Y Combinator's Requests for Startups · Fall 2026

A Cloud for Small Software

Requested by Pete Koomen · View in YC · Start with an MVP

Build a production-ready cloud platform purpose-built for "small software" — the purpose-built tools that individuals and small teams increasingly build with AI agents. Core vision: Traditional clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP) are built for large engineering orgs and are far too complex for a single person shipping a small internal tool. Build the opposite: a platform where an agent-built app goes from code to a shared, secured URL in one step, with deployment, sharing, customization, authentication, and permissions handled for you. The system must support the full lifecycle of small software: 1. Register / import an app (a small web app or tool) 2. Deploy it in one click, no infra config required 3. Give it authentication out of the box 4. Share it with specific people or a small team 5. Manage per-user and per-role permissions simply 6. Let owners customize and update it over time Core capabilities: App registry and deployment: - One-click deploy from an imported project or template - Automatic environment provisioning (simulated at the control-plane level) - Versioning and instant rollback - Simple environment variables and secrets management - Logs and basic health status per app Built-in authentication and permissions: - Zero-config auth for every deployed app - Invite-by-email access with magic links - Roles and per-resource permissions with a simple UI - Team spaces grouping related small apps - Audit log of who accessed what Sharing and customization: - Shareable URLs with granular access control - A directory of a user's and team's small apps - Lightweight customization (branding, access rules) without redeploying - Templates for common small-software patterns Owner dashboard: - Overview of all deployed apps, usage, and access - Simple billing tied to active apps - Alerts for errors or access issues Design: Calm, developer-friendly, and radically simple — the anti-AWS-console. Clean typography, minimal chrome, and a strong "deploy in one click" primary action everywhere.

Builds a working MVP of a deployment platform for "small software" — agent-built tools for individuals or small teams. Includes an app registry, one-click deploy from a project, built-in auth and permission management, and a sharing surface. Bare-metal provisioning and multi-region infra are simulated at the control-plane level.