Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan has revealed that he spends between $100,000 and $200,000 annually on artificial intelligence tokens, using AI agents not only for coding and work but also to manage aspects of his personal life.
(Also read: ‘Don’t do this’: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan slams LinkedIn user flexing AI mega event as work experience)
In a conversation with author Walter Isaacson on his podcast The Builders, Tan described the extent to which he relies on AI-powered assistants, according to a TechCrunch report published on Monday, November 2.
“I spend about maybe $100[,000] to $200,000 a year on tokens,” Tan said.
AI agents have access to personal records
Tan said his AI agents help him with research, coding and preparation for interviews, including his appearance on Isaacson’s podcast. But their access extends well beyond professional tasks.
“It’s read all of my email and all of my Dropbox. It’s read, like, all of my Apple Notes, even my therapy notes going back 20 years,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s read all of my email and all of my Dropbox. It’s read, like, all of my Apple Notes, even my therapy notes going back 20 years,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The startup accelerator chief described these tools as assistants capable of learning a person's preferences and anticipating their needs rather than simply responding to instructions.
Tan has also shared gstack, a collection of 23 Claude Code skills, on GitHub to demonstrate how such agents can support different kinds of work.
Y Combinator has its own AI agent
The technology is also changing operations at Y Combinator. Tan said the organisation uses an internal AI agent called Stray Light that draws on extensive information about founders, previous applications and correspondence.
He described the system as having a “company brain” and said it was “rebuilding the way we operate at YC”.
An early adopter of OpenClaw, Tan believes AI agents should not be treated as conventional software. He argued that demanding rigidly predictable behaviour could prevent users from benefiting from their more human-like capabilities.
High costs remain a barrier
Despite his enthusiasm, Tan acknowledged that the price of running sophisticated AI agents puts them beyond the reach of many people.
“It’s too expensive right now,” he said, calling his own expenditure “a crazy privilege that not everyone can do.”
He also questioned whether people should depend on free AI assistants controlled by large technology companies. Instead, he favoured tools that individuals could direct themselves.
(Also read: Y Combinator CEO lashes out at ‘anti-YC bullsh*t’ after fake rejection letter goes viral)
“So you could imagine a personal AI that you control, that you program,” he said.