Vivian Midha Shen and Raphael Schaad Join Y Combinator as General Partners

Startup accelerator Y Combinator (YC) has appointed Vivian Midha Shen and Raphael Schaad as its newest General Partners. They have both previously served as visiting partners at YC for the last two batches, working closely with the accelerator's founders.

Shen brings extensive experience in technology and product judgment. She co-founded Juni Learning, an online academy for children's coding and math, and later founded Acely, an AI tutor. These ventures generated over $50 million in revenue and reached millions of users. Her prior experience includes roles as a software engineer at Google, a consultant at McKinsey, and a Director of Product at Operator.

Schaad is the founder of Cron, a next-generation calendar application acquired by Notion in 2022. He was instrumental in growing Notion Calendar to millions of users and subsequently led design for growth and new products. Schaad's background also includes work on Flipboard and iA Writer, focusing on simplifying complex software through design and engineering.

In their roles as General Partners, Shen and Schaad will work with YC's portfolio companies from their early stages, supporting their growth and development over the years. These appointments underscore YC's commitment to providing deep expertise and support to emerging technology companies.