Jessica Livingston '93 — a trailblazing entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of Silicon Valley’s premier startup incubator, Y Combinator — will deliver the keynote address at Bucknell University’s 175th Commencement on Sunday, May 18, 2025.

Livingston is one of the most successful investors in Silicon Valley, celebrated for her unmatched ability to identify and nurture groundbreaking entrepreneurs. In 2005, she co-founded Y Combinator, which has since funded over 5,500 startups — including industry-defining companies such as Airbnb, Coinbase, DoorDash, Reddit, Stripe and Dropbox — with an aggregate value of over $700 billion.

"Jessica Livingston drew on the knowledge, values and skills she gained at Bucknell to boldly lead transformational change in the business world at a young age," says Bucknell President John Bravman. "Her impact on the entrepreneurial landscape speaks to the power of a Bucknell degree and will no doubt inspire the Class of 2025."

A Legacy of Supporting Founders
Livingston is renowned for her extraordinary ability to assess character, a critical skill in early-stage investing when a founder's potential often outweighs tangible results. Her sharp intuition and extensive experience have earned her the nickname "the social radar" among her peers.

While at Y Combinator, Livingston established Startup School, an annual conference for aspiring founders that has become a cornerstone event in the entrepreneurial world. Over the years, it has hosted notable business leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Steve Wozniak of Apple, and Sam Altman of OpenAI.

Livingston also co-hosts the popular podcast The Social Radars with Y Combinator general counsel Carolynn Levy. The podcast has featured distinguished guests including Altman, Airbnb founder Brian Chesky and Theranos whistleblower Tyler Schultz.

A Bucknell Foundation
Livingston graduated from Bucknell in 1993 with a bachelor of arts in English. Before co-founding Y Combinator, she was vice president of marketing at Adams Harkness, a Boston-based investment bank.

In addition to her work in Silicon Valley, Livingston authored the best-selling book Founders at Work, a collection of interviews with startup pioneers. She was also a founding donor of OpenAI, supporting its mission to advance artificial intelligence research.

Livingston lives in England with her husband and two sons and continues to engage with the startup community, regularly mentoring and advising new entrepreneurs through Y Combinator.

"I'm delighted to be coming back to Bucknell as the 2025 Commencement speaker," says Livingston. "My job is to help founders start startups, and the hardest part for the younger ones is how mysterious it all seems. Many graduating seniors are in a similar position, mystified about what to do next. I was. So I'm hoping I can make the future a little clearer for them, and help them face it with confidence."

Commencement 2025
Bucknell's 175th Commencement, celebrating the Class of 2025, will take place on Sunday, May 18, at 10 a.m. on Malesardi Quadrangle.

Livingston joins a distinguished list of recent alumni Commencement speakers, following Nadia Sasso '11 (2024), Jay Wright '83 (2023) and Daisy Auger-Domínguez '95 (2022).