Taiwanese Generation Z entrepreneurs boldly venture into the United States! Entering the top accelerator YC S26, Operon specializes in autonomous AI for manufacturing.

Taiwan's Generation Z startup Operon successfully selected for Y Combinator. Its AI system is specifically designed for manufacturing, capable of converting unstructured engineering drawings into structured data. The team has broken through confidentiality restrictions, attracting global clients, and aims to lead process industry upgrades.

Taiwan Generation Z AI Startup Operon, enters Y Combinator

Taiwan's young Generation Z AI startup Operon has successfully entered the top accelerator Y Combinator (YC) S26 batch!

Looking back at the interview process with YC, 22-year-old co-founder Chen Zhengyang admits it was "full of challenges." After a 10-minute online first-round interview, he was immediately invited to the headquarters for an in-person second interview. The second interview was extended to 30 minutes, where two partners conducted intensive questions on business plans, customer details, and product planning under high pressure, frequently interrupting the flow.

Although Chen Zhengyang was worried about his performance, he ultimately gained favor through resilience and the tangible value of the product.

Operon designed for manufacturing, converting unstructured drawings into structured data

Operon was founded by an engineering team with practical experience in chemical plants and refineries, dedicated to creating an AI system tailored for heavy industry and manufacturing. It had already entered Appworks founder Lin Zhi-cheng's "Jamie's Gap Year Program," a university incubator project.

Traditional manufacturing heavily relies on unstructured data such as piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&ID) and safety reports. Operon's core technology is using AI to analyze these complex engineering documents and convert them into structured data, thereby preserving the practical experience of senior engineers.

Currently, the company offers several main services, including drawing analysis features. After users upload files, the AI system can automatically recognize pipelines and equipment, claiming an accuracy rate of 97%.

Meanwhile, a dedicated AI assistant can automatically generate process flow diagrams, significantly reducing design time. For existing clients, Operon has also developed native plugins that can be directly embedded into mainstream process simulation platforms like Aspen and UniSim.

Breaking through drawing confidentiality restrictions by collecting real-world samples through simulated data

Before entering YC, Operon’s development also faced setbacks. Chen Zhengyang revealed in an interview with "Startup Gathering" that they initially faced rejection when pitching to Taiwanese process design companies.

He then changed strategy, posting product operation videos on LinkedIn, which unexpectedly resonated widely within the international chemical industry. Within 72 hours, they received over 300 trial requests from overseas industry professionals.

Since training AI models requires large numbers of real engineering drawings, and these drawings are often top secrets of various factories, Chen Zhengyang led the team to generate large numbers of simulated chemical drawings lacking actual logic to train the initial model.

Although the initial accuracy was only 70% to 80%, after launch, many foreign engineers uploaded real drawings for testing. Operon successfully collected over 200 real engineering drawings of various formats from around the world, rapidly increasing the model accuracy to 95%.

From Jamie's Gap Year Program to entering the YC hall of fame, Chen Zhengyang understands this is not something achieved alone. He especially thanks Lin Zhi-cheng and Caleb Xiao Zhu for early strategic guidance and resource referrals, and hopes Operon will become a top company in manufacturing and process industries.

He said: "Getting YC investment is just the beginning. It doesn't mean the company will take off, but I finally have enough ammunition."

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