Hopper

Active · Fast, open-source inference for voice

YC F26

Website YC profile

Why it ranks

How the rank works

7signal of 100 · rising 7

went through YCProgram · this site+4
team of 2Team size · YC's directory+2.5

A sum of public facts, not a judgement and not investment advice.

Competitors

AshrShared: open weight, weight model, post trainingYC W26San FranciscoStartup →AI

RunAnywhereShared: open weight, weight model, infrastructureYC W26San FranciscoStartup →AI

CueBenchShared: post trainingYC S26San FranciscoStartup →AI

OrchestraShared: open weight, weight model, inferenceYC S26San FranciscoStartup →AI

Vibrant LabsShared: post training, agent, infrastructureYC W24San FranciscoStartup →Other

Arcee AIShared: open weight, modelStartup →Other

PositronShared: inference, modelStartup →Other

LambdaShared: inference, trainingStartup →

Companies closest to Hopper
Company	Category	Status	Program
AshrShared: open weight, weight model, post trainingYC W26ActiveAI, Data	AI, Data	Active	YCW26
RunAnywhereShared: open weight, weight model, infrastructureYC W26ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active	YCW26
CueBenchShared: post trainingYC S26ActiveAI, Data	AI, Data	Active	YCS26
OrchestraShared: open weight, weight model, inferenceYC S26ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active	YCS26
Vibrant LabsShared: post training, agent, infrastructureYC W24ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active	YCW24
Arcee AInot in a program hereShared: open weight, modelElsewhereOther	Other	Elsewhere
Positronnot in a program hereShared: inference, modelElsewhereOther	Other	Elsewhere
Lambdanot in a program hereShared: inference, trainingElsewhereOther	Other	Elsewhere

Adjacent

Autoresearch, Inc.Shared: post training, infrastructure, agentYC S26San FranciscoStartup →AI

Deep CogitoShared: post trainingSPC 2024San FranciscoStartup →AI

OsmosisShared: post training, infrastructure, agentYC W25San FranciscoStartup →AI

AutoComputerShared: post training, traceYC F24San FranciscoStartup →AI

JigsawShared: post trainingspeedrun SR005San FranciscoStartup →

Companies next to Hopper
Company	Category	Status	Program
Autoresearch, Inc.Shared: post training, infrastructure, agentYC S26ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active	YCS26
Deep CogitoShared: post trainingSPC 2024Not statedAI	AI	Not stated	SPC2024
OsmosisShared: post training, infrastructure, agentYC W25ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active	YCW25
AutoComputerShared: post training, traceYC F24ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCF24
JigsawShared: post trainingspeedrun SR005Not statedAI, Data	AI, Data	Not stated	speedrunSR005

Also from F26 in AI

All of F26

CavemanCaveman cuts what AI agents cost without making them dumber.YC F26AmsterdamStartup →AI

DatabuddyAI Data Analyst for fast-growing teamsYC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

Dreamscale LabsReal-time cloud inference for robotics.YC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

GrayPassVerify the expected person is still in control before sensitive…YC F26TorontoStartup →AI

HueTest agents in realistic worlds built from production usageYC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

InvertixAI that operates power plantsYC F26MunichStartup →

Company	Category	Status
CavemanCaveman cuts what AI agents cost without making them dumber.ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active
DatabuddyAI Data Analyst for fast-growing teamsActiveAI, Data, Devtools	AI, Data, Devtools	Active
Dreamscale LabsReal-time cloud inference for robotics.team of 4ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active
GrayPassVerify the expected person is still in control before sensitive…team of 2ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active
HueTest agents in realistic worlds built from production usageteam of 2ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active
InvertixAI that operates power plantsteam of 8ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active

Founders

Pavan KattaFounder/CEO
Jashwanth PedapudiFounder/CTO

About Hopper

We are building the inference layer for voice. Voice agents are latency-sensitive and differentiated enough to warrant a focused inference player, similar to Fal (inference for video) or Sail Research (inference for long horizon agents). Before this our team wrote megakernels at Meta Reality Labs and ran inference at Salient (a16z-backed voice startup)

YC batch: F26 · Fall 2026
Status, per YC: Active
Category: AI, Developer tools
Team size: 2
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Founded: 2026
Checked: 6h ago

YC tags: Infrastructure, AI