How François Chollet Is Building A New Path To AGI

How François Chollet Is Building A New Path To AGI

Author: Y Combinator March 27, 2026 Duration: 57:23

François Chollet has spent years asking a different question than most of the AI world. Instead of scaling what already works, he’s trying to understand what intelligence actually is—and how to build it from first principles. In this episode of Lightcone, he traces that path from his early work on deep learning to the creation of the ARC prize, and the launch of ARC V3, a new benchmark designed to measure something deeper than performance: the ability to learn, adapt, and reason efficiently in entirely new environments. He explains why today’s systems may be hitting limits, what recent breakthroughs really mean, and why reaching true general intelligence may require a fundamentally different approach.00:00 - AGI by 2030?00:31 - Introducing Ndea: A New Path Beyond Deep Learning01:08 - A New ML Paradigm 01:30 - Replacing neural nets with compact symbolic programs03:04 - Why Ndea Isn’t Competing With Coding Agents05:20 - Why Everyone Might Be Wrong About Scaling LLMs07:22 - Why Coding Agents Suddenly Work So Well08:50 - The Limits of LLMs in Non-Verifiable Domains10:48 - What AGI Actually Means (And Why Most Definitions Are Wrong)13:30 - Why Deep Learning Hits a Wall 14:00 - ARC’s Origin Story18:20 - ARC Benchmarks Explained: From V1 to V322:49 - The RL Loop Powering Coding Agents Today27:03 - ARC-AGI V3: Measuring “Agentic Intelligence”31:14 - Inside the ARC Game Studio35:31 - Could AGI Fit in 10,000 Lines of Code?44:01 - Building Ndea: From Idea to Compounding Research Stack46:46 - The Future of ARC: Benchmarks That Evolve With AI47:21 - Why There’s Still Huge Opportunity for New AI Paradigms53:37 - How to Build a Breakout Open Source Project - Lessons From Kera56:39 - Advice For How To Think About AIApply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/applyWork at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs


Behind every successful startup is a story, and the Y Combinator Startup Podcast is where those stories are told in full. This isn't about polished theory; it's the raw, practical conversation happening between founders who have been in the trenches and the Y Combinator partners who advise them. You'll hear directly from people who have navigated the chaotic journey from a flicker of an idea to building a company that scales, discussing not just their victories but, more importantly, the hard lessons and tactical decisions that aren't found in any textbook. Each episode feels like a candid office-hours session, stripping away the hype to focus on the real work of making something people actually want. For anyone curious about the mechanics of building a technology company-the early uncertainties, the pivotal moments, and the relentless focus on execution-this podcast offers an unfiltered look at the craft. Tune in for genuine insights from the frontlines, where the focus remains squarely on the art and science of building things that matter.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Y Combinator Startup Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Fastest Path To Super Intelligence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:45
Poetiq is a new startup founded by former DeepMind researchers that recently achieved a major jump on the ARC-AGI and Humanity's Last Exam benchmark by layering a recursive self-improvement system on top of existing mode…
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Inside Claude Code With Its Creator Boris Cherny [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:10
A very special guest on this episode of the Lightcone! Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code, sits down to share the incredible journey of developing one of the most transformative coding tools of the AI era.
The New Way To Build A Startup [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:50
In the AI era, startups aren't winning by hiring faster — they're winning by automating as many internal functions as possible. In this episode of Main Function, Garry breaks down how tiny teams are beating companies 20x…
OpenClaw And The Future Of Personal AI Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:35
You’ve probably already heard all about OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot/Moltbot). The viral sensation is an open-source AI assistant that runs on your own device, connects with messaging apps you already use, and goes beyond…
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Duration: 45:59
Wondering why your maker-turned-manager suddenly seems distracted in meetings? Maybe they're addicted to coding agents! In this episode of Lightcone, Calvin French-Owen — a co-founder of Segment and former engineer on Op…
How To Get Your First Customers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:41
When you're starting out, it isn’t enough to just build a minimum viable product. You also need a minimum evolvable product - one that can adapt to the needs of those critical early customers. In this episode of Main Fun…
Inside The Startup Building Reusable Rockets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:43
Stoke Space is racing to build the world's first fully reusable rockets that can launch, survive reentry, and fly again and again. In this episode of Hard Tech, YC’s Aaron Epstein sits down with Stoke Space co-founders A…
What Surprised Us Most In 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:22
2025 was the year AI stopped feeling chaotic and started feeling buildable. In this Lightcone episode, the YC partners break down the surprises of the year, from shifting model dominance to why the real opportunity is mo…
How Intelligent Is AI, Really? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:59
ARC-AGI is redefining how to measure progress on the path to AGI - focusing on reasoning, generalization, and adaptability instead of memorization or scale.During this month's NeurIPS 2025 conference, YC's Diana Hu sat d…