Qasar Younis

Qasar Younis
Born	Pakistan
Alma mater	Kettering University; Harvard Business School
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, venture capital investor
Known for	CEO of Applied Intuition; former COO of Y Combinator; co-founder of Talkbin

Qasar Younis is a Pakistani American entrepreneur and venture capital investor, currently serving as the CEO of Applied Intuition, a firm focused on AI-driven and advanced software solutions for automotive manufacturers. He previously held the position of COO at Y Combinator during the leadership of Sam Altman. Younis is also the co-founder and former head of Talkbin, which was acquired by Google.

Early life and education

Originating from a farm in Pakistan, Younis relocated to the United States in 1988 and was raised in the vicinity of Detroit. He obtained an engineering degree from Kettering University and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Career

Younis started his professional journey as an engineer at both General Motors and Bosch in Japan. Subsequent to completing his MBA, he founded Cameesa.com. In 2010, he established TalkBin, a platform designed for customer communication that graduated from Y Combinator and was purchased by Google in 2011. After this acquisition, he spent three and a half years at Google leading product development for Google Maps.

Y Combinator

Following the acquisition of TalkBin, Younis continued supporting startups, primarily through involvement with Y Combinator. He joined YC as a part-time partner in early 2013, became a full partner in 2014, and was elevated to COO in 2015.

During his leadership period at Y Combinator, the organization invested in notable companies such as OpenAI, Cruise, Scale AI, DoorDash, GitLab, Coinbase, Flexport, and Checkr. He also played a key role in launching several strategic initiatives including the $700 million Continuity Fund, the software engineering team, and Investor Day.

Applied Intuition

In January 2017, Younis co-founded Applied Intuition alongside Peter Ludwig, who previously worked as a product manager and software engineer at Google. That same year, Marc Andreessen joined the company's board.

Applied Intuition creates software platforms aimed at expediting autonomous vehicle development, collaborating with 18 out of the top 20 global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as well as startups and defense contractors.

The company achieved a valuation of $15 billion following a $600 million Series F funding round combined with a tender offer in June 2025. This financing round was co-led by funds managed by BlackRock and Kleiner Perkins, with participation from new investors such as Franklin Templeton and Qatar Investment Authority. This milestone followed a previous valuation of $6 billion in 2024.

Among its prominent investors are firms and individuals including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Ray Dalio, Henry Kravis, Mary Meeker, Reid Hoffman, and Mustafa Suleyman.