I think the problem with this particular challenge is that it is incredibly non-disruptive to the status quo. There are already 100s of billions flowing into using LLMs as well as GPUs for chip design. Nvidia has of course laid the ground work with its culitho efforts. This kind of research area is very hot in the research world as well. It’s by no means difficult to pitch to a VC. So why should YC back it? I’d love to see YC identifying areas where VC dollars are not flowing. Unfortunately, the other challenges are mostly the same — govtech, civictech, defense tech. These are all areas where VC dollars are now happily flowing since companies like Anduril made it plausible.