Y Combinator vs Neo Residency
How Y Combinator and Neo Residency compare on investment, equity, format, stage and timing. Every figure comes from the programs' own sites, verified November 4, 2026.
| Y Combinator | Neo Residency | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | $500K | $750K |
| Equity | 7% | Not published |
| Deal terms | $500K: $125K post-money SAFE for 7% + $375K uncapped MFN SAFE; pro rata rights; no fees | $750K uncapped SAFE (students: $40K grant) |
| Format | In-person | In-person |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | San Francisco, United States |
| Stage | pre-seed, seed | pre-seed, seed |
| Sectors | general, ai, b2b saas | general, ai |
| Duration | 3 months | 3 months |
| Application cycle | 4 batches a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) | 2 cohorts a year |
Investment is the full standard package; where part of it is an uncapped SAFE, the equity stake covers only the fixed part (see deal terms). Terms change; confirm on each official site before applying.
About
Y Combinator
The largest and best-known startup accelerator, founded in 2005, which now runs four batches a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) in person at its San Francisco campus. It funds very early founders in any sector, increasingly AI companies, with the same standard deal for every company and no fees, and ends each batch with a Demo Day for investors.
Notable alumni: Airbnb, Stripe, DoorDash, Coinbase, Dropbox
About
Neo Residency
Neo, founded by Ali Partovi, runs the Neo Residency, a three-month program in San Francisco plus a two-week mountain bootcamp. It invests $750K per startup on an uncapped SAFE, so its ownership is set by the next priced round, and it runs a student track with $40K no-strings grants. Two cohorts a year are capped at about 20 teams.
Notable alumni: Moment, Anterior
Key differences
Y Combinator or Neo Residency?
- Does Y Combinator or Neo Residency invest more?
- Neo Residency invests more: $750K against $500K from Y Combinator.
More comparisons: Y Combinator vs Techstars · Y Combinator vs a16z speedrun · Y Combinator vs PearX · Y Combinator vs South Park Commons Founder Fellowship · Y Combinator vs Entrepreneur First · Y Combinator vs Antler · Y Combinator vs 500 Global · Y Combinator vs HF0 · Y Combinator vs Iterative · Neo Residency vs Z Fellows · All comparisons
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