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W21 companies that shrank this year

The 43 YC W21 companies whose team shrank the most in the last 12 months (active companies that had 20+ people a year ago).

Updated weekly, last on November 9, 2026. Roster from Y Combinator's public directory.

Showing 43 of 43 companies on this list
#CompanyTeam6 mo12 moOpen rolesTotal raisedLast round
1
AI Powered Animal Diagnostics
10−23%−58%0$4MSeed$4M, Apr 2021
2
Your one-stop shop to eat well in Brazil
69−7%−56%0$27.8MSeries A$25M, Mar 2022
3
Building the next generation AI creative studio
94−13%−38%YC$154MSeed$84M, Jul 2025
4
Software to run car washes moving to a monthly subscription model
62−9%−37%1$35MSeries B$20M, Apr 2023
5
The Unified AI-ERP & FP&A Platform
36−40%−33%1$20.8MSeries A$13.5M, Sep 2024
6
The all-in-one startup operating system
53−15%−30%YC$7MConvertible note$1.5M, Mar 2024
7
Automated user acquisition & selling on WhatsApp for businesses
50−15%−24%YCSeedJan 2024
8
Affirm for general contractors
18−14%−22%0SeedJan 2022
9
AI-Native Restaurant POS
16−6%−20%0$125KYC investment$125K, Apr 2021
10
The Logistics Operating System for E-commerce in LatAm
123−22%−20%0$10MUndisclosed round$6.1M, Apr 2025
11
Design and collaborate in multiple dimensions.
29−17%−19%0$25.1MSeries A$10M, Aug 2024
12
Education, Employment, Loyalty verification. Global & Compliant.
21−12%−19%0
13
Software for procurement departments to find suppliers 10x faster
30−14%−19%1$2.7MSeed$2.7M, Aug 2023
14
The online language school for Latam, with groups led by an instructor
216−5%−18%0$4.4MEquity crowdfunding$1.5M, Apr 2024
15
AI-driven online tech school for busy professionals
154−8%−18%YC$6MGrant$2.7M, Nov 2024
16
Banking for businesses
37−7%−18%YC$3.9MSeed$3.8M, Jan 2022
17
Where restaurants in Africa buy food supplies
124−6%−16%0$33.2MSeries A$20M, Sep 2022
18
Application Development Platform (Native Mobile + Web Apps)
151−6%−15%YC$28MSeries A$25.5M, Jan 2024
19
Fulfillment by Amazon for African merchants
42−11%−14%0$1.8MSeed$1.8M, Oct 2021
20
Bringing the joy of cycling to millions of Indians
18 −14%0$125KYC investment$125K, Jun 2021
21
DreamWorld is a next-gen Minecraft with generative AI building
490%−14%0SeedMar 2021
22
User research on autopilot.
59−6%−11%4$15.5MSeries A$13M, Nov 2025
23
Bring Justice to Light
171−14%−10%1$63MSeries B$35M, Sep 2023
24
Cyble - World’s First Intelligence-Driven, AI-Native Security…
2300%−9%1$44.8MSeries B$6.2M, Nov 2023
25
Corporate card & spend management platform for Indian startups
57−2%−8%3
26
Rocket Mortgage for LatAm.
57−3%−8%0$9.6MSeed$4.5M, Mar 2022
27
Frontend Platform for eCommerce
71−1%−8%0$39MSeries A$20M, Mar 2023
28
Restaurant Solution (E-commerce via WhatsApp + POS + CRM/Marketing)
73−5%−6%0$6.1MSeed$4.6M, May 2022
29
All-in-one HR management platform for SMEs
61−6%−6%0$7.8MSeries A$6.5M, May 2025
30
Embedded lending infrastructure for software companies
95+7%−6%0$39.5MUndisclosed round$15M, May 2025
31
India’s first and only marriage super app
100−3%−6%YC$11MUndisclosed round$10K, Jun 2023
32
Affordable insurance for the next billion Indians
39+5%−5%0$6.5MUndisclosed round$3.5M, Jan 2024
33
We provide a curated, evidence- based answer to any clinical question.
41−7%−5%0$6MSeed$6M, Dec 2023
34
Infrastructure and tools to build and scale blockchain applications.
110+2%−4%YC$102MSecondary$60M, Jan 2024
35
All-in-one real estate marketplace for Latin America
465−6%−3%0$44.7MUndisclosed round$35M, Jan 2022
36
Software for medical laboratories and clinics
60−18%−3%0$1.3MSeed$1.3M, Nov 2021
37
Software and AI tools for SMBs in the US and Latin America
270−1%−3%0$63.8MSeries A$3M, Jun 2022
38
AI Document Understanding API
370%−3%0$23.3MUndisclosed round$7M, Mar 2023
39
Open source alternative to DataDog
46−8%−2%3$6.5MSeed$5.4M, Sep 2023
40
We treat women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in India
48 −2%0$3.1MSeed$3M, Jul 2021
41
We're Khatabook / OkCredit for Pakistan
102−1%−2%0
42
We underwrite and insure house rentals in Latam
131+1%−2%0$10MSeries A$5.6M, Nov 2024
43
App for independent agents to sell financial products in India
733 −1%YC$11.6MSeries A$11M, Sep 2022

