# Paul Graham Paul Graham (born 1964) is a British-American programmer, essayist, and venture capitalist, best known as a co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that shaped the modern tech industry. Paul Graham (born 1964) is a British-American programmer, essayist, and venture capitalist. He is best known as a co-founder of [Y Combinator](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/y-combinator), a startup accelerator that has funded thousands of companies, including Dropbox, Airbnb, and Stripe. Graham's essays on startups, programming, and technology have been widely read and influential, and his work in the 1990s on Lisp programming language and [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) contributed to his reputation as a technologist and thinker. Born in 1964, Graham grew up in the United Kingdom and later moved to the United States. He studied philosophy at Cornell University and then earned a PhD in computer science from Harvard University, where he worked on Lisp and [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence). In the early 1990s, he developed a Lisp-based web application called Viaweb, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 1998. This experience led him to write influential essays on programming and startups, and in 2005 he co-founded [Y Combinator](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/y-combinator) with Trevor Blackwell, Robert Morris, and Jessica Livingston. ## Early Life and Education Paul Graham was born in 1964 in England. He showed an early interest in mathematics and science, and he pursued this passion at Cornell University, where he received a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He then moved to Harvard University for graduate studies, earning a PhD in computer science in 1990. His doctoral research focused on Lisp and [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence), particularly on the development of [neural network](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/neural-network) algorithms. During this period, he also worked at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he interacted with pioneers in the field. ## Career in Programming and Startups After completing his PhD, Graham worked as a programmer and consultant. In 1995, he co-founded Viaweb, a company that built web-based software for online stores. The product was notable for being written in Lisp, a language Graham championed throughout his career. In 1998, Yahoo! acquired Viaweb for approximately $49 million, and Graham moved to California to work for the company. He later left Yahoo! and began writing essays on topics such as Lisp, programming languages, and the nature of startups. These essays, published on his personal website, gained a large following and established him as a thought leader in the tech community. ## Y Combinator and Venture Capital In 2005, Graham co-founded [Y Combinator](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/y-combinator) with Trevor Blackwell, Robert Morris, and Jessica Livingston. The accelerator provided seed funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities to early-stage startups. Under Graham's leadership, Y Combinator grew into one of the most influential startup accelerators in the world, funding companies such as [Reddit](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/reddit), Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe. Graham served as a partner and mentor, and his essays on startup strategy, such as "Do Things That Don't Scale" and "Startup = Growth," became required reading for entrepreneurs. He stepped back from day-to-day operations in 2014 but remained a partner until 2019. ## Essays and Influence on Technology Graham's essays cover a wide range of topics, including programming languages, [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence), and the sociology of startups. He has written about the importance of Lisp and [machine learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning), and he has predicted the rise of [large language model](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/large-language-model)s and [generative AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/generative-ai). His writing style is clear and accessible, often using personal anecdotes and historical examples. His essay "Hackers and Painters" (2003) compared programming to art, and "The Submarine" (2005) critiqued the media's role in startup culture. These essays have been collected in books such as *Hackers and Painters* (2004) and *The Age of the Essay* (2005). ## Later Work and Recognition After leaving Y Combinator, Graham continued to write and speak about technology and entrepreneurship. He has been a visiting lecturer at Stanford University and has received honorary degrees from several institutions. In 2016, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His influence extends beyond startups; his ideas on [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) and [machine learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning) have been cited by researchers and practitioners. As of 2025, Graham remains an active essayist and investor, though he has reduced his public appearances. ## See Also - Lisp - [Y Combinator](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/y-combinator) - Startup - [Artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) --- Source: https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/paul-graham License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Last updated: 2026-09-09T01:59:12.545865+00:00