Y Combinator scored a surprise win when Larry Page came to speak

Between its mentors, alums, and private messaging board Bookface, Y Combinator is maybe only two-degrees of separation from anyone in tech. Even Google founder Larry Page. Page spoke at a YC event in December, Business Insider reports, where he talked about the early days of Google.

Page went from one of the most visible tech billionaires to one of the most obscure, even before officially stepping down as CEO in 2019. Prior to shunning the spotlight, he famously suffered from vocal cord damage. One of his last highly visible appearances was, ironically enough, in 2016 when he was among the tech elite to gather at Trump Tower after Trump’s first election win.

It says something about YC’s place in San Francisco’s burgeoning AI startup scene that it persuaded Page to visit. These days, he’s best known for his flying EV startup, Pivotal, which began selling its Helix vehicle a year ago.