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YC: Requests for Startups

ycombinator.com

471–480 of 582 posts

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#471

"Robotics hasn't yet had its GPT moment, but we think it’s close" From what I have been reading from those who run top-tier research labs in the field most agree that we are really far away. Why would people casually quote 30y away? https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/02/robotics-qa-with-metas-dhr... It is because core issues remain unsolved, has nothing to do with some old engineering process that can be disrupted and mo…

Correct me if i’m wrong but no company has acquired enough robotic data to train an AI on it and test whether it works or not. Is there a more fundamental obstacle i’m missing?

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#472

Most of those take a lot more time and money than YC usually offers. There are some opportunities in "New Defense Technology". Something like a low-cost replacement for the Javelin anti-tank missile based on off the shelf phone camera parts ought to be possible. Of course, once that's out there, every insurgent group will have some. "Explainable AI" is really important. "Stablecoin finance" is mostly how to make sure…

Low cost swarm of drones for new defense technology. We have seen consumer grade DJI drone use in Ukraine-Russia war by both sides. AI to control a swarm of cheap drones to survey and kill?

Is this a serious suggestion, or a warning for why there's no place for move-fast-and-kill-things startups in the defense space? No one should be working on this, especially not involving AI in any way.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#473
post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A machine controlled by the audited company. Audits are there to minimize the risk of companies cooking the books. You never went through an audit, did you?

> A machine controlled by the audited company. Audits are there to minimize the risk of companies cooking the books Sounds like the pitch Fujitsu made to the Post Office for Horizon. That worked out so well!

Rounding errors, simple rounding errors. Nothing to see here.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#474
post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a good sign that Purism can do this at all, even though it's a boutique/fringe product right now. Note that it's $1,999+ for mostly made/assembled in USA version, vs. $999 for Purism's made in China version. And China is more capable at scaling, if the product were ever competing on price rather than principle. So still a ways to go to be competitive at manufacturing.

It's definitely more expensive to produce in the US, but I think it's priced at $2000 because this is literally the only option for people who want/need a US-made phone. I don't think it actually costs them double to produce.

I am actually surprised it only costs double. Have you compared wages in china vs US? They went a lot higher in china by now but are still way below.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#475
post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Steel is now Japanese, btw

Depending on the specific concern, I assume what mostly matters is where the facilities are, not who owns the company. (At least so long as it's an ally.)

it should be irrelevant who owns it. regulations ought to be robust enough anyway. technology export controls, worker protections (OSHA, business continuity, financial integrity, audits), market protection (no abuse of market power, ie. no dumping no Apple/platform/gatekeeper shenanigans, etc.)

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During wartime, it may be better to design for a short lifespan. Build the seeker with ordinary AA batteries welded in instead of thermal batteries with a standby life of decades. If it's intended for Ukraine or Taiwan, skip the part temperature range that would allow the thing to sit in the sun for a year in Iraq. Seal up the unit and stencil it "NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE" and "USE BEFORE 2026-12-31". It will…

Considering that WW2 artillery shells were used all the way into th 70s and 80s, you might rethink that.

Ukraine is out of ammunition NOW. If the war suddenly ends and they have to dispose of warheads that will expire soon, that is a cost that can be paid. But more importantly for them is ammunition now, if that can be achieved by making the build process simple, it should probably be done.

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#479
I’ve been looking to join or co-found a startup for a while now but I never come across anyone interested in these type of problems. It’s always things like options research platform, medical records service, fitness app, etc.

I thought I was just being overly picky but this request shows that there are lots of exciting ideas out there.

Why do I see such a disconnect?

Re: YC: Requests for Startups

#480

ELIMINATING MIDDLEMEN IN HEALTHCARE by creating another middleman in healthcare. This was first proposed by Jim Clark's Healtheon. "We want to empower the doctors and the patients and get all the other assholes out of the way." … "Except for us. One asshole in the middle." — The New New Thing , Michael Lewis. The reason we spend so much is that public healthcare is a public good and private companies aren't good at m…

The healthcare industry will never be "revolutionized" by just a few million dollars in venture funding. The core revenue backbone of healthcare is not healthcare itself, but rather "bureaucracy as a service." A true revolution in healthcare would involve a brutally simplified exposure of costs and impact, divided between each individual element and organization in the invoice.

No country in the world can address this without a government organization. You start by telling patients where their money goes in a transparent way and which organizations benefit from it. That is it.

The problem is the trust aspect of this level of transparency. There is so much money (large insurance and healthcare groups) and chaos (biotech stocks), making it extremely difficult for businesses to be reliable to individuals as a business. To run a business, you need money, and to operate a business like this, you need an unconditional amount of money for the long term. VCs can take care of the unconditional giving of money, but they are never long-term. They will badger the investee to join the darkside of healthcare because they need an answer in 5 years of series A whether the startup is going to be a unicorn or not.

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