YC partner Jared Friedman told the FT that the incubator started encouraging defense tech startups to apply earlier this year.
YC’s CEO Garry Tan was an early employee at data analytics company Palantir, which has become hugely successful through its sometimes controversial work for U.S. military, as well as other governments and agencies. CEO Alex Karp defended the company’s “consistently pro-Western view” in a recent New York Times interview.