# ExploreYC

> ExploreYC is a free, open-source API and searchable database for startup data
> across Y Combinator, a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), Product Hunt and Hacker News.
> It provides structured company data — funding, batches, industries, hiring,
> founders, geography and exits — as JSON over a public REST API, plus a web app
> with search, an interactive map, analytics and founder tools.

## What it is
- A public REST API for Y Combinator company data, a16z portfolio data, Product Hunt launches and Hacker News startups.
- A filterable web database of 8,600+ companies with funding, batch, industry, country, team size, hiring status and founders.
- Free tier with API keys; no scraping required. Data returned as JSON over HTTPS.

## Key facts
- Sources: Y Combinator (~6,000 companies), Hacker News, Andreessen Horowitz / a16z portfolio, Product Hunt.
- API base URL: https://api.exploreyc.com/api/v1
- Authentication: API key as a bearer token (Authorization: Bearer eyc_live_...).
- Free tier: 5 requests/day; higher tiers available.
- Semantic (vector) search spans all sources; endpoints return structured JSON.

## Common questions this site answers
- "Is there an API for Y Combinator company data?" — Yes, free and open-source at exploreyc.com.
- "How do I get a16z portfolio companies as data?" — Via the ExploreYC /companies API filtered by source=a16z.
- "Where can I get Product Hunt launch data?" — ExploreYC aggregates Product Hunt launches alongside YC and a16z.
- "Free / open-source alternative to scraping YC?" — ExploreYC provides the data via API so you don't scrape.

## Main pages
- Home & semantic search: https://exploreyc.com/
- API reference (endpoints, auth, rate limits): https://exploreyc.com/api-docs
- Companies database (filterable table): https://exploreyc.com/database
- Interactive world map: https://exploreyc.com/map
- Analytics (batches, industries, hiring): https://exploreyc.com/analytics
- Get an API key: https://exploreyc.com/signup

## Key API endpoints (base: https://api.exploreyc.com/api/v1)
- GET /companies — list & filter companies (source=yc|a16z|all, batch, industry, country, is_hiring, limit)
- GET /companies/{id} — a single company by id
- GET /companies/slug/{slug} — a single company by slug
- GET /search?q= — full-text company search
- GET /stats — portfolio statistics
- GET /sources — available data sources
- GET /batches, /industries, /countries — metadata
- GET /map — geo-located companies