Michael Seibel

Michael Seibel serves as the Managing Director for Batches and Group Partners at Y Combinator. Previously, he held the roles of co-founder and CEO at Justin.tv and Socialcam. Y Combinator provides seed funding to startups, thereby supporting them at their earliest stages of development. This initial funding is crucial for covering founders' expenses during the initial phases of their ventures. 

Mr. Seibel’s journey with Y Combinator began in January 2013 when he assumed the role of a part-time partner, subsequently becoming the organization's first African-American partner in October 2014.

Mr. Seibel served as a mentor to the co-founders of Airbnb, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, recommending they apply to Y Combinator. He has advised and invested in over 50 companies with a combined valuation exceeding $500 million. His portfolio of successful investments and mentorship includes companies such as: Cruise (acquired by GM for $1 billion), Luxe, Walker and Company (acquired by Procter & Gamble), Bluesmart, Sendbird, Lugg, Jopwell, Triplebyte, Bellabeat, Shef, Middesk, Veriff, Captivate, Bio Render, Brex, MessageBird, Superorder, Artifact, Emerge Career, Golden, Motion, GiveCampus, Fazz, Arena, Jupiter, and Dripo.

Mr. Seibel is a seasoned entrepreneur with a proven track record. He co-founded Justin.tv, a pioneering platform in the live video streaming space, and served as its CEO from 2007 to 2011. The platform, later rebranded as Twitch Interactive, was acquired by Amazon for over $1 billion in 2014. Following this success, Mr. Seibel became the CEO of Socialcam, a social video-sharing app that was acquired by Autodesk in 2012 for $60 million.

Prior to his success in tech, Seibel worked as Finance Director for former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume's U.S. Senate campaign.