Delve removed from Y Combinator • Hacker News Board

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#101

Post by minimaxir » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 5:59 AM UTC

GaryBluto wrote: post #13

carabiner wrote: post #7

Bye-bye tweet from founder: https://x.com/kocalars/status/2040262537166618887 Notably YC hasn't wished them a farewell.

> striving to make the world a better place. Why do all start-ups say this? I don't think there are many companies publicly saying "We're going to go 'scorched earth' on everybody."

It was a meme over a decade ago so prevalent that HBO's Silicon Valley did a joke about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8C5sjjhsso

Saying it in 2026 just makes it sound more insincere than usual.

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#102

Post by JasonHEIN » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:02 AM UTC

maxbond wrote: post #34

I'm getting the impression that a lot of people in this thread think this is because they violated an open-source license and saying things to the effect of, "they're just the ones who got caught". I also thought that was the scandal initially. (And when it comes to license violations, yes, there's absolutely more where that came from.) But that's just the cherry on top. I don't think they're being thrown out because…

lol strongly agree it is just cherry on top. In big tech they also copy but just copy in a smart way so I don't believe that's the reason they got removed.

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#103

Post by johnwheeler » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:07 AM UTC

maxbond wrote: post #34

I'm getting the impression that a lot of people in this thread think this is because they violated an open-source license and saying things to the effect of, "they're just the ones who got caught". I also thought that was the scandal initially. (And when it comes to license violations, yes, there's absolutely more where that came from.) But that's just the cherry on top. I don't think they're being thrown out because…

[flagged]

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#104

Post by neya » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:11 AM UTC

wahnfrieden wrote: post #90

kstrauser wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I know nothing about this other than what I've read here, but my first guess was the breakdown in trust means the allegations of fake audits.

It is very clearly the fake audits.

Hi, sorry, just new to this entire story, could you please share light on the fake audits? Trying to understand what exactly happened.

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#105

Post by bombcar » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:13 AM UTC

johnwheeler wrote: post #103

maxbond wrote: post #34

I'm getting the impression that a lot of people in this thread think this is because they violated an open-source license and saying things to the effect of, "they're just the ones who got caught". I also thought that was the scandal initially. (And when it comes to license violations, yes, there's absolutely more where that came from.) But that's just the cherry on top. I don't think they're being thrown out because…

[flagged]

It looks like a form of covering their ass - they basically (explicitly?) say they've been violating the law and it's Delve's fault.

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#106

Post by bombcar » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:14 AM UTC

neya wrote: post #104

wahnfrieden wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is very clearly the fake audits.

Hi, sorry, just new to this entire story, could you please share light on the fake audits? Trying to understand what exactly happened.

https://deepdelver.substack.com/p/delve-fake-compliance-as-a...

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#107

Post by throwaway27448 » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:14 AM UTC

fontain wrote: post #98

maxbond wrote: post #34

I'm getting the impression that a lot of people in this thread think this is because they violated an open-source license and saying things to the effect of, "they're just the ones who got caught". I also thought that was the scandal initially. (And when it comes to license violations, yes, there's absolutely more where that came from.) But that's just the cherry on top. I don't think they're being thrown out because…

YC has no problem with morally questionable behavior, many YC startups do things that are just as shady. YC is, ultimately, not responsible for what these startups choose to do. Delve’s problem is that they betrayed so many other YC companies in the process. An important value of being in YC is access to a ready-made customer base. The licensing issue is nothing compared to their fake audits but it is an affront to t…

> YC is, ultimately, not responsible for what these startups choose to do.

Of course they're responsible for their investments; they're just not liable. YC has a lot to answer for in the damage it's wreaked over the years.

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#108

Post by DANmode » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:14 AM UTC

margalabargala wrote: post #96

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"They've betrayed my trust but I wish them well" is an interesting statement.

"I wish them well" is an idiom for "I never want to see them again". Kinda like "bless your heart", which means nothing of the sort.

but should it be?

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#109

Post by DANmode » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:16 AM UTC

rekttrader wrote: post #62

wenbin wrote: post #38

Curious - in this situation, does delve return money to YC? Or YC simply writes off the investment

Ya it’s a total write down, I dunno how much they took from YC, if it was the standard deal this is just the cost of doing business.

Based on?

Re: Delve removed from Y Combinator

#110

Post by Bratmon » Sat, Apr 04, 2026, 6:18 AM UTC

Fairly inevitable. Like all YC companies, they were total frauds, but they made the cardinal mistake of defrauding other YC companies instead of the general public. Bad move.