Tech:NYC Digest: February 23

Tech:NYC Digest: February 23

February 23, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 

In today’s digest, new vaccine offers 100 percent efficacy against severe disease, MTA pilots protective platform doors, and tracking the progress in venture capital’s support of Black founders.

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 2,456

    • New positive cases, NYC: 899

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 1.3 percent (no change)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 901 (+19)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers with least one dose: 88.7 percent

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 75.3 percent

Today’s latest: 

  • Mayor Adams today reported just over 25 percent of NYC workers are back in the office, and with the spread of the Omicron variant quickly fading in the city, encouraged more employers to resume their return-to-office plans. (POLITICO)

  • Two doses of a new COVID vaccine, made by European pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK, achieved 100 percent efficacy against severe disease and hospitalizations. The manufacturers are now seeking authorization in the US, saying their results make it an effective booster dose after other COVID shots. (New York Times)

  • The federal mask mandate for air travel is set to expire on March 18, but airline groups are pushing the Biden administration to extend the mandate for a third time. (New York Times)

  • The MTA announced it will launch a pilot program to install protective platform doors at three high-volume subway stations to prevent riders from jumping or falling onto the tracks. (Gothamist)

  • One warning for your weekend: Yet another turn of events is expected after today’s unusually warm day, with up to five inches of snow and icy conditions predicted beginning Friday. (NBC New York)

In other reading:

  • Travel’s Theme for 2022? ‘Go Big’ (New York Times)

  • Here are NYC’s 2022 James Beard Award Semifinalists (Eater NY)

  • See the Huge Geometric Animal Sculptures Taking Over NYC's Park Avenue (Thrillist)

It’s no secret the tech sector has long had a diversity problem, and the lion’s share of investment dollars have gone to white, male founders. But Black founders in NYC have made noticeable gains in venture capital funding:

  • NYC-based Black startup founders raised $783 million in total last year, more than six times the $124 million logged in 2020. (Crain’s New York)

Harlem Capital, a NYC-based venture capital firm focused on diverse entrepreneurs, just released the latest installment of its Diverse Founder Report, which tracked 870 Black and Latinx-led startups nationwide that have received $1 million+ in funding.

  • Total capital raised among these companies increased from $2.7 billion in 2020 to $8.2 billion in 2021.

  • Similar to the overall venture landscape, 58 percent of those companies are headquartered in New York or California, but they represent 69 percent of funding.

  • To see a full database of the included companies, click here.

Of course, there’s still a long way to go: These groups are still underfunded, even in a time when overall venture investment in the US — and New York — hit new highs. Crunchbase data indicates Black founders in NYC garnered just 1.7 percent of $46 billion in venture funding in a city where 20 percent of residents identify as Black.

  • According to Crunchbase, just four NYC Black-founded tech companies have reached unicorn status: Esusu, CityBlock Health, SmartAsset, and Pat McGrath Labs. 

Harlem Capital managing partner Henri Pierre-Jacques writes that he’s hopeful this list will see significant acceleration:

  • “We didn’t have the data to prove our diversity thesis five years ago, but now the data is more clear than ever. Black and Latino founders are in the early innings of what we believe is an asset class: diversity investing [...] I predict this list will represent $1 trillion in value by 2030.”

  • BlueVoyant, a New York City-based cybersecurity services provider, raised $250 million in Series D funding. Liberty Strategic Capital led the round and was joined by ISTARI, Eden Global Partners, 8VC, and others. (TechCrunch)

  • Grata, a New York City-based private company intelligence engine, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Craft Ventures led the round and was joined by Teamworthy Ventures, Altai Ventures, and Eigen Ventures, as well as insiders Bling, Accomplice, and Touchdown Ventures. (FinSMEs) 

  • Hiveclass, a New York City-based startup addressing inequities in youth sports and wellness education, raised $1.25 million in seed funding. Appia Ventures led the round and was joined by other individual investors. (FinSMEs) 

  • Mrgn Labs, a New York City-based developer team focused on DeFi protocol Marginfi, raised $3 million in seed funding. Multicoin Capital and Pantera Capital co-led the round and were joined by Sino Global Capital and Solana Ventures. (Blockworks)

  • Revel, a New York City-based electric moped and mobility company, raised $126 million in Series B funding. BlackRock led the round and was joined by insiders Toyota Ventures and Maniv Mobility, as well as Goodyear Ventures, Shell Ventures, Broadscale Group, Obsidian Ventures, the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund, and Knighthead Capital Management. (TechCrunch)

NYC Open Data Week 2022, a week-long festival of community events, returns March 5 – 13. Organized by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics and BetaNYC, the festival will feature both virtual and in-person events to celebrate the tenth anniversary of NYC’s Open Data Law and NYC’s civic tech community more broadly. Learn more here.The Transit Tech Lab is accepting applications for its 2022 program. The lab, which supports growth-stage companies with solutions for improving NYC’s public transit system, provides the opportunity to pilot their tools with the MTA and other leading transit agencies. Learn more and apply by March 25 here.Y Combinator is accepting applications for its Summer 2022 cohort. The program will be all-virtual with optional in-person opportunities, and accepted companies will receive $500K in total investments. Learn more and apply by March 31 here.Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) is accepting applications for its Summer 2022 program. Selected companies participate in a four-month program and receive $100K in investments, with the potential for follow-on funding from ERA’s Fund. Learn more and apply by April 25 here.The Microsoft TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools) Program is accepting applications for volunteers for its next cycle. The program pairs industry volunteers with high school teachers to help build computer science curricula for their students. Learn more and apply here.

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