Tech:NYC Digest: June 12

Tech:NYC Digest: June 12

June 12, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Monday, June 12, 2023

Welcome back! In today’s digest, a plan to make New York a global cybersecurity leader, what got done during this year’s legislative session in Albany, and the economic value of office gossip. 

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  • State lawmakers wrapped up the scheduled 2023 legislative session by passing a bill to seal old criminal records, as well as one expanding no-excuse vote by mail. (Gothamist)  However, they failed to reach a deal on a housing package after much debate. (New York Times) 

  • In contrast to the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being enacted in other states, Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Monday to protect access to gender-affirming care by banning the use of city resources to detain, prosecute, or investigate any individual who is providing or receiving the health care services. (ABC News) 

  • Sen. Chuck Schumer wants more US firefighters deployed to fight wildfires in Canada, saying more help is needed to prevent a longer "summer of smoke" in New York. (Gothamist) 

  • For the museum lovers: The Met is among eight museums offering free admission tomorrow night for the Museum Mile Festival. Learn more here.

In other reading:

  • Welcome to the era of the quickie omakase in NYC (Grub Street)

  • The go-to restaurants, bars and event spaces for New York’s political set (City & State)

One extra listen

: For his micro-podcast, Bolster CEO Matt Blumberg talks with 1stdibs CEO David Rosenblatt (two Tech:NYC Board Members!) on what it’s like to take over the chief executive role from a founder. It’s a quick,

for your walk to the train! 

Four New York universities will launch cybersecurity research projects with funding support from Google over the next three years, focused on developing new technology to keep people and businesses safe online and to bolster the city’s local cybersecurity ecosystem. (Crain’s New York Business)

  • The Google Cyber NYC Institutional Research Program, announced today, will provide an annual $1 million each to CUNY, Columbia University, Cornell Tech, and NYU to incubate at least 90 collaborative research projects to help secure digital ecosystems, as well as championing under-represented groups and students seeking advanced cybersecurity education at the schools. 

“From the Google perspective, the money is probably the least of this,” said Phil Venables, Google Cloud’s chief information security officer at today’s launch event. “It’s the collaboration that ensues.” 

As individuals and workplaces face a growing list of cybersecurity threats, there were more than 3 million cybersecurity jobs unfilled worldwide as of last fall. The research initiative complements ongoing work from the city to prepare for threats and make New York a cybersecurity hub:

The $12 million Google Cyber NYC research initiative is part of several efforts from the company in the past year focused on cybersecurity. Last month saw the launch of the Google Cybersecurity Certificate, designed to prepare participants for entry-level jobs in cybersecurity in less than six months, with no prior experience required.

Our take: The new research partnership only adds to our confidence that NYC already has the ingredients right here at home to become a global cyber hub. Cyber skills consistently remain a top hiring priority for New York tech and non-tech companies alike — strong university and government partnerships are the recipe that will ensure those jobs go to more New Yorkers.

In other reading:

  • Driver Technologies, a NYC-based mobility tech company, raised $6 million in funding. IA Capital and CT Innovations co-led the round and were joined by Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, State Auto Labs/Rev 1, The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund, ID8 Investments, C2 Ventures, and Kapor Capital.

  • Oova, a NYC-based fertility tracking startup, raised $10.3 million in Series A funding. Spero Ventures led the round and was joined by US Fertility, Virgin Group, Jefferson Health, Connecticut Innovations, and a group of individuals.

  • 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 AWS 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: LGBT+ VC Summit: From Stonewall to Silicon Valley, featuring keynote speaker David Karp, founder and former CEO of Tumblr. Register here.

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

  • June 26: Virtual: #notapitch: Unofficial Feedback on Your Idea/Prototype from a VC, with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Register here.

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