Tech:NYC Digest: December 13

Tech:NYC Digest: December 13

December 13, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

In today’s digest, why NYC is a national environmental standout, the state’s plans to support digital equity, and what job posting activity tells us about the direction of tech talent in 2023.

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  • New York’s new gun law remains intact, at least temporarily, after a federal appeals court on Monday paused a lower court’s ruling blocking a key section of the law that bans firearms in parks, in public transit systems and on private property, without the property owner’s permission. (New York Times)

  • New data measuring the pace of climate change in US cities shows that NYC logs some of the lowest consumption-based emissions per household nationwide. (New York Times)

  • The New York State's ConnectALL office has been awarded $7.2 million in federal grants to produce more comprehensive broadband deployment and digital equity plans statewide. Learn more here.

  • New York City is expanding the number of seats for preschool students with special needs across all five boroughs. The Dept. of Education is keeping the current 3,000 seats available and adding 800 more seats by this spring. (ABC New York)

In other reading:

  • What to do if you catch RSV, flu, and COVID-19 – back to back to back (Gothamist)

  • Could New York City Buses Become Free for All? (THE CITY)

  • Rockefeller Center Is the New York Restaurant Event of the Year (New York Times)

There’s been a lot said about tech layoffs and what it means for the sector, but with more focus on digital transformation than ever before, industries of all kinds are now jumping into the race for tech talent.

What’s new: Job postings for tech-focused roles across the economy are up 25% from January to October 2022, compared to the same time period in 2021, according to new research from career marketplace Dice.

  • NYC sits at the top of the list of 25 tech cities by job posting volume, with an 18% increase year-over-year.

  • State-by-state rankings log New York in the number three spot with 199,950 tech job postings in 2022 – a 20% increase from 2021.

The demand for tech talent has kept apace as predictions continue to swirl about a downward economy in 2023.

  • While Crunchbase estimates put the number of tech layoffs nationwide around 85,000, more than 375,000 tech jobs were posted in October 2022 alone.

“It can look like the sky is falling for tech hiring,” said Dice CEO Art Zeile. “In reality, with each tech job elimination, there are still multiple unfilled roles waiting for that tech professional. The challenge and opportunity for established organizations will be in attracting and engaging with newly available talent to build out their tech teams.”

Among other trends highlighted in the report:

  • 52% of the top 50 employers of tech talent in 2022 were from non-tech industries, particularly in healthcare, aerospace, finance, and consulting.

  • Companies across all industries are putting more investments in in-house tech teams. Job postings for software development engineers (+139.5%), back-end engineers (+121.5%) and data science managers (+103.1%) have more than doubled compared to 2021.

In other reading: 

  • Shibuya, a New York-based web3 content and storytelling platform, raised $6.9 million in seed funding. Variant and a16z crypto co-led the round and were joined by a group of angels. (Fortune)

  • Vic.ai, a New York and Oslo-based autonomy and intelligence platform for accounting and finance, raised $52 million in Series C funding. GGV Capital and ICONIQ Growth co-led the round and were joined by Cowboy Ventures and Costanoa Ventures. (TechCrunch)

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is accepting applications for its 2023 Founder Fellowship. A signature program of the Venture Access NYC initiative, the program works with five NYC operators — Chloe Capital, Company Ventures, Newlab, the Tech Incubator at Queens College, and Visible Hands — to support 100 diverse-led startup teams. Learn more and apply by Dec. 16 here.BX-XL, an early-stage startup accelerator program run by the Social Justice Fund and Visible Hands to support BIPOC founders, is accepting applications for its inaugural cohort. Selected founders will receive investments of up to $500,000, mentorship, company-building support, and more. Learn more and apply by Jan. 20 here.The Social Science Research Council is accepting applications for its Just Tech Fellowship. The program is open to cross-disciplinary researchers and practitioners to imagine and create more just, equitable, and representative technological futures. Selected fellows receive two-year awards of $100,000 annually, as well as seed funding for work on other collaborative projects. Learn more and apply by Jan. 30 here.

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