Phosphor Capital is a venture capital firm launched in 2024 by Kulveer Taggar, a two-time Y Combinator alum and founder of Zeus Living. The firm is uniquely dedicated to backing companies that come through the Y Combinator accelerator, leveraging Taggar’s long-standing ties with the YC community. With a solo GP structure, Phosphor stands out among YC-focused funds for its direct founder-led perspective and deep integration with the accelerator’s evolving vision under Garry Tan’s leadership.
Phosphor exclusively invests in startups emerging from Y Combinator, with a strong emphasis on early-stage AI, SaaS, and automation companies.
Its portfolio spans various industries, but the unifying factor is its commitment to backing YC founders from the earliest days of company formation.
Since its launch, Phosphor Capital has raised $34 million across two funds. The capital has come from a mix of former Zeus Living investors, family offices, and at least one large institutional asset manager.
Phosphor has already deployed funding into over 200 Y Combinator startups, writing initial checks ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. The fund is structured to capitalize on YC’s consistently high-performing pipeline, where approximately 6% of startups reach unicorn status, and a quarter of those become decacorns.
Phosphor’s strategy is designed as a concentrated bet on both the YC model and Garry Tan’s leadership of the accelerator.
Leadership
Phosphor Capital is led by solo General Partner Kulveer Taggar. His relationship with YC began in 2007 with the founding of Auctomatic, alongside his cousin Harj Taggar and the Collison brothers (future founders of Stripe). He returned in 2011 with Zeus Living, a proptech startup that scaled significantly before being acquired in 2023.
Taggar’s hands-on founder experience, network within YC, and investor track record helped him secure support from notable LPs including YC CEO Garry Tan.
Investment Strategy
Phosphor’s strategy is tightly focused and highly differentiated: it invests exclusively in Y Combinator companies, capitalizing on the accelerator’s rigorous founder selection and ecosystem support. Taggar’s proximity to YC’s leadership and his own founder journey give him both early access and empathetic insight into new startups.
The firm aims to invest at the pre-seed and seed stages, with potential to follow on in breakout companies.
Notable Investments
Phosphor has already invested in over 200 YC startups. Among them are Gumloop, a workflow automation platform, and Circleback, an AI-powered meeting manager.
Several portfolio companies have gone on to raise Series A rounds, reflecting the strength of both the YC pipeline and Phosphor’s selection model.
Other
Phosphor is the only YC-dedicated fund led by a solo GP who is also a YC alum. Its thesis centers not only on the startups but on the belief in Y Combinator itself as a generational venture creation platform. The firm is designed to provide early capital to founders in the YC community, with the credibility of someone who has lived through the journey.
