Startupsby GlyphWhy it ranks
How the rank works- went through YCProgram · this site+4
- team of 3Team size · YC's directory+3.1
A sum of public facts, not a judgement and not investment advice.
Competitors
| Company | Category | Status | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | Not stated | Antler2023 | |
| AI, Devtools | Active | YCF26 | |
| AI, Devtools | Not stated | Plug and Play | |
| AI, Devtools | Active | YCF26 | |
| Other | Acquired | YCS15 |
Adjacent
| Company | Category | Status | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | Not stated | Antler2026 | |
| AI | Not stated | SPC +32023 | |
| Other | Acquired | YCW18 | |
| AI | Active | YCS15 | |
| Other | Acquired | YCS18 |
Also from X26 in AI
All of X26Founders
- Robert ChondroFounder/CEO
- Kazuma ChojiFounder/CTO
- Jerry YaoFounder/CPO
About Saffron
Saffron allows companies to quickly evaluate how well software engineers use AI to code. The way engineers write code has fundamentally changed, but the way companies evaluate them hasn't. Saffron gives teams full visibility into how candidates use AI agents to build, debug, and ship real features on an actual codebase. Saffron was founded by Robert Chondro (formerly MIT and Jane Street), Jerry Yao (Stanford and Jane Street), and Kazuma Choji (Harvey Mudd, published in NeurIPS and ICML), and is backed by Y Combinator (P26) and Afore Capital.
- YC batch
- X26 · Spring 2026
- Status, per YC
- Active
- Category
- AI
- Team size
- 3
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Founded
- 2025
- Checked
- 6h ago
YC tags: SaaS, Human Resources, HR Tech
Saffron: questions
Which YC batch was Saffron in?
Saffron was in Y Combinator's Spring 2026 batch (X26).
Is Saffron still active?
Y Combinator lists Saffron as active.
Who founded Saffron?
Saffron's founders, as listed on its YC page: Robert Chondro (Founder/CEO), Kazuma Choji (Founder/CTO), Jerry Yao (Founder/CPO).
Where is Saffron based?
Saffron lists San Francisco, CA, USA as its location on YC's directory.