YC's Summer 2026 RFS just dropped. The opening line says it all: "AI has stopped being a feature and started being the foundation."

Translation: Build the work, not the tool.

15 categories. Three clear patterns:
• AI is infrastructure, not a product
• Physical world gets priority (agriculture, hardware, space, defense)
• Replace, don't assist — sell the service, do the work

The biggest gap? AI-native service companies. Insurance, accounting, tax, compliance. Instead of selling software to help brokers, become the broker. Unit economics flip when you own the outcome.

Apply: ycombinator.com/apply

#startups #founders

Brewed by Startup Beaker.