Tech:NYC Digest: June 1

Tech:NYC Digest: June 1

June 01, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Happy Pride Month! In today’s digest, hybrid work finally makes it to city government, New York’s next step in expanding child care benefits, and how AI is rewiring everything we know about finance.

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  • Thousands of city workers will be allowed to work remotely two days a week beginning this month, a request many in the public sector have been pushing for to more closely match hybrid work policies now common in the private sector. (Wall Street Journal)

  • In an announcement at child care and early learning startup Vivvi’s Brooklyn location, Gov. Kathy Hochul committed $500 million in underutilized federal funds to be repurposed into grants for local child care programs, as well as a workforce retention program to support 150,000 caregivers. (CBS News)

  • All 14 wastewater treatment plants in NYC are reporting higher concentrations of the coronavirus, indicating there could be a summer spike in COVID-19 transmission over the next few months. (Gothamist)

In other reading:

  • Pride Month 2023: What to see, hear, and do in NYC (Gothamist)

  • Inside the Arches, a new public park opened beneath the Brooklyn Bridge (Time Out New York)

  • Where to Get Gelato in New York (Eater NY)

It's now a foregone conclusion that AI is exploding beyond its own sector to become a go-to product framework across all industries. 

  • The trend has only continued to accelerate since last year, when NYC-based AI startups raised more than $486 million, up from just $41 million the year before.

But how many of them are actually AI startups versus startups using AI tools? 

  • AI programs are already rewiring the world of finance, with major Wall Street firms experimenting with how the technology can optimize outcomes not just for its clients but also its own employees — and fintech startups are taking the same cue. (Bloomberg)

  • At many banks, as much as 40% of all open jobs roles are for AI-related hires such as data engineers and quants, but also for ethics and safety roles.

At a recent edition of our Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg speaker series, Ramp co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman said that AI has a unique ability to streamline some of the more tedious tasks a company’s financial manager might take on.

  • “We move money, but fundamentally we’re a workflow company.”

In other reading:

  • The Great Resignation is over (Axios)

  • How Hedge Funds Are Deploying ChatGPT to Handle All the Grunt Work (Bloomberg)

  • How to Take Better Breaks at Work, According to Research (Harvard Business Review)

  • Atly, a NYC and Tel Aviv-based social mapping platform, raised $18 million in new funding. Participating investors include Target Global, Tal Ventures, and FKA Brands.

  • Boom, a NYC-based rent reporting platform, raised $4.5 million in seed funding. Starting Line led the round and was joined by Clocktower Ventures, Company Ventures , and Gilgamesh Ventures.

  • Hyro, a NYC-based conversational artificial intelligence platform, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Macquarie Capital led the round and was joined by Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, K20, Hanaco Ventures, Spero Ventures, and Mindset Ventures.

  • RealBlocks, a NYC-based alternative investment platform, raised $10m in Series A extension funding. Crosslink Capital and Left Lane Capital co-led the round.

  • Transak, a NYC-based web3 payments startup, raised $20 million in Series A funding. CE Innovation Capital led the round and was joined by SBI VC, Sygnum, Azimut, Third Kind Venture Capital, UOB Venture Management, Signum Capital, Animoca Brands, Genting Ventures, Istari Ventures, No Limit Holdings, Woodstock Fund, IOSG Ventures, KX, Axelar, Tokentus, and The Lao.

  • June 6: In-person: Newlab Resilient Studio Showcase, with ElectricFish, Orenda Power, Urban Electric Power, WATTMORE, and Yotta Energy. Hosted by Newlab, NYCEDC, and ConEd. Register here.

  • June 8: In-person: Cornell Tech Fest 2023, with NYC Chief Innovation Officer Oscar Romero, Dataminr SVP of AI Alex Jaimes, and more. Register here.

  • June 13: Virtual: Beyond the Hype Cycle: Navigating the Promises and Perils of GenAI, with Bessemer Venture Partners vice president Morgan Cheatham, March Capital investor Maya Matthews, and others. Hosted by BLCK VC and WAS Startups. Register here.

  • June 14: Make It in Brooklyn: Clean Energy Innovations, with itselectric co-founder Tiya Gordon, Streetlife Ventures managing partner Laura Fox, Latinxs in Sustainability lead Melina Acevedo, and Wildgrid partnerships manager Martine Luis. Hosted by Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Register here.

  • June 20: In-person: Future-Proofing Your Digital Product and Brand with AI, Innovatemap principals Jon Moore and Meghan Pfeifer. Register here.

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