Quora joins Y Combinator’s latest class as an experiment in late-stage investments

Y Combinator just announced that it is adding question and answer service Quora to its Summer class of startups.

The move is bound to raise a few questions. It’s a first for Y Combinator, which has never invested in a company as late-stage as Quora.

YC head Sam Altman said the decision is a “new experiment,” and he’s not sure if the accelerator will do something like it again. The firm also won’t count Quora in its portfolio stats, since it would skew the results.

Just weeks ago, Quora raised an $80 million Series C round with the goal of staying independent forever. The startup clearly doesn’t need help raising money, but joining YC should further its efforts to monetize the service.

Update: Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo has explained his reasons for joining YC in an answer post:

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• We’ll have Sam and all the other partners to help us.
• We get to be part of the YC community / alumni network of founders.
• We get access to all the resources of YC.

➤ Quora in the next YC batch [Y Combinator]