# Qasar Younis

> Qasar Younis is the Pakistani-American engineer, repeat founder and former Y Combinator COO who co-founded Applied Intuition in 2017. His path runs from a farm in Punjab to Detroit's automotive industry, Harvard Business School, a rapid Google acquisition and Silicon Valley's best-known startup accelerator. At Applied Intuition, he and co-founder Peter Ludwig began with simulation tools for autonomous-vehicle teams and expanded into operating systems, autonomy and physical-AI infrastructure for vehicles and machines across automotive, trucking, mining, construction, agriculture and defense.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Applied Intuition
- **Organizations:** Applied Intuition, Y Combinator, Google, TalkBin, Cameesa, Bosch, General Motors
- **From:** Punjab, Pakistan
- **Nationality:** Pakistani-American
- **Education:** BS in Mechanical Engineering, Kettering University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Applied Intuition and expanded it from autonomy simulation tools into a physical-AI platform spanning tools, vehicle operating systems and autonomy., Led Applied Intuition through a $600 million Series F and tender offer at a $15 billion valuation in June 2025., Built a customer base reported by Applied Intuition to include 18 of the world's 20 largest automakers.

## Career timeline

- **1999-2006** — Worked in automotive engineering at General Motors and Bosch, including work in Japan.
- **2007** — Co-founded consumer crowdfunding startup Cameesa while pursuing entrepreneurship after business school.
- **2010-2011** — Co-founded and led TalkBin, a customer-feedback startup in Y Combinator's Winter 2011 batch.
- **2011** — Google acquired TalkBin; Younis joined Google and later led business-facing products in Google Maps.
- **2013-2014** — Joined Y Combinator first as a part-time partner and then full-time.
- **2015** — Named Y Combinator's first chief operating officer while continuing to invest in and advise startups.
- **2017** — Co-founded Applied Intuition with Peter Ludwig.
- **2024** — Applied Intuition raised a $250 million Series E at a $6 billion valuation.
- **2025** — Applied Intuition raised a $600 million Series F and tender offer at a $15 billion valuation.
- **2026** — Applied Intuition broadened its physical-AI platform with Dana and announced a national-scale autonomous-trucking collaboration in Saudi Arabia.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Applied Intuition and expanded it from autonomy simulation tools into a physical-AI platform spanning tools, vehicle operating systems and autonomy.
- Led Applied Intuition through a $600 million Series F and tender offer at a $15 billion valuation in June 2025.
- Built a customer base reported by Applied Intuition to include 18 of the world's 20 largest automakers.
- Served as Y Combinator's first chief operating officer.
- Founded TalkBin, which Google acquired during 2011 after its Y Combinator batch.
- Led business-facing products within Google Maps after the TalkBin acquisition.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Applied Intuition and HUMAIN announced a collaboration intended to deploy thousands of autonomous trucks across Saudi Arabia's logistics corridors by 2030, with later expansion considered for robotaxis, ports and mining.
- **2026-07** — Applied Intuition introduced Dana, an agentic platform for developing and deploying physical-AI applications.
- **2026-04** — Younis opened Applied Intuition's first Physical AI Day, presenting the company's tools, Vehicle OS and autonomy products as one cross-industry platform.
- **2026-02** — Forbes profiled Younis and Peter Ludwig as Applied Intuition expanded from its automotive base into broader autonomy markets.
- **2025-06** — Applied Intuition announced a $600 million Series F and tender offer at a $15 billion valuation.

## Links

- Website: https://qy.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qasar
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/qasar

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/qasar-younis
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27