I dreamed of working at Goldman Sachs until I interned there. Now I'm living my new dream — running a Y Combinator AI startup.

At just 23, Raymond Zhao has transformed his career trajectory from an intern at Goldman Sachs to the co-founder and CEO of Structured AI, part of Y Combinator's Fall 2025 Batch. His rapid success in securing $500,000 in funding for his AI startup has been a surprising twist in his journey. Zhao initially aspired to work in finance, drawn by the prestige and pay associated with firms like Goldman Sachs. However, following an intensive internship in the summer of 2024, he discovered that the corporate world was not where his passion lay. The long hours and a lack of enthusiasm for financial markets led him to reassess his career goals. After taking time to travel and reflect, he returned to the University of Oxford to pursue a Master's degree in mathematics and statistics. It was during this time he connected with Isabel Greenslade, who would become his co-founder, and they began exploring opportunities in the burgeoning AI sector. With the help of their third co-founder, Brandon Smith, they identified a significant issue within preconstruction engineering that would become the foundation for Structured AI. Their startup aims to streamline repetitive workflows faced by engineers, utilizing AI agents to assist with text-heavy tasks such as paperwork. Despite initial setbacks with their first application to Y Combinator, they persevered and returned with a refined concept, ultimately gaining acceptance into the prestigious program. Life in Y Combinator has been both exhilarating and demanding. Zhao describes the atmosphere as intensely competitive, where teams work tirelessly to refine their projects. The experience has pushed him to new limits, often waking early and working late into the night to meet the demands of the program. As they prepare for their Demo Day in December, where they will pitch to investors, Zhao reflects on the entrepreneurial risks he has taken. For him, the transition from corporate aspirations to building a startup has been a rewarding journey, filled with the excitement of creating something impactful in the AI field. He encourages others with startup ideas to pursue their dreams, emphasizing that the greatest risk is often not taking a chance at all.