Paul Graham

Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, has advised startups to use .com domains rather than .ai ones. The venture investor's guidance carries weight in the startup community, where he has long shaped conventions on company naming and branding. His recommendation comes as artificial intelligence startups increasingly adopt .ai domains, making the debate over domain choice a live topic among founders weighing credibility against trendiness.

Paul Graham, the Y Combinator co-founder, is advising startups to choose .com domain names rather than trendy .ai alternatives. His argument reflects a long-standing view that a .com address still signals credibility and makes a company easier to find and remember. The advice has drawn attention from founders weighing whether AI-branded domains are worth the trade-off.

Paul Graham, the Y Combinator co-founder, argues that the internet is moving beyond its traditional human speed limit, with machine-driven traffic now dominating activity. He points to infrastructure players such as GitHub, Cloudflare and the major cloud providers as the ones already feeling the strain of this shift in how the web is used.

Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, says the strongest startup investors are those who recognise that rules have limits, arguing 'there are exceptions to practically every rule.' His comments suggest that rigid screening criteria can cause investors to miss unusual founders or unconventional ideas, and that judgment matters more than checklists when backing early-stage companies.

Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham argued that the best startup investors recognize when to deviate from standard evaluation criteria, saying 'there are exceptions to practically every rule.' His remarks suggest that rigid checklists can cause investors to miss unconventional but exceptional founders, and that judgment and openness matter more than formula in early-stage investing.