{"id":738348,"date":"2026-02-03T00:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T00:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/738348\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T00:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T00:02:17","slug":"why-y-combinator-cut-canada-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/738348\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Y Combinator cut Canada out"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Ruffolo joins to discuss fuzzy data, \u201cbullshit\u201d narratives, and the real problems hampering Canadian tech.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This week, we\u2019re talking about the small terms-of-service change that sent shockwaves across Canadian tech after it was revealed that Y Combinator, a globally prominent US technology accelerator, will no longer directly invest in Canadian-domiciled startups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for the success of Y Combinator to see people investing at a very, very early stage. And if it means, to keep them happy so that they\u2019re investing in YC companies, they will do what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The reaction was immediate<\/a>, and launched 1,000 thought pieces and social posts claiming the change was: a huge blow to Canada, a big nothingburger, politically motivated, or perhaps simply \u201cformalizing what\u2019s inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Y Combinator CEO (and Canadian!) Garry Tan stated, \u201cwhere you are incorporated increases your access to capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that the case? Or is this another instance of America applying \u201ceconomic force<\/a>\u201d to undermine Canada?<\/p>\n

To help me answer all of these questions, we haveJohn Ruffolo, founder and managing partner of Maverix Private Equity. After writing 1,600 words on the subject<\/a>, Ruffolo promised to never talk about Y Combinator and Canada again\u2014with the exception of this podcast episode!<\/p>\n

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Overcast<\/a>, Pocket Casts<\/a>, RSS<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

So, what is going on with Y Combinator and Canada? Let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Fasken<\/a><\/p>\n

The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Fasken Emerging Tech<\/a><\/strong>: Supporting trailblazing startups, venture capital funds, and acquirers of high-growth tech companies for over 30 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious about the health of Canada\u2019s tech M&A scene, you\u2019ve got to check out Exit InSights. It\u2019s a first-of-its-kind report from Fasken\u2019s Emerging Technology & Venture Capital Group that analyses private M&A activity among VC-backed and high-growth tech companies. You\u2019ll learn how buyers and sellers are maximizing value, minimizing risk, and navigating one of the most vibrant tech ecosystems out there.<\/p>\n

Download your free copy of the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Feature image courtesy Paul Miller, CC BY 2.0<\/a>, via Flickr<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Ruffolo joins to discuss fuzzy data, \u201cbullshit\u201d narratives, and the real problems hampering Canadian tech. This…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3094],"tags":[23408,51,3134,21874,80294,217052,16,15,16097,14754],"class_list":{"0":"post-738348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-accelerator","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-entrepreneurship","11":"tag-garry-tan","12":"tag-incubator","13":"tag-john-ruffolo","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-vc","17":"tag-y-combinator"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116003769214099064","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}