Tech:NYC Digest: January 28

Tech:NYC Digest: January 28

January 28, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Friday, January 28, 2022

Happy Friday! ❄️ The latest trackers predict six to ten inches of snow in NYC this weekend; stay safe out there! In today’s digest, Gov. Hochul extends indoor mask mandate, plus our conversation with CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 13,592

    • New positive cases, NYC: 5,034 

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 5.9 percent (-0.5 percent)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 3,682 (-323)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers with least one dose: 87.3 percent 

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 73.9 percent 

Today’s latest: 

  • Gov. Hochul has extended the statewide mask mandate for indoor places through Feb. 10. (New York Daily News) The rule was scheduled to expire on Feb. 1 and will now be re-evaluated every two weeks.

  • Gov. Hochul declared a State of Emergency starting at 8pm today due to the snowstorm, and MTA CEO Janno Lieber said the agency is preparing to shut down LIRR service through the night and tomorrow morning. (Gothamist)

    • If you must travel, be careful out there: PlowNYC shows you what streets have been plowed in real time and what neighborhoods the plows are working in.

  • Following Gov. Hochul’s announcement yesterday to provide at-home test kits to students throughout the state over the break, the city’s Dept. of Education announced it will do the same for all K-12 public school students. (Gothamist)

  • And a sunnier update for the cyclists out there: the 2022 Five Boro Bike Tour is back in full this May, and registration is now open. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

In other reading:

  • Still confused about rapid tests? Here’s what to know (Washington Post)

  • I Ate at 29 NYC Restaurants in Five Days. Here’s How the City is Handling Omicron (Grub Street)

  • Meet the Man Responsible for Bringing Tourists Back to NYC (The Points Guy)

CLEAR, the touchless, biometric identity company, is all about a comeback story.

  • The company was founded after 9/11 to verify the identities of its members and provide them with access to faster lanes at airport security checkpoints, but less than ten years later, the company ceased operations.

In 2010, with the financial crisis behind them, Caryn Seidman-Becker and her business partner Ken Cornick purchased CLEAR out of bankruptcy with a vision to bring biometrics to a broader consumer audience.

In the first episode of our monthly speakers series this year, produced with Cornell Tech and Bloomberg, Seidman-Becker reflected on how she reinvented CLEAR from the ground up — and is applying many of the same lessons through the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • In 2020, the company launched Health Pass, allowing users to digitally verify their vaccination status and COVID test results. In June 2021, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in a $4.5 billion IPO.

  • In that time, CLEAR has grown to reach more than ten million members and operates in more than 60 locations around the country. Its products are used not only at the airport kiosks they’re most known for, but increasingly in arenas, entertainment venues, museums, and restaurants.

Our chat with Seidman-Becker touches on everything from:

  • How she initially identified the company as a valuable acquisition target;

  • How the pandemic shaped its entry into the healthcare market;

  • What trends she foresees for the travel industry;

  • And why aviation could someday become CLEAR’s smallest vertical. 

In other reading: 

  • Thinking of permanently ditching the office? Here’s what to consider before going fully remote (Washington Post)

  • How the ‘Zoom ceiling’ might hurt your chance of promotion (Fast Company)

  • We talked to the guy who turned his cubicle into a cabin (Protocol)

  • Athletic Greens, a New York City-based foundational nutrition company, raised $115 million in new venture funding. Alpha Wave Ventures led the round and was joined by SC Holdings, Bolt Ventures, G9 Ventures, Not Boring Capital, and Mark Vadon. (TechCrunch)

  • NLX, a New York City-based voice AI startup, raised $5 million in seed funding. Aquila Capital Partners led the round and was joined by Flying Fish Partners, Sage Venture Partners, and JetBlue Technology Ventures. (VentureBeat)

  • Talkiatry, a New York City-based in-network psychiatric care startup, added $17 million to its Series A funding, closing the round at $37 million. Insider Left Lane Capital led the round. (Newswire)

  • February 1: Virtual: How tech is making sure shopping will never be the same, with Fast COO Allison Barr Allen, Fabric CEO Faisal Masud, and Pinterest SVP of Engineering Jeremy King. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • February 1: Virtual: Hospitality in the Digital Age, with Olo founder and CEO Noah Glass. Hosted by Savills. Register here.

  • February 2: Virtual: Reality+ from the Matrix to the Metaverse, with author and NYU Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness director David Chalmers. Hosted by NYC Media Lab. Register here.

  • February 10: Virtual: How to Raise Funding and Scale a Startup, with New York Angels founder David S. Rose, Caribu CEO Maxeme Tuchman, and more. Hosted by DownToDash and Innovatemap. Register here.

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