How Y Combinator’s only health care partner decides which startups are worth a shot

Aug. 1, 2023

Early-stage health tech startups are keen to impress Surbhi Sarna, the first and only health care partner at Y Combinator. Constanza Hevia for STAT

This story is the first in a series of profiles of influential decision-makers in health tech.

SAN FRANCISCO — For Surbhi Sarna, the first and only health care partner at Y Combinator, opening her inbox every morning is like drinking from a firehose. There are the dozens of companies wanting to capitalize on the momentum around large language models. There are the biotech students not yet out of school, but already proposing new ventures based on their research in class. There’s the team that planned to reverse global warming by flying bison across the world on a Boeing.

It seems like every young tech company is vying for a coveted place in the Silicon Valley accelerator, which has made a name for itself turning ideas like grocery delivery and lodging outside of hotels into multibillion-dollar businesses like Instacart and Airbnb. And to score that spot, which is sort of a rite of passage for young ventures, entrepreneurs focused on health tech or science first have to spark Sarna’s interest.

STAT+ Exclusive Story