Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator held the second Demo Day for its Summer 2024 cohort on Thursday, and just like we saw on Day 1, AI remains the focus of most startups in this cohort.
However, we did also find a few interesting startups that are working on cool tech like drones that can’t be jammed, carpooling for freight, and weather prediction.
Here are the companies that stood out:
What it does: Detects errors in engineering projects, proposes solutions and can even implement them itself
Why it’s a fave: I was intrigued when Entangl said it has talked to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy about automating data center verification. The fact that the startup already has deals with AWS and Vodafone is a big plus.
What it does: Energy-efficient chips for AI
Why it’s a fave: One of the problems with AI is that it consumes a ton of energy. Early tests of Exa’s chips show that they are nearly 28 times more efficient than NVIDIA’s H100s. What’s better, these chips can adapt to different models — you just need to configure them with software. Exa hopes to have them ready for usage by early 2025.
What it does: Developing an autoimmune therapy that kills cancer
Why it’s a fave: Keytruda and other autoimmune drugs have been a game-changer for many cancer patients, but there’s still a long way to go. Kopra Bio is working on a drug that could change that. In early tests on animals, most were still alive after 250 days, while animals on an FDA-approved drug died in just 50 days. If the drug works the same way in humans, it could be a huge breakthrough for survival.
What it does: AI bookkeeper for startups
Why it’s a fave: LedgerUp’s AI promises to make bookkeeping easier for businesses. It can categorize transactions, find discounts and credits that you may have missed, manage invoices, and even manage taxes. I hope bookkeeping becomes a job nobody will miss.
What it does: Offers a suite of productivity apps for growing organizations
Why it’s a fave: Wayne Crosby, OrgOrg’s founder, says that his company can help businesses streamline their app usage. While many businesses may be ready to consolidate their app vendors, what caught my eye about OrgOrg was Crosby’s background: The three-time founder took his first company through YC all the way back in 2007 and later sold it to Google, where it became Google Slides. This experience is bound to attract investor interest.
What it does: Carpooling for freight
Why it’s a fave: I’m a big fan of Uber Pool, so I was excited to learn about Oway. The startup lets small businesses share truck space and save money on shipping — ridesharing for freight, essentially. It’s faster and cheaper — what’s not to like about this?
What it does: Foundational model for predicting the weather
Why it’s a fave: Silurian’s founders previously helped build one of the world’s most accurate weather forecasting models: Microsoft Research’s Aurora. But four months ago, they left the tech giant to build their own weather prediction engine, which they claim is an even better prognosticator than Aurora — the company is building foundational models for simulating the entire planet, and they’re targeting weather first.
What it does: Develops unjammable drones
Why it’s a fave: Drones have changed the game in warfare. They can spy on the enemy in real-time and can even hit targets with pinpoint accuracy, all while reducing the need to put pilots at risk. But there’s a catch: there are many ways to jam drones, which makes them useless. This has been a big problem in the Russia-Ukraine war. Theseus claims that its drones can dodge jamming, even if the opponent is Russia.
What it does: Reduces congestion and accidents with smart traffic lights
Why it’s a fave: Controlling traffic lights with AI sounds like the perfect application of this technology. Xtraffic says that it’s already doing it in several cities in Texas. I hope they make it to my town in California, too, because I sure am tired of waiting for the light to turn green when there are no other cars around.