Three childhood friends from the University of Waterloo have secured $500,000 from the Y Combinator (YC) for GALE, an innovative immigration software.
YC is one of the world's biggest and most prestigious startup accelerators, with an average acceptance rate of one per cent. Every year, recipients receive $500,000 in seed funding and other resources like alumni talks and mentorship. With alumni including Airbnb, DoorDash, and Twitch, YC can help kickstart a young business.
"To us, it's kind of a no-brainer of why wouldn't we go?" says GALE's co-founder Haokun Qin, a fourth-year Computational Mathematics student. "The people at YC have done things we wanted to do at the 100th level. We want to learn from them, so we can create a product that people love."
His team was recommended by Velocity, Waterloo's flagship incubator, to attend YC.
Qin co-created GALE alongside Computer Science students, Rahul Gudise and Rishabh Sambare, after the Collision Conference in 2024, which they attended to promote their product management software.
A new business idea emerged after they conversed with a Canadian immigration lawyer, who found certain PDF forms, like Permanent Residency applications, to be time-consuming. Instead, they would hire people to enter this data, making this process more expensive.
"The problem with interfacing with an immigration lawyer is that communication often occurs through archaic means such as email and Word documents, which results in a lot of back and forth for basic pieces of information," Qin explains. "This inefficiency often delays cases from being processed. Immigration law impacts a lot of people, yet technology hasn't touched it in the last 20 years."
The team built GALE, a data intake form that can capture all essential client information in one go. By automating these procedures, lawyers can process their clients' cases faster.
GALE has expanded their vision by targeting a larger audience: American businesses that hire overseas workers on a H-1B work visa. These visas have very strict yet subtle compliance requirements. If a business isn't careful, the American government could remove it from the program or terminate its H-1B employees.
These risks are higher for small businesses and startups.
"Large businesses can hire a law firm that can provide a white glove service," Sambare says. "They can tell businesses how to follow each compliance and which documents the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services wants them to maintain. Enterprises also have enough employees who can complete these forms. For startups, it's usually the founder who's filing the visa and is interacting with the lawyers."
Left to right: Rishabh Sambare, Rahul Gudise and Haokun Qin at the Y Combinator in San Francisco. This three-month-long program includes networking sessions, mentorship, and alumni events. The trio credits Waterloo's entrepreneurial ecosystem for supporting their journey.
GALE's co-founders are doing their due diligence by working with attorneys to understand the visa process.
"Our platform provides lawyers with enough information to do the same job they would have done via email," Sambare says. "We are saving their time while ensuring the quality of each case is high."
Moreover, GALE can guide users throughout the visa process, so they don't have to interface with a lawyer.
"I've seen startups in YC and the Bay Area miss key deadlines and lose customers due to some slow and inefficient visa process," Gudise says. With YC's funding, they can focus on iterating their software to help teams take the time and stress out of immigration.
GALE joined YC's winter 2025 cohort. Although it started in January, the trio has learned a lot from attending YC's networking sessions and alumni talks.
"Before, I would see general statements on how businesses work. I learned that business, especially growing a company, is like a science when you simplify it into steps. You can see this mentality influence how YC partners speak," Sambare says.
The three founders credit the University of Waterloo's thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem for supporting their journey.
"A founder needs a strong team or support system. I strongly suggest students interested in entrepreneurship to find a community. At Waterloo, Velocity or the Conrad events are the easiest paths," Qin says.
Gudise recalls his first time attending a Velocity event. He felt nervous to strike up a conversation, however, his Velocity advisor Eric Blondeel, literally pushed him to talk to someone. Through this conversation, Gudise learned that people are willing to help, if you have the courage to ask.
"I will always remember this moment because someone gave me the courage to try something new. We really want to thank Velocity. They were instrumental in helping us get to YC."
