While not a surprise, it is a blow to the local web scene here in Boston to lose Y Combinator. Paul Graham has long been a critic of the Boston Venture community and their reluctance to invest in his crops of nascent startups. He has now given in to the fact that the Valley is a better place for (web) startups.
Y Combinator did not have a great effect on the Boston economy, as most of the companies moved to the Valley anyway. But it was a beacon of innovation and wisdom about the Web amidst the established enterprise, data center and wireless worlds that thrive here in Boston.
It was annoying when TechCrunch “discovered” YCombinator and Hacker News and claimed them as one of their own even though it originated in Boston. It is now even more annoying to think that it is now true.
