I’m in YC P26. We’re hosting Call My Agent Hackathon where the winner gets a guaranteed YC interview. AMA.
Hey r/ycombinator, I’m Manav, currently in YC P26 building AgentPhone: phone numbers for AI agents.
We’re hosting the Call My Agent Hackathon at Y Combinator in San Francisco on Sunday, May 17, 2026. First place gets a guaranteed YC interview, plus cash, sponsor credits, phones for the winners, bonus track prizes, and swag.
The theme is pretty simple: AI agents can finally do things in the real world: call, text, email, browse, book, buy, negotiate, follow up, and coordinate across channels. We want to see what people build when agents are allowed out of the chat box.
A few things I’m happy to answer:
- What the YC application and interview were actually like
- What day-to-day in the current batch looks like
- What makes a strong hackathon project for the guaranteed interview slot
- How I’d approach applying to YC if I were starting over
- Whether YC is worth it for your specific situation
- What kinds of agent ideas I think are still underrated
Applications close May 16. If you’ve been thinking about applying to YC, this is another path to getting in front of them.
Drop questions below and I’ll answer everything I can.
Update:
Hackathon is in-person only. But we will do a small online competition. We will put information on our discord in the next few days. Join here
Update 2:
Thanks everyone for all your amazing questions. I loved doing this. I will try to keep answering whenever I get a chance but it might be a bit before you hear from me. Please signup for our product and give us feedback. We would love to hear from you and how we can improve our product. Good luck to everyone trying to get into YC! Keep going, you might be closer than you realize.