This YC Company Made AI Mandatory by Law

Jan 6, 2026

48:13

forum

Ask episode

view_agenda

Chapters

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

Everyone’s chasing shiny AI agents. Tanner Jones is quietly using AI to tear out 25% of a state’s rule book, and got Virginia to require his product by law.

This episode goes inside Vulcan Technology, a YC startup using AI to map every law and regulation in America, undercut Deloitte and McKinsey, and turn a $4T regulatory burden into a trillion-dollar software market. We talk about Virginia’s $24K cheaper homes, destroying the Big Four with code, how to actually sell into government, and why most “AI for gov” plays are doomed from day one.

You’ll learn:

How Vulcan uses AI to analyze entire regulatory codes and show what can’t change, what can change, and what must change.
The Virginia case study: how building code streamlining translated into ~$24,000 less per new home without touching safety.
Why both red and blue states are leaning into AI for regulation, and how YC founders are navigating the politics.
What investors get wrong about govtech, ARR, and how to value AI consultancies selling into the state.
How Tanner sold to a state government 10 days after incorporation and then raised one of the biggest seeds of his YC batch.
What’s overhyped in AI infra, what’s inevitable, and how to avoid building a “solution in search of a problem” in govtech.

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The Challenges of Government Contracts

00:51 Sponsorship Message from Stable

01:51 Introducing Tanner Jones and Vulcan Technology

02:33 The Vision: AI in Government Consulting

06:20 Case Study: Virginia's Regulatory Overhaul

12:26 Bipartisan Appeal of AI Solutions

17:34 Behind the Scenes at Y Combinator

22:28 Navigating Government Sales and Investor Relations

24:51 Scientific Innovation and Emergence of New Companies

25:15 Palantir and Anduril's Impact on Intelligence Agencies