AI Agent Startup Survival Rate
Based on 266 companies
Out of 100 startups
- 65Still running
- 0Went public
- 22Acquired
- 13Shut down
Compared with all startups
Startups at least 5 years old, from fewest to most shutdowns
Where each year’s startups are today
Share of startups by current status, grouped by the year they started
- Still running
- Went public
- Acquired
- Shut down
Data table
| Year | Companies | Still running | Went public | Acquired | Shut down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 2015 | 2 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 2016 | 3 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 2017 | 3 | 0% | 0% | 67% | 33% |
| 2018 | 6 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 2019 | 3 | 33% | 0% | 33% | 33% |
| 2020 | 8 | 63% | 0% | 25% | 13% |
| 2021 | 18 | 78% | 0% | 6% | 17% |
| 2022 | 27 | 70% | 0% | 7% | 22% |
| 2023 | 35 | 83% | 0% | 11% | 6% |
| 2024 | 56 | 91% | 0% | 4% | 5% |
| 2025 | 58 | 97% | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| 2026 | 46 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Odds of getting big
Out of 100 startups that are at least 5 years old
Still running73 · 1 in 1
10+ employees45 · 1 in 2
50+ employees25 · 1 in 4
200+ employees9 · 1 in 11
Related lists
How to read this: the data covers companies in the public Y Combinator directory. Years are counted from the year of the company’s YC batch. Status is what the directory shows today, so the charts compare groups of different ages rather than following the same companies over time.