OpenAI announced a new initiative to provide each startup in the current Y Combinator (YC) batch with $2 million worth of tokens. CEO Sam Altman introduced the program, which he describes as a push toward tokenmaxxing, a trend where startups maximize AI model usage to accelerate internal workflows and product development. Startups will receive these tokens in exchange for equity, utilizing a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) structure where the specific ownership stake for OpenAI will be determined during a subsequent funding round.

The initiative is expected to cover hundreds of startups across YC's spring and summer cohorts. The current Spring 2026 batch, which runs from April through June, includes nearly 168 startups, with approximately 40 already launched. Startups could gain access to nearly one trillion GPT-5 tokens under this deal, though the exact cost and consumption depend on model usage, such as input tokens, output tokens, cached tokens, and internal reasoning tokens (process where models 'think' before generating an answer).

This investment model follows a similar strategy used in 2011 by Yuri Milner and SV Angel, who offered $150,000 in convertible loans to the then-current YC cohort. YC General Partner Tyler Bosmeny expressed optimism about the move, noting that it aims to support creative and formidable founders in scaling their AI-driven operations. While the current cohort does not include Indian startups, previous distributions of smaller credit packages in India faced challenges, including the development of a grey market where participants resold tokens at 20-40% discounts due to limited utility or technical restrictions.

OpenAI announced a new initiative to provide each startup in the current Y Combinator (YC) batch with $2 million worth of tokens. CEO Sam Altman introduced the program, which he describes as a push toward tokenmaxxing, a trend where startups maximize AI model usage to accelerate internal workflows and product development. Startups will receive these tokens in exchange for equity, utilizing a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) structure where the specific ownership stake for OpenAI will be determined during a subsequent funding round.

The initiative is expected to cover hundreds of startups across YC's spring and summer cohorts. The current Spring 2026 batch, which runs from April through June, includes nearly 168 startups, with approximately 40 already launched. Startups could gain access to nearly one trillion GPT-5 tokens under this deal, though the exact cost and consumption depend on model usage, such as input tokens, output tokens, cached tokens, and internal reasoning tokens (process where models 'think' before generating an answer).

This investment model follows a similar strategy used in 2011 by Yuri Milner and SV Angel, who offered $150,000 in convertible loans to the then-current YC cohort. YC General Partner Tyler Bosmeny expressed optimism about the move, noting that it aims to support creative and formidable founders in scaling their AI-driven operations. While the current cohort does not include Indian startups, previous distributions of smaller credit packages in India faced challenges, including the development of a grey market where participants resold tokens at 20-40% discounts due to limited utility or technical restrictions.