OpenAI trades $2M in tokens for equity in every YC startup

Summary

At a Y Combinator event on Tuesday, Sam Altman made an offer to each of the 169 startups in the current class: $2 million in OpenAI tokens in exchange for equity. Not cash. Compute capacity. YC partner Tyler Bosmeny called it the mic drop moment.

The deal is structured as an uncapped SAFE: it converts at the first priced round, typically a Series A. Informal estimates on X put it at around 2% equity if a startup reaches a $100 million valuation, but the exact terms have not been published.

In practice

For startups, the offer solves a real problem: AI infrastructure bills eat a disproportionate share of the budget at early stages. Accepting the deal means trading an immediate cost for future dilution — a bet that the company will grow enough that 2% is worth less than what it would spend today on compute.

For OpenAI, the math runs differently. Inference costs are falling. The $2M in tokens that cost X to produce today will cost less tomorrow. The equity received in return, if the startups succeed, does not fall. Over time, the trade tilts toward OpenAI.

Context

Not everyone is convinced. Investor Jason Calacanis, who runs his own competing accelerator, was direct: "If you take these tokens, there's a non-zero chance that OpenAI will study exactly what your startup is doing, copy your idea and put your app into their free offering. This is the classic platform playbook. Be careful, founders."

The counter-argument: Altman, a former YC president and frequent speaker at its sessions, already has access to everything about each cohort, deal or no deal. What changes is the equity — and the fact that startups are not paying for tokens with cash at a stage when cash is scarcer than tokens.

YC already takes 7% for $500K in cash. Under this deal, each startup gives up additional equity for $2M in tokens. With 169 startups in the cohort, OpenAI is building a scaled investment position, paid for with product instead of capital.

Why it matters

• Tokens are becoming investment currency: OpenAI is buying equity in startups with compute, not money
• The deal creates lock-in from day one — startups building on OpenAI tokens won't default to competitors
• Tokens get cheaper to produce over time; the equity OpenAI receives in return does not
• Whoever controls the infrastructure wants to control part of the upside of the companies that use it