106 AI Startups to Cold Email for an Internship (India, Remote and Live Openings)

Published September 2026 · avivashishta.com

You commented intern, so here's the full list: 106 AI startups, split into five groups so you know who to email first. I pulled them from Y Combinator's company directory (through the open yc-oss/api dataset, refreshed 27 September 2026), live Summer 2027 postings on SimplifyJobs/Summer2027-Internships, and India listings on PrepNPlaced and Wellfound.

How to use this list

1. If you're in India, start with groups 1 and 2. Group 3 has live postings, but they're mostly in-person in the US, Canada and the UK.
2. Open the company's YC page. The founders are listed there. Find them on LinkedIn or X, and use the contact on the company site.
3. Build something small for them first: a demo, a bug fix, an integration. Link it in the first line.
4. Follow up once after 5 days, then move on.

The email I'd send

Subject: Built a small [thing] for [Company], internship?

Hi [First name],

I'm [Name], a [year] CS student at [college]. I use [their product / read their launch post] and built a small [demo / fix / integration] that [does X]: [link to live demo] ([GitHub link]).

I'd love to intern with the team, remote or in person, for [dates]. I've shipped [1 line: your best project with a number, e.g. "a RAG app 300 students use"].

Happy to do a short paid trial task. Thanks for reading.

[Name]
[Portfolio link]

1. India AI startups on YC's hiring list (18)

YC's directory lists these as hiring. Some have no open post today, which is exactly who you cold email.

2. India AI startups with intern or 0 to 1 year roles listed (19)

Live on PrepNPlaced's AI/ML internships page (updated 23 September) or Wellfound's AI engineer India page (checked 27 September). Search the company name there to apply.

3. AI startups with a live internship posting right now (21)

Marked active on SimplifyJobs on 27 September 2026. Mostly in-person, so these fit best if you study in, or can work from, these countries.

4. Early-stage YC AI startups hiring, with remote roles (38)

YC batches from 2025 and 2026, teams of 60 or fewer, with "Remote" in their YC hiring regions. Tiny teams, so the founder is often the one reading.

5. Brand new YC AI dev tool startups, 2026 batches (10)

Teams of 12 or fewer building dev tools and AI infra. If you use Claude Code or Codex every day, you already know their users.

How I'd use this

• Pick 10 from groups 1, 2 and 4. Read their site, use the product, find one thing you could build or fix.
• Build that thing in a weekend. A live link in the first line of your email does more than any resume.
• Track it in a sheet: company, founder, date sent, reply. Treat it like a sales pipeline, because it is one.
• Keep posting what you build. Founders also find you through your posts, not just your emails.

Want more places to apply? Read YC Summer 2027 internships: where to apply, then 25 projects to build to get hired in 2026.

Follow @avi_vashishta29 for one practical AI dev resource a day.