Y Combinator, the US startup incubator behind companies like DoorDash, Airbnb and Coinbase Global, has removed Canada from a list of countries where it will invest.
The San Francisco-based organization made the change in the standard deal terms listed on its website.
As recently as November 9, that site said: “We invest in US, Cayman, Singapore and Canada corporations,” according to an archived version of the page. But by the end of that month, Canada was missing from the list.
The move threatens to further fuel anxiety about Canada’s tech ecosystem, which struggles to compete with the larger and better-funded US market. A number of startups began in Canada only to decamp to the US. Slack, for instance, moved from Vancouver to California, and is now part of San Francisco-based Salesforce Inc.
Y Combinator didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The move was first reported by Canadian website the Logic.
The change is “not a great signal,” Boris Wertz, a venture capitalist at Version One Ventures in Vancouver, said by phone.
Y Combinator had already encouraged Canadian startups to move, according to the investor, who said he’s been in touch with founders who have worked with the incubator.
“Now I feel like they’re just tightening that up and saying: ‘Listen, we know what’s better for you. There’s no choice,’” he said.
AI companies may have an easier time finding talent and raising money in the San Francisco area, Wertz acknowledged. But the US is “not better for everyone,” he said. “I think you can build amazing companies anywhere.”
The San Francisco-based organization made the change in the standard deal terms listed on its website.
As recently as November 9, that site said: “We invest in US, Cayman, Singapore and Canada corporations,” according to an archived version of the page. But by the end of that month, Canada was missing from the list.
The move threatens to further fuel anxiety about Canada’s tech ecosystem, which struggles to compete with the larger and better-funded US market. A number of startups began in Canada only to decamp to the US. Slack, for instance, moved from Vancouver to California, and is now part of San Francisco-based Salesforce Inc.
Y Combinator didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The move was first reported by Canadian website the Logic.
The change is “not a great signal,” Boris Wertz, a venture capitalist at Version One Ventures in Vancouver, said by phone.
Y Combinator had already encouraged Canadian startups to move, according to the investor, who said he’s been in touch with founders who have worked with the incubator.
“Now I feel like they’re just tightening that up and saying: ‘Listen, we know what’s better for you. There’s no choice,’” he said.
AI companies may have an easier time finding talent and raising money in the San Francisco area, Wertz acknowledged. But the US is “not better for everyone,” he said. “I think you can build amazing companies anywhere.”