If you’re wondering where Altman got the money for that, remember that he put about $3 million into Cruise well before that start-up sold to General Motors for $1.25 billion, earning him a windfall. His place at the top of YC meant he was better positioned than many other venture capitalists to win jackpots like that, getting an intimate view on hundreds of companies who’d already been carefully screened, and in the middle of one of the greatest bull market runs in history. Getting pitched by all those start-ups also helped him see into the future.
