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The AI Assistants Are Taking Over (and They're Hilariously Helpful)

 

In a dazzling display of innovation and sheer absurdity, Silicon Valley’s beloved startup accelerator, Y Combinator, recently wrapped up its Winter 2025 Demo Day with a bang—and a hearty dose of humor. 

Forget about building your own AI agents; this latest batch of 160 startups is busy crafting tools to make existing AIs work even smarter, faster, and with a touch more personality.

Let’s take a quick tour of 10 standout startups from YC’s W25 batch that are turning the world of artificial intelligence support into a veritable playground of creativity and cheek.

Abundant Innovations has taken a page out of Waymo’s playbook by developing an API for agent teleoperation. In simple terms, if your AI goes off the rails, a human operator can swoop in and take over—like having a remote control for your errant robot butler. One venture capitalist joked, “Now if only it could also help me find my lost socks!”

Browser Use is making waves by letting AI agents navigate web browsers with ease. Its open-source tool recently went viral when a Chinese AI agent, affectionately dubbed Manus, effortlessly clicked through menus and filled out forms. “It’s like giving your AI a PhD in digital procrastination,” quipped an industry insider.

GradeWiz is here to save our overworked teaching assistants. Founded by a group of Cornell TAs who openly declared their disdain for endless grading, this startup uses AI to automate the tedium of grading papers. “Now, TAs can actually spend time teaching instead of drowning in essays,” one college administrator remarked, with a hint of envy.


For the collectors among us, Misprint is the Robinhood of Pokémon cards. Co-founder Eva Herget, who quit her job at Goldman Sachs to chase her passion for rare cards, now offers a platform where these collectibles can be traded like stocks. “It’s like Wall Street meets your childhood hobby—only with a lot more nostalgia and a lot fewer spreadsheets,” one collector observed.

Nextbyte is revolutionizing hiring with its AI that finds the best “vibe coders.” By powering interview questions with a model that tests not just technical skills but also that elusive creative spark, Nextbyte is turning recruitment into a game. “It’s like scouting for the rock stars of code—if rock stars wrote flawless algorithms,” noted a tech recruiter.

Pickle tackles Zoom fatigue head-on by offering an AI clone for virtual meetings. This clever tool clones your best self to take your place on-screen, lip-syncing your words in real time. “It’s the perfect solution for those days when your bed hair is just too real,” quipped a remote team manager.

Rebolt is automating restaurant management with AI agents that streamline everything from inventory tracking to supplier communications. In pricing talks with the parent company of Burger King, Rebolt is set to turn fast-food chaos into efficient, digitized order.

On the farm, Red Barn Robotics has unveiled “The Field Hand,” a weeding robot that’s 15 times faster than a human and a fraction of the cost. “We’re basically turning weed wars into a high-tech ballet,” said a former Apple hardware lead turned agritech pioneer.

Retrofit is curating a vintage clothing marketplace with the help of AI, sifting through thousands of listings to showcase only the trendiest, highest-quality finds. “Shopping for vintage has never been this smart,” one fashion-forward entrepreneur commented.

Last but not least, Splash is taking autonomous patrol boats to the next level. With claims of 200 miles of autonomous cruising in the San Francisco Bay and an 800-mile range, Splash is set to patrol our waterways like the future’s very own digital lifeguards.

These startups are proof that the future of AI isn’t just about building robots that think—it’s about creating tools that help them think better. 

As YC continues to churn out innovative solutions, one thing’s clear: the next wave of AI may very well be here, and it’s as funny and helpful as it is groundbreaking.

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