Moonshots

The problems that define the next century

Some problems are so large that solving them changes everything. Fusion energy. Brain-computer interfaces. Reversing aging. These aren't incremental improvements—they're civilizational shifts. We're looking for the technical breakthroughs and bold bets that seem impossible until they're inevitable.

What we're looking for:

  • Problems requiring 10x thinking, not 10% improvements
  • Deep tech and scientific breakthroughs
  • Long time horizons with massive payoffs
  • Ideas that sound crazy today but obvious in hindsight

Problems in Moonshots

16 problems

Featured sourced problems

AI for Scientific Discovery

·2w ago·@ycombinator

Scientific breakthroughs are bottlenecked by human bandwidth—reading papers, running experiments, analyzing data. AI can accelerate discovery 10x in drug development, materials science, chemical engineering, and climate modeling. Build the tools that help scientists discover faster.

55
35
23

AI-Staffed Companies That Compete With Incumbents

·2w ago·@ycombinator

Don't build AI tools for law firms—build an AI law firm. Don't build AI for accounting—build an AI accounting firm. Use AI to rebuild entire industries from scratch, competing directly against slow-moving incumbents.

49
31
21

The $100B Company with 10 People

·1w ago·@ycombinator

Cloud eliminated infrastructure costs. AI is eliminating headcount costs. High-agency teams of 5-10 people can now build multi-billion dollar companies with $500K in funding. The metric that matters: revenue per employee. Some teams will hit $100M per person.

37
23
17

Ownership is the New Sales

·6w ago·@conviction

Fragmented industries like HOAs, BPOs, and accounting firms are slow to adopt AI tools. Acquire and operate underinvested businesses directly rather than selling into them.

30
14
16

Build the Multi-Billion Dollar Hypersonic Flight Market

·55w ago·@ARK Invest

Hypersonic flight is projected as a multi-billion dollar near-term market, with long-term potential of hundreds of billions. Build commercial hypersonic transportation.

35
17
20

Build on Reusable Rocket Economics (<$1M Refurbishment)

·55w ago·@ARK Invest

SpaceX Falcon 9 booster refurbishment costs less than $1M. Launch costs per kg to orbit have dropped dramatically. Build the space economy infrastructure.

33
16
19

Just Go Live

·6w ago·@conviction

Incumbent advantage is assumed, but datasets often don't exist in useful forms. Build the first useful product, deploy, and iterate with real customer feedback loops rather than waiting for perfect data.

22
10
12

AI-Native Agencies: Software Margins on Services

·3d ago·@ycombinator

Instead of selling AI tools to help agencies work faster, become the agency. Use AI to deliver design, advertising, legal, and consulting services with software-like margins and infinite scalability.

16
9
10

Community submissions

AI-Native Agencies: Software Margins on Services

·3d ago·@Y Combinator

Instead of selling AI tools to help agencies work faster, become the agency. Use AI to deliver design, advertising, legal, and consulting services with software-like margins and infinite scalability.

16
9
10

The $100B Company with 10 People

·1w ago·@Y Combinator

Cloud eliminated infrastructure costs. AI is eliminating headcount costs. High-agency teams of 5-10 people can now build multi-billion dollar companies with $500K in funding. The metric that matters: revenue per employee. Some teams will hit $100M per person.

37
23
17

AI-Staffed Companies That Compete With Incumbents

·2w ago·@Y Combinator

Don't build AI tools for law firms—build an AI law firm. Don't build AI for accounting—build an AI accounting firm. Use AI to rebuild entire industries from scratch, competing directly against slow-moving incumbents.

49
31
21

AI for Scientific Discovery

·2w ago·@Y Combinator

Scientific breakthroughs are bottlenecked by human bandwidth—reading papers, running experiments, analyzing data. AI can accelerate discovery 10x in drug development, materials science, chemical engineering, and climate modeling. Build the tools that help scientists discover faster.

55
35
23

Just Go Live

·6w ago·@Conviction

Incumbent advantage is assumed, but datasets often don't exist in useful forms. Build the first useful product, deploy, and iterate with real customer feedback loops rather than waiting for perfect data.

22
10
12

Ownership is the New Sales

·6w ago·@Conviction

Fragmented industries like HOAs, BPOs, and accounting firms are slow to adopt AI tools. Acquire and operate underinvested businesses directly rather than selling into them.

30
14
16

Build on Reusable Rocket Economics (<$1M Refurbishment)

·55w ago·@ARK Invest

SpaceX Falcon 9 booster refurbishment costs less than $1M. Launch costs per kg to orbit have dropped dramatically. Build the space economy infrastructure.

33
16
19

Build the Multi-Billion Dollar Hypersonic Flight Market

·55w ago·@ARK Invest

Hypersonic flight is projected as a multi-billion dollar near-term market, with long-term potential of hundreds of billions. Build commercial hypersonic transportation.

35
17
20

Explore Other Categories

Niche Markets

Small markets that desperately need a champion

The best businesses often start in markets that look too small. Vertical SaaS for dry cleaners. Tools for independent truckers. Software for yacht brokers. These niches are ignored by big companies but represent real pain for real people. Dominate a niche, then expand.

Future of Work

Reinventing how 4 billion people spend their days

Work is being rebuilt from scratch. Remote collaboration. AI-augmented productivity. The death of the 9-to-5. The rise of the portfolio career. The companies that define how we work in 2035 are being built now. We're looking for the tools, platforms, and systems that will shape the next era of human productivity.

Creator Economy

Powering the next generation of independent creators

50 million people now consider themselves creators. Most make less than $500/year. The infrastructure is broken—discovery is algorithmic roulette, monetization favors platforms over people, and burnout is the norm. We need better tools for creators to build sustainable businesses around their work.

Longevity

Adding decades to the human healthspan

The science of aging is accelerating. Senolytics. Gene therapy. Epigenetic reprogramming. For the first time, extending healthy human lifespan is a serious engineering challenge, not science fiction. The companies solving these problems won't just build billion-dollar businesses—they'll change what it means to be human.

Rebuild Money

Fixing the infrastructure of global finance

Financial infrastructure was built for a different era. Cross-border payments take days. 2 billion people are unbanked. Small businesses can't access capital. Crypto promised a revolution but mostly delivered speculation. We're looking for practical solutions that make money work better for everyone.

Climate Tech

The decade that decides everything

We have 10 years to fundamentally transform energy, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing. This isn't about incremental efficiency—it's about reinventing trillion-dollar industries. The climate transition will create more wealth than the internet. The problems are urgent, massive, and solvable.