There’s a fresh face in the Y Combinator W26 batch that’s turning heads, and it goes by the name Cardboard. At first glance, the name might seem humble, but don’t let that fool you — this browser-based video editor is packing some serious firepower under the hood.
So what exactly is Cardboard? In simple terms, it’s an agentic video editor designed for growth teams, marketing departments, and serious creators who need to pump out quality video content consistently. The magic happens when you feed it your raw footage along with a specific goal. Want three different variants of your latest product demo? Need a punchy thirty-second hook for TikTok? Looking to pull together a testimonials reel? Just tell Cardboard what you need, and you’ll have a solid first cut ready for review in minutes rather than hours.
What makes Cardboard genuinely exciting is the convergence of two major technical breakthroughs that have finally reached maturity. First, multimodal large language models have evolved to the point where they can actually reason over video footage — understanding context, identifying key moments, and making intelligent editorial decisions. Second, WebGPU and WebCodecs have unlocked professional-grade video editing capabilities right inside your browser. No bulky downloads, no compatibility headaches, just a true non-linear editing experience that runs wherever you have an internet connection.
The founding team behind Cardboard brings a rare combination of expertise that makes this ambitious vision feel achievable. Saksham, who previously served as CTO and co-founder of Iterate AI, understands both the content creation side and the AI infrastructure needed to power intelligent editing. His co-founder Ishan spent five years building performance-critical browser applications at HackerRank, giving him deep knowledge of how to squeeze every ounce of performance out of web technologies. Together, they’re tackling what they describe as “two hard things at once” — a high-performance browser editor and a reliable agentic system that won’t let you down when deadlines are looming.
The timing couldn’t be better. Video has become the dominant language of the internet, with platforms prioritizing moving images over static content at every turn. Marketing teams are under constant pressure to produce more video variants, test different hooks, and iterate faster than ever before. Traditional video workflows — with their endless back-and-forth with agencies, lengthy timelines, and fragmented review processes — simply weren’t built for this velocity.
Cardboard is positioning itself to become the default workspace for video production, much like Canva and Figma became essential tools for design teams. The vision is compelling: a collaborative environment where the tedious parts of video editing happen automatically, leaving creators free to focus on creative decisions that actually move the needle. Since launching in late January 2026, the buzz around this YC startup has only grown louder, and for good reason. When the tools finally catch up with the demand, everything changes.
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