Grade (YC W26) — API for performance-based payroll
Grade is the API for performance-based payroll. Think of us like Deel or Gusto, but our payouts are for work completed, not hours.
Grade is a Y Combinator company in the Winter 2026 batch. Its directory entry describes it as: API for performance-based payroll. The founders listed are Lotanna Ezeike (Founder/CEO), James Heaney (Founder/CTO) (Y Combinator directory entry, January 20, 2026).
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Example from a real report (our sample on Target): “Target eliminated approximately 1,800 corporate positions, with around 1,000 employees receiving layoff notices and the remainder accounted for by eliminating open roles.” Source: NBC News
Grade is the API for performance-based payroll. Think of us like Deel or Gusto, but our payouts are for work completed, not hours. Companies use Grade to pay AI agents and contractors based on results: tasks completed, targets hit, work delivered. We handle compliance, tax reporting, and global payouts.
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Track every post on any platform for free. Pay every creator in one click. Compliance, tax forms, and invoicing handled. 190+ countries. $10M+ paid out.
The title and description the site itself served, answering 200. Not a cached copy and not the company's directory entry — what was live when we asked.
Lotanna Ezeike
Founder/CEO
2x VC-backed founder. Previously product lead at Barclays, one of the world's largest banks, where I led product for digital payments. At my last company, I managed $10M+ in contractor payouts. That experience led me to build Grade, the API for paying AI agents and contractors based on performance.
James Heaney
Founder/CTO
2x exited founder and now the CTO of Grade, the API for performance based payroll. Previously, I built and exited my first cryptography startup for over $5M while still in school, built and exited a consumer mobile app PrayScreen, built a rocket engine in my garage, and moved to San Francisco with my cofounder over a year ago.
Excited by the future of payroll for the new global workforce and AI agents.
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Example from a real report (our sample on Target): “Target eliminated approximately 1,800 corporate positions, with around 1,000 employees receiving layoff notices and the remainder accounted for by eliminating open roles.” Source: NBC News
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The Short Answer
Which Company This Is
What They Do, And How The Money Works
Who Runs It, And How To Reach Them
The Money: Funding, Valuation, Runway
Who Pays Them, And Who They Are Up Against
Warning Bells
Sources
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