June 12, 2025·by Garry Tan

After 12+ years, 25 batches, and working with more than a thousand startups, Dalton Caldwell is transitioning to Partner Emeritus at YC.

Dalton joined YC in 2011 and has contributed in a number of roles over the years, most recently as a Managing Partner. During his time here, he worked closely with founders and played a consistent role in how we support companies at the earliest stages.

He was also deeply involved in YC’s application process, helping to refine how we evaluate early-stage teams and identify founders with clarity, strong ideas, and product instincts. Over the years, he’s been a steady presence for founders navigating the earliest and often hardest parts of company-building.

Now, Dalton is stepping into a new role as co-founder of Standard Capital, an AI-native Series A firm he’s launching with Bryan Berg and our very own Paul Buchheit. It’s a natural next step for Dalton, and one we’re excited to support.

While he’s stepping back from day-to-day work at YC, he’ll remain part of the community as Partner Emeritus, continuing to be a resource to founders and alumni in a more limited capacity.

We appreciate Dalton’s many contributions to YC over the past decade and look forward to cheering him on in this next chapter and beyond.