Francois Chaubard

At-a-Glance

Visiting Group Partner at Y Combinator (since 2025)
Founder and CEO of Focal Systems, where he spent over 9 years
Author of 'AI for Retail'
PhD student in Computer Science at Stanford University (since 2024), focusing on Artificial Intelligence
Deep Learning Researcher at Apple (2015)

Biography

Francois Chaubard is a Visiting Group Partner at Y Combinator, a role he has held since 2025. Concurrently, he is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at Stanford University, specializing in Artificial Intelligence, a program he began in 2024. He is also recognized as the author of 'AI for Retail'.

Prior to his current roles, Chaubard founded and served as CEO of Focal Systems for over nine years. His professional background also includes experience as a Deep Learning Researcher at Apple in 2015.