YC has a new Request for Startups. Here are my 3 favorite ideas, plus one of my own…

AI for Scientific Advancement

Group Partner Diana Hu is looking for new ways to apply LLM’s to scientific research. I agree that AI plus bio is going to be the next big thing.

Powerful new tools like test-time compute could help us discover lifesaving drugs. Then, massive data centers could let us model their interaction with the body.

There’s actually an exciting company in the current YC batch applying AI to scientific research: Zeon Systems. Zeon lets you describe an experiment in plain text which its robot arms then execute.

The price of scientific research could drop 90%. That means huge breakthroughs in the near future.

AI Personal Tutor for Everyone

I spent most of my school years bored out of my mind. The teacher would repeat the same material over and over.

“If we haven’t gotten it the first 10 times, what difference will number 11 make?” I always thought.

Here’s a better model for education: have students learn from an AI that customizes the lesson to them. Then, a human teacher can supervise the process and encourage them.

YC’s Harj Taggar is trying to find personal tutoring startups, and so am I!

AI for Personal Finance

My friend Matt recently saw a “financial advisor.” The results were predictable.

The advisor worked for an insurance company. Guess what he recommended?

You got it! Tons of life insurance. This for a man in his 30’s with no kids or even a dog.

It made absolutely no sense for Matt. But it made all the sense in the world for the advisor — he gets commissions on the insurance.

Instead of this rotten setup, Group Partner Gustaf Alstromer imagines an AI tool that works only for you. The AI could take into account different ages and risk tolerances.

And not only could AI give you a plan, it could execute it for you too! The system could automatically buy the stocks and bonds it recommends, once you’ve approved the trades.

I’ll take that over a tricky “advisor” any day.

My Request for Startup: The Internal Apple Watch

These days, everyone you see has an Apple Watch strapped to their wrist. It measures heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen and more.

But what if it were inside you?

An implanted device could measure the conditions inside your body. If there are problems, it could immediately alert you and your doctor.

The device could measure things like kidney and liver function, electrolyte levels, cancer biomarkers and more.

This isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. We already have implanted measurement devices for glucose and cardiac rhythm.

I’d love to see a cheaper and more flexible one that can become the internal equivalent to the Apple Watch.

Wrap-Up

How lucky are we to do what we do?

We come up with crazy ideas. Then, we find even crazier people to execute them.

And you never know, we might make millions of dollars doing it!

I’m really excited for startups working on scientific research, tutoring, personal finance, and biometrics. If you’re building in those areas, let me know!

More on tech:

My Biggest Lesson from Four Years Angel Investing

Which Accelerators I’m Investing in and Why

My Favorite Startups in YC X25 (Part 1)

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