How this works

1. The roster

Every launched company in YC's public directory, with its batch, status, industry and location. New companies show up the week YC lists them.

2. The numbers

Each company is matched to Crustdata by its website. Crustdata adds team size and its change over 6 and 12 months, open roles from job postings, reported funding, and founders' past employers.

3. The lists

Hiring the most counts distinct roles posted in the last 60 days. Growth needs 10+ people today, shrinking 20+ a year ago, so tiny teams do not top the lists. Rebuilt every week.

Built with Crustdata. Get your own API key and build your own.

The numbers on this page come from three Crustdata API calls. Crustdata tags 5,000+ companies with Y Combinator as an investor; swap the filter for any investor, industry or headcount range and track your own list, with founders' work emails one call away.

  • Company search for team size, growth and funding
  • Job search with a count by company, for who is hiring and for what
  • A watch that re-runs the search weekly and sends only what changed
# 1. every company with Y Combinator as an investor
curl https://api.crustdata.com/company/search \
  -H "authorization: Bearer $CRUSTDATA_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-api-version: 2025-11-01" \
  -d '{
    "filters": { "field": "funding.investors",
                 "type": "in", "value": ["Y Combinator"] },
    "fields": ["basic_info.name",
      "headcount.total", "headcount.growth_percent",
      "funding.total_investment_usd"],
    "limit": 100
  }'

# 2. open listings per company, last 60 days (limit 0 = counts only)
curl https://api.crustdata.com/job/search \
  -H "authorization: Bearer $CRUSTDATA_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-api-version: 2025-11-01" \
  -d '{
  "filters": { "op": "and", "conditions": [
    { "field": "company.basic_info.company_id",
      "type": "in", "value": [...] },
    { "field": "metadata.date_added",
      "type": "=>", "value": "2026-08-24" } ]},
  "limit": 0,
  "aggregations": [{ "type": "group_by",
    "field": "company.basic_info.company_id", "agg": "count" }]
}'

# 3. the same company filter as a weekly watch: POST /watch/company/search

Questions about YC W21 companies

How many YC W21 companies are there?

334 companies were in Y Combinator's Winter 2021 batch (W21); 226 are active.

Which YC W21 companies are hiring?

46 companies posted roles in the last 60 days, led by REGENT (30 roles), Shepherd (17 roles) and Codingal (9 roles). 77 mark themselves as hiring on YC's directory.

Which YC W21 companies are growing fastest?

By team growth over 6 months (10+ people): OpenCode (+200%), Venu AI (+58%) and Vapi (+50%).

Which YC W21 companies raised the most?

Largest latest rounds in the last 12 months, after their YC batch: Stoke Space ($1B), Nourish ($100M) and Ollama ($65M).

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