Tech:NYC Digest: January 25

Tech:NYC Digest: January 25

January 25, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Did you finally see any snowflakes today? If so, they’d be the first in 321 consecutive days! In today’s digest, the new train terminal decades in the making, NYC’s search for an AI czar, and why cybersecurity hiring will rise above the downturn.

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  • The first passenger train arrived in the new Grand Central Madison terminal this morning with Gov. Kathy Hochul and hundreds of riders aboard. (Gothamist) When full service launches in three weeks, up to 24 trains will serve the new station per hour and provide direct East Side service that saves up to 40 minutes of commuting time per day.

  • Mayor Eric Adams will deliver his annual State of the City address tomorrow, where he’ll lay out his policy agenda for the coming year. He’s expected to address plans on public safety, affordable housing, and the economic impacts of the ongoing migrant crisis. (Gothamist)

  • NYC is hiring for a newly-created role of director of artificial intelligence and machine learning to spearhead the development of a new comprehensive AI strategy. (City & State)

In other reading:

  • Do Rapid Tests Still Work? (New York Times)

  • Stressful COVID lines are out, but what are New Yorkers lining up for now? (New York Times)

  • This Staten Island restaurant is run by grandmothers. Customers clap for them each night. (Washington Post)

With a wave of layoffs and hiring resets moving through the tech sector, cybersecurity job have proven one of the bright spots. (Axios)

  • The total number of employed cybersecurity workers in 2022 remained relatively unchanged from previous estimates at around 1.1 million, according to new data.

  • Employers posted more than 750,000 cyber job openings through all of 2022, and private sector demand for cyber talent grew roughly 21% the same year, accounting for about 710,000 of those listings.

In NYC, similar trends have held steady: In research Tech:NYC conducted with Accenture in both 2021 and 2022, executives identified cybersecurity as the top area of expertise they expected to hire in each of those years.

  • Nationwide, in 2022, there were 68 cybersecurity workers for every 100 open roles, and companies like Microsoft have launched major initiatives to close the cyber skills gap.

Will Markow, vice president of applied research at data firm Lightcast, said the scarcity of workers puts cyber employees in a better position to survive layoffs. He told Axios: "Laying off cybersecurity workers feels a lot like firing the sheriff when Billy the Kid is riding into town."

In other reading:

  • Remote work saved workers 72 minutes per day and plowed them into … more work (Axios)

  • The résumé mistakes that can sabotage your job application (Fast Company)

  • Death by a thousand meetings: How to reduce video-call overload (Washington Post)

  • Dimension, a NYC and San Francisco-based VC firm focused on the intersection of tech and life sciences, raised $350 million for its debut fund. (Forbes)

  • Precision Neuroscience, a NYC-based brain-computer interface startup, raised $41 million in Series B funding. Participating investors include Forepont Capital Partners, Mubadala Capital, Draper Associates, Alumni Ventures, re.Mind Capital, as well as insiders Steadview Capital and B Capital Group. (CNBC)

  • Sandbar, a NYC-based provider of anti-money laundering, fraud, and counterterrorism risk detection software, raised $4.8 million in seed funding. Lachy Groom and Abstract Ventures co-led the round and was joined by BoxGroup and a group of angels. (FinSMEs)

  • Zurp, a NYC-based fintech platform connecting fans with creators, raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. Participating investors include New Form, MAGIC Fund, Launchpad VC, OVO Fund, Darling Ventures, Animal Capital, and other angels. (Axios)

Next View Ventures is accepting applications for its fourth accelerator program. Pre-seed and seed stage startup teams working building consumer and SaaS B2B companies are eligible for the three-month program. The accelerator runs on a hybrid mode with virtual programming and IRL kickoff and wrap-up events in NYC. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn more and apply here.First Round is accepting applications for its 14th Fast Track cohort. The 90-day mentorship program pairs hundreds of tech leaders with founders and startup operators for 1:1 bi-weekly meetings, as well as larger cohort events. Learn more and apply by Feb. 10 here.The Transit Tech Lab is accepting applications for its 2023 challenges for the chance to pilot technology with some of New York’s leading public transit agencies, including the MTA, Port Authority, NJ TRANSIT, and NYC DOT. Solutions may include predictive models for maintenance or service disruption, tools to automate operations, talent sourcing and human resources innovation, and more. Learn more and apply by March 2 here.

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