Michael Seibel is leaving Y Combinator

Michael Seibel announced on X that he is transitioning to a “partner emeritus” role after more than 12 years at Y Combinator.

Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan shared the news in a blog post, highlighting Seibel’s history with the accelerator. Seibel first joined as a founder, going through the program with Justin.TV and later with Socialcam. He later served as a group partner, managing director, and CEO.

Seibel had already transitioned into a less operational role recently and officially handed over his responsibilities after the winter batch of startups completed the program.

Seibel’s departure may have been set in motion in 2022 when Tan became CEO. The move surprised some YC employees as they believed Seibel was next in line for the role.

Seibel mentioned in his X post that he plans to relax over the summer before focusing on helping government serve its citizens, a passion from his youth.

The news comes ahead of YC’s spring batch of founders starting their program in April.