At Y Combinator’s Spring 2025 Demo Day on Wednesday, nearly every presenting startup had something to do with AI — they’re either developing AI agents or creating tools to facilitate their development.
Indeed, several founders seem to be taking a leaf out of the pages of several successful AI startups: about half a dozen startups were presenting variations of “Cursor for X.” For example, Den is building a “Cursor for knowledge workers,” and Vessence is on its way to make a “Cursor for lawyers.”
It wasn’t all only about AI, though. We noticed several startups are working on robotics, which seems to be having a bit of a revival at the moment.
Below are some of the startups that caught both investors’ and our attention.
What it does: SEO for LLMs
Why it’s a fave: How people search for content is changing, with folks using various AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity to find content. Understandably, brands need to find a way to increase their visibility on these platforms. Anvil claims it helps brands measure, optimize and increase their presence on these AI tools.
What it does: Builds 3D chips
Why it’s a fave: Transistors aren’t getting smaller as fast as they used to, so Atum’s founders propose the best new way to put more transistors on a chip, and therefore increase processing power, is to stack them in three dimensions. Investors told me that Atum’s vision is so revolutionary that the company has a chance to become the next NVIDIA.
What it does: Automates enterprise software implementation
Why it’s a fave: The startup says prominent software vendors like SAP, ServiceNow, AWS and Box have already reached out to use Auctor’s solution themselves and potentially for help with integrating software at customer sites.
What it does: AI copilot for solopreneurs
Why it’s a fave: Cactus says people who run businesses all by themselves are often too busy to pursue new opportunities. The startup says its AI bot can take off some of the load by answering calls and accepting payments on your behalf.
What it does: Cursor for enterprise knowledge workers
Why it’s a fave: Investors told me this is one of the hottest companies in the batch. Den promises its AI agents can replace Slack and Notion, enabling a company’s employees to interact and share information with software tailored to each enterprise’s specific needs.
What it does: Automates customer operations with AI
Why it’s a fave: Eloquent says its AI bots can help customers of financial services companies do things like automatically unfreeze bank accounts or add drivers to car insurance policies. In other words, Eloquent promises an end to long waits for human customer service. The startup claims financial companies can deploy its AI near instantly without needing to involve internal engineering teams. Eloquent has already raised “a large seed round,” Tugce Bulut, the startup’s co-founder and CEO said on the TBPN podcast.
