Michael Seibel announced on Wednesday via X that he will be moving to a “partner emeritus” role at Y Combinator after more than 12 years with the organization.
Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan separately conveyed this information in a company blog post, emphasizing Seibel’s extensive history with the accelerator. Seibel initially joined YC as a founder, participating in the program twice—first with the streaming startup Justin.TV and later with the streaming app Socialcam. He subsequently held roles as a group partner, managing director, and CEO of the YC accelerator.
Seibel had already transitioned to a less hands-on group partner role recently. In a YC blog post from last year, he mentioned his readiness to “hand over my leadership responsibilities,” indicating the transition would be “effective” after the completion of the accelerator’s winter batch of startups.
Seibel’s departure, after a notable 12-year tenure, may have been anticipated since 2022, when Tan was appointed CEO. This decision reportedly surprised some YC employees, as Tan was managing a separate venture fund at the time and there was an assumption that Seibel might be next in line for the CEO position.
Seibel has been contacted for comment. Meanwhile, in his post on X, he mentioned plans to take the summer off to relax and expressed an eagerness to “help government better serve its citizens,” highlighting government as a passion from his youth. He also thanked Y Combinator founders Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston for significantly impacting his life.
This announcement comes approximately two weeks before YC’s spring batch of founders begins their program, running from April through June.
