How Warp Went From YC to a $60M Series B

Warp (YC W23) recently announced a $60 million Series B and now serves more than 1,000 customers, processing over $600 million in payroll annually and on track to surpass $2 billion in the next year. In this episode of Founder Firesides, YC's Harj Taggar sits down with Warp founder and CEO Ayush Sharma to discuss how the company found its way into one of enterprise software's most competitive markets and why AI is fundamentally changing how software companies should be built. https://www.joinwarp.com Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs 00:50 - From India to MIT 03:10 - Betting on an Unsexy Problem 05:18 - The Wedge That Started Warp 09:49 - What "AI-Native" Really Means 12:31 - Building a Different Kind of Company 14:00 - Why AI Favors Technical Founders 16:42 - The Next Generation of Enterprise Software 21:25 - Why Investors Backed Warp 25:11 - The Future of Employee Management

Harj TaggarhostAyush Sharmaguest

Jun 26, 202626mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: June 26, 2026
Duration: 26m
Channel: YC Root Access
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Warp (YC W23) recently announced a $60 million Series B and now serves more than 1,000 customers, processing over $600 million in payroll annually and on track to surpass $2 billion in the next year. In this episode of Founder Firesides, YC's Harj Taggar sits down with Warp founder and CEO Ayush Sharma to discuss how the company found its way into one of enterprise software's most competitive markets and why AI is fundamentally changing how software companies should be built. https://www.joinwarp.com Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs 00:50 - From India to MIT 03:10 - Betting on an Unsexy Problem 05:18 - The Wedge That Started Warp 09:49 - What "AI-Native" Really Means 12:31 - Building a Different Kind of Company 14:00 - Why AI Favors Technical Founders 16:42 - The Next Generation of Enterprise Software 21:25 - Why Investors Backed Warp 25:11 - The Future of Employee Management

SPEAKERS

Harj Taggar
host
Y Combinator partner and interviewer on YC Root Access.
Ayush Sharma
guest
Founder and CEO of Warp.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of YC Root Access, featuring Harj Taggar and Ayush Sharma, How Warp Went From YC to a $60M Series B explores warp’s AI-native HR platform: from payroll wedge to $60M growth Ayush’s founder journey runs from a small town in India to MIT, where he specialized in machine learning before turning to startups.

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