook , be careful, founders!” he posted.

The fear that OpenAI and Anthropic could swallow every good AI startup idea is real. The truth is, if OpenAI wanted to do that, it could, even when startups simply pay for tokens. By taking an equity stake, OpenAI may actually have more incentive for the startup’s success, not less.

Plus, as the former head of Y Combinator and a recurring guest speaker, Altman already has as much access to every cohort and its ideas as he wants, deal or not.

The bigger question for this YC batch is whether a budget of tokens from a single AI player is worth giving up additional equity. Y Combinator already takes a 7% stake for a $500,000 cash investment in its standard deal. In exchange, startups gain access to YC’s powerful Silicon Valley network of VCs, potential customers, and other founders.

But equity is also precious for startups. Seed investors frequently take 20% or so, and startups need equity to compensate early employees.

The greater risk is that a startup will blow through its OpenAI token budget without enough to show for it, having surrendered equity in the process. Still, that may be better than paying for the tokens with cash , an even scarcer resource at that stage.