Tech:NYC Digest: July 19

Tech:NYC Digest: July 19

July 19, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, July 18, 2023

In today’s digest, workers want more AI training, subway fares are increasing, and why some bosses are RTO holdouts.

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  • It’s official: The cost to ride the subway is going up. The MTA's board voted today to raise the base fare for subway and bus trips to $2.90 from $2.75 by late August. (New York Times) 

    • It’s the first subway fare hike since 2019 (the usual biannual increases were paused during the pandemic). (Gothamist)

  • For some additional transit news you can use: The subway’s seven-day fare capping program (which currently runs on a Monday – Sunday cycle to tally when you’re eligible for free fares) will move to a more flexible program where customers can start their seven-day fare capping period on any day of the week.

  • New York state’s tax revenue dropped by nearly $7 billion in the initial quarter of the fiscal year, a signal money will no longer flow as easily as it has in recent years and potentially complicating budget talks in 2024. (Spectrum News)

  • And for the workers coming into midtown office HQs: the huge new midtown location for Russ & Daughters is now open.

One good read: Our president Julie Samuels, together with New York League of Conservation Voters president Julie Tighe, today made the case for public EV charging infrastructure — and why prioritizing NYC’s FHV fleet is a great place to start. Read their New York Daily News op-ed here. 

In other reading:

  • The (Astor Place) Cube is Back (Curbed)

  • Dinner parties at 5pm? Is America Becoming a Nation of Early Birds (Wall Street Journal)

  • The Pasta Shop That’s a Dinner Party by Dark (Eater)

At our event on the future of AI earlier this week with Sen. Chuck Schumer, one of the key topics of conversation was what it will mean for the workplace. The answer, according to new data, depends on if you’re an executive, a manager, or a rank-and-file employee. 

There's an enthusiasm gap: About two-thirds of executives in a recent Qualtrics survey said they were excited about the prospect of artificial intelligence tools in the workplace, compared to just 39% of their employees. 

  • "To a lot of people, this is an unknown," as Benjamin Granger, Qualtrics’s chief workplace psychologist, told HR Brew. "Unknowns are scary…Is this going to replace my job? Is this going to replace part of my job? Is this going to make me redundant?

So what are employees asking for? Training. 

  • In a survey of more than 3,000 people, the analytics firm Visier found that 86% of employees say their companies should take at least some role in reskilling to ensure they aren’t so easily replaced by automated tools.

  • While the data speaks to anxiety from workers, it also "demonstrates that employees recognize the value of learning new skills and, therefore, might be more open to learning how to properly use AI and incorporate the technology into their routine," Paul Rubenstein, Visier’s chief people officer, told WorkLife. 

While experts expect that AI tools can help workers and boost overall productivity, the polling data speaks to the challenges businesses will face in integrating the technology into the workplace. Qualtrics' Granger said communication, particularly from HR leaders, will be crucial throughout the process. 

  • HR teams “understand the need for efficiency,” he told HR Brew. “They understand the power of artificial intelligence…But on the flip side, being the stewards of the business and the people, they also understand where human intelligence is essential.” 

In other reading:

  • The Biggest Holdouts on the Five-Day Office Week: Bosses (Wall Street Journal)

  • FDA approves Brooklyn startup method to stop bleeds fast (NY1)

  • What is the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark? Amazon, Google join White House in rolling out cybersecurity certification program (Fast Company)

  • Cognaize, a NYC-based intelligent document processing company, raised $18 million in Series A funding. Argonautic Ventures led the round and was joined by Metaplanet and others.

  • CoinFund, a NYC-based crypto-native investment firm, raised $158 million for a fund focused on pre-seed and seed stage Web3 Investments. 

  • Offsite, a NYC-based company retreat marketplace, raised $3 million in funding. Participating investors include Forum Ventures, Automattic, Right Side Capital, Integral, Splash Capital, Genius Ventures, and angel investors.

  • Prospective, a NYC-based interactive analytics and data visualization tool for large and streaming datasets, raised $6 million in seed funding. Point72 Ventures led the round and was joined by Silicon Badia, Irregular Expressions, Essence Ventures, Giant Machines, and REFASHIOND Ventures.

  • Teleskope, a NYC-based data protection platform, raised $2.2 million in pre-seed funding. Lerer Hippeau led the round.

The Grand Central Tech Residency by Company Ventures is accepting applications for its Fall 2023 cohort. Selected startups receive free office rent for a year, as well as other community and programming benefits. Learn more and apply by July 21 here.Endless Frontier Labs is accepting applications for its 2023-24 cohort. The program is open to early-stage science and technology-based startups, with a focus on technical founders who could benefit from a performance-driven mentoring process. Learn more and apply by July 31 here.First Round Capital is accepting applications for Cohort 15 of its Fast Track program. The 90-day program pairs rising startup stars with trusted mentors based on interests and areas of expertise. To be considered for a mentor or mentee slot, learn more and apply by August 4 here.The Environmental Tech Lab, a public-private initiative between the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Partnership Fund for New York City, is accepting applications for its inaugural cohort. The Lab is seeking early- and growth-stage companies with data and operations solutions to help solve pressing challenges facing the city’s water and wastewater network. Learn more at the info session on July 26 here and apply by August 23 here.Forum Ventures is accepting applications for its next accelerator program. The four-month program offers selected early-stage B2B SaaS startups with a $100K investment, mentorship on establishing product market fit, customer introductions, and other resources. Learn more and apply on a rolling basis here.

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