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14,448 startups · 29 programs

KERNEL

Active · Crazy fast, open source infra for AI agents to use the Internet

WebsiteYC profile

Why it ranks

How the rank works
11signal of 100 · rising 8
  • team of 22Team size · YC's directory+7.1
  • went through YCProgram · this site+4

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

Competitors

AINotteShared: residential proxy, live view, captcha solvingYC S25San FranciscoStartup →Developer toolsRewbiShared: stealth mode, cloud computingYC S24San FranciscoStartup →AIHyperbrowserShared: captcha solving, infra, internetYC S21San FranciscoStartup →AIInactiveInterlockShared: stealth modeYC W23San FranciscoStartup →AIAcquiredBlaxelShared: cold start, cloud computing, infrastructureYC X25San FranciscoStartup →
Companies closest to KERNEL
Company
NotteShared: residential proxy, live view, captcha solvingYC S25ActiveAI, Devtools
RewbiShared: stealth mode, cloud computingYC S24ActiveDevtools
HyperbrowserShared: captcha solving, infra, internetYC S21ActiveAI, Devtools
InterlockShared: stealth modeYC W23InactiveAI
BlaxelShared: cold start, cloud computing, infrastructureYC X25AcquiredAI, Devtools

Adjacent

OtherFerroByteShared: stealth mode500 Global 2025South KoreaStartup →OtherSeamornyShared: stealth mode500 Global 2023SingaporeStartup →AIDedalus LabsShared: cloud computing, infrastructure, sessionYC S25San FranciscoStartup →AIAdenShared: infrastructure, open, sourceYC W20San FranciscoStartup →AIMaritimeShared: cloud computing, infrastructure, persistentYC F26San FranciscoStartup →
Companies next to KERNEL
Company
FerroByteShared: stealth mode500 Global 2025Not statedOther
SeamornyShared: stealth mode500 Global 2023Not statedOther
Dedalus LabsShared: cloud computing, infrastructure, sessionYC S25ActiveAI, Devtools
AdenShared: infrastructure, open, sourceYC W20ActiveAI, Devtools
MaritimeShared: cloud computing, infrastructure, persistentYC F26ActiveAI, Devtools

Also from S25 in AI

All of S25
AILilacWe sell GPUs.YC S25San FranciscoStartup →AILuminalMaking AI run fast on any hardware.YC S25San FranciscoStartup →AIMagnitudeRun open models as fast as your hardware allowsYC S25San FranciscoStartup →AIManufactCloud infrastructure for MCP servers and Claude / ChatGPT plugins.YC S25San FranciscoStartup →AITraceRoot.AIThe open-source platform that continuously improves your ai agentsYC S25San FranciscoStartup →AIAgentMailEmail Inboxes for AI AgentsYC S25San FranciscoStartup →
Company
LilacWe sell GPUs.team of 4ActiveAI, Devtools
LuminalMaking AI run fast on any hardware.team of 7hiringActiveAI, Devtools
MagnitudeRun open models as fast as your hardware allowsteam of 2ActiveAI, Devtools
ManufactCloud infrastructure for MCP servers and Claude / ChatGPT plugins.team of 5hiringActiveAI, Devtools
TraceRoot.AIThe open-source platform that continuously improves your ai agentsteam of 4hiringActiveAI, Devtools
AgentMailEmail Inboxes for AI Agentsteam of 10hiringActiveAI, Devtools

Founders

  • Catherine JueFounder/CEO
  • Rafael GarciaFounder/CTO

About KERNEL

Kernel is crazy fast, open source infra for AI agents to access the internet 🧠🕸️ - Built on unikernels for crazy fast cold starts and low resource usage - Sub-150ms cold starts on managed headful browsers - Built-in stealth mode with residential proxies and automatic CAPTCHA solving - Full observability: session recording, live view, and full logs - Persistent sessions that maintain cookies and auth across invocations - Native support for all browser and computer use frameworks - SOC 2 compliant and HIPAA-ready Trusted by Cash App, Rye, and 1000+ others. Backed by Accel & Y Combinator (S25).

YC batch
S25 · Summer 2025
Status, per YC
Active
Category
AI, Developer tools
Team size
22
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Founded
2025
Checked
6h ago

YC tags: Developer Tools, Cloud Computing, Infrastructure, AI

Changes seen

StageOct 19, 2026

Stage changed from Early to Growth.

Source ↗
TagsOct 19, 2026

Newly tagged AI; no longer tagged Artificial Intelligence.

Source ↗
StageOct 15, 2026

Stage changed from Growth to Early.

Source ↗

KERNEL in S25: 166 companies, 92% AI

Company profileemergingproblemssocials GitHub LinkedIn

KERNEL: questions

Which YC batch was KERNEL in?

KERNEL was in Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch (S25).

Is KERNEL still active?

Y Combinator lists KERNEL as active.

Who founded KERNEL?

KERNEL's founders, as listed on its YC page: Catherine Jue (Founder/CEO), Rafael Garcia (Founder/CTO).

Where is KERNEL based?

KERNEL lists San Francisco, CA, USA as its location on YC's directory.