Geoff Ralston explained the move in a blog post:

"We have a new standard deal at Y Combinator. When a company is accepted into the YC batch program, we now invest a total of $500,000. We still invest $125,000 for 7% and now also invest an additional $375,000 on an uncapped safe with an MFN1.

This is the type of deal that we have wanted to offer YC founders for years — and with the recent success of YC companies, including ten IPOs in 2021 and more to come this year, we are now able to do so. This sum will enable founders to focus on launching, building, and scaling their company. It will remove the immediate pressure to fundraise and accept less than favorable terms."

Of course, this is probably good for startups but not so good for other seed investors that will find it difficult to invest alongside that $375K – looking like YC wants to be the Amazon of seed financing.

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