OpenAI is no longer the favorite model provider among startups, according to one promising cohort.

BY BEN SHERRY, STAFF REPORTER @BENLUCASSHERRY

Photo: Getty Images

Famed San Francisco-based startup accelerator and venture capital firm Y Combinator says that one AI model provider has overtaken OpenAI in popularity among the accelerator’s latest batch of startups, eliminating the ChatGPT-maker’s previous market dominance. 

On a December 22 episode of official Y Combinator podcast Lightcone, YC general partner Diana Hu said that “shockingly,” Anthropic’s Claude AI models are the most popular among the accelerator’s new winter 2026 batch of startups, dethroning OpenAI. 

“For the longest time, OpenAI was the clear winner,” said Hu, adding that when YC started the podcast in February 2024, OpenAI’s models were........

© Inc.com