石榴视频 and Griffith students accepted into Silicon Valley accelerator behind Airbnb and OpenAI
Childhood friends Anis Mihrshahi, 19, from the 石榴视频 and Leon Mojarrabi, 23, from Griffith University, have been accepted into Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley startup accelerator behind Airbnb, Dropbox, and OpenAI.
The pair has co-founded biotech startup Gutgutgoose and will relocate to California after securing US$500,000 funding through the program, which provides an intensive three-month experience focused on scaling high-growth technology companies.
Just 0.33 per cent of applicants are accepted into Y Combinator globally, with successful startups receiving funding, mentorship, and investor access.
Founded to develop personalised probiotics tailored to an individual’s gut microbiome, Gutgutgoose combines microbiome sequencing, metabolic modelling, and AI-driven analysis to create formulations that better match each person’s unique gut environment.
Mihrshahi and Mojarrabi, who regularly study at the Inala University Study Hub while continuing to develop their company, could not hide their excitement.
“When we got the call from YC, Anis started screaming and jumping around,” Mojarrabi said.
“It was something to see. Our families are incredibly proud and supportive.”
Gutgutgoose aims to move beyond traditional off-the-shelf probiotics by focusing on long-term microbiome response and personalisation rather than one-size-fits-all formulations.
“The gut microbiome is now linked to chronic disease, immune function, and mental health across hundreds of peer-reviewed studies,” Mojarrabi said.
“But the interventions – off-the-shelf probiotics – sold to address it don’t actually engraft in most of the people who buy them. Most strains in a capsule pass straight through the gut.”
Gutgutgoose is building a longitudinal microbiome dataset designed to better understand how gut health changes over time and support advances in personalised and predictive healthcare.
“The gut shapes everything; the science on that part is settled,” Mihrshahi said.
“AI is supposed to tell us what to do about it, but AI is only as good as the data it learns from, and that data barely exists.
“Every Gutgutgoose customer fills the gap: a before-state, a defined intervention, a verified after-state.”
The startup has completed an initial alpha cohort and is preparing for a larger beta phase.
Acceptance into Y Combinator marks a significant milestone for the young founders as they prepare to take Gutgutgoose from Inala to Silicon Valley and onto the global stage.
