Tech:NYC Digest: July 28

Tech:NYC Digest: July 28

July 28, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Thursday, July 28, 2022 

In today’s digest, the latest on monkeypox vaccine supply, the last remaining Choco Tacos in NYC, and how Google’s Latino Founders Fund is supporting the next generation of NYC founders.

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 7,538  

    • New positive cases, NYC: 4,122

  • NYC Positivity Rate (Daily): 7.7%

    • NYC Positivity Rate (7-Day Average): 8.3%

In today’s latest: 

  • The FDA announced it has cleared another 800,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine for use. Allocations for each state are expected to be announced later today. (New York TImes)

  • As a large wave of post-summer COVID infections is projected to hit the US this fall, Dr. Anthony Fauci said updated booster shots targeting Omicron’s BA.5 subvariant are the country’s “best guess” at a solution. (CNBC)

  • A new analysis of National Hurricane Center data maps the predicted number of NYCHA buildings and new building constructions that would be impacted by a hypothetical Hurricane Sandy-level storm in 2080. (Gothamist)

  • And RIP to the Choco Taco. Here’s where to indulge your last one in NYC before they go extinct. 

In other reading:

  • Waterline Square Is Better Than We Had a Right to Expect (Curbed)

  • Inflation hits NYC’s bodega favorite: Bacon, egg and cheese (Associated Press)

  • Whisker them away: These three NYC cats travel the world with their owners (New York Post)

Calls for more diverse representation in tech aren’t new — actually, they’ve accelerated in the last few years.

In October of last year, Google for Startups launched its Black Founders Fund cohort, a $5 million commitment to early-stage Black founders here in NYC and across the nation.

This week, that commitment was matched with the inaugural Latino Founders Fund, providing $100,000 non-dilutive cash awards and other business support services to 50 of the most exciting Latino-led tech startups in the country. Twelve of those selected are in New York.

Last night, Tech:NYC co-hosted a kickoff event for the New York-based recipients of the Fund, with appearances by Mayor Eric Adams, actress Rosario Dawson, New York’s first Latino Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, and other industry leaders.

  • "New York is heavily represented in this cohort of Latino Founders Fund recipients, a testament that the strength of the city's tech sector is its diversity," said Jason Myles Clark, Executive Director of Tech:NYC. "We are proud to join Google in celebrating local Latino founders, whose businesses reflect tech’s potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing our city. When entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds receive equal access to resources and opportunities, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.”

So for the latest in our Companies to Watch series, we caught up with five of New York’s Latino Founders Fund winners to learn more about what they’re building — and how the tech sector can better support Latinx and immigrant entrepreneurs. This month’s Companies to Watch are:

  • Noula Health: A personalized reproductive health support platform providing affordable at-home testing, digital care plans, and 1:1 health coaching for birthing people.

  • Splyt: A peer-to-peer payments platform for groups of friends splitting restaurant bills.

  • Carefully: A mobile app-based platform solving the childcare crisis by allowing parents to connect with people they trust to exchange care, organize playdates, and plan events.

  • Thimble: A STEM and career and technical education platform for upskilling any child in robotics, coding, and other tech skills.

  • DivySci Software: An AI-powered analytics tool that augments workplace behavior to reduce communication bias. 

In other reading:

  • Job Switchers Are Earning a Lot More Than Those Who Stay (Wall Street Journal)

  • Tech industry’s 2022 layoffs are sign of a ‘boomerang’ effect, LinkedIn economist says (Fortune)

  • Tech companies want diverse talent. Why are so many still hiring for ‘culture fit’? (Fast Company)

  • MenuSifu, a NYC-based restaurant POS company, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Challenjers Venture led the round. (FinSMEs)

  • Nabr, a NYC-based direct-to-consumer housing startup, raised $48 million in equity and debt funding. 2150 led the round. (2150)

  • Sage, a NYC-based provider of nurse call systems at senior living facilities, raised $9 million in seed funding. Goldcrest Capital led the round and was joined by ANIMO Ventures, Distributed Ventures, and Merus Capital. (Axios)

  • Trustless Media, a Brooklyn-based web3 media company, raised $3.25 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Alameda Research, Ava Labs, and a group of angels. (TechCrunch)

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