Tech:NYC Digest: June 8

Tech:NYC Digest: June 8

June 08, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, June 8, 2022 

In today’s digest, more people are moving into Manhattan, a redesigned Moderna vaccine, and why New York is still hungry for tech talent.     

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 7,933

    • New positive cases, NYC: 5,148

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 4.9 percent (-0.1 percent)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress:

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.7 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 77.5 percent

In today’s latest: 

  • During the pandemic, the city saw an increase in people moving out of NYC neighborhoods compared to the rest of the country, but now, that migration has reversed. More households are now moving into Manhattan compared to before the pandemic in 2019. (Bloomberg)

  • Mayor Eric Adams delivered testimony before a committee of Congress today, calling for bipartisan legislation to address gun violence, including a federal ban on assault weapons. You can read his full remarks here.

  • A redesigned version of Moderna's COVID-19 booster shot appears to provide stronger protection against the Omicron variant than its current vaccine. The new bivalent vaccine, which is designed to target both the Omicron variant and the original coronavirus strain in a single shot, led to an eightfold increase in neutralizing antibody levels. (NBC News)

  • A new poll of NYC residents found more than half of respondents would drive into Manhattan less and instead opt for public transit when the MTA launches its congestion pricing program. (New York Daily News)

  • All 64 SUNY campuses will update their policies to allow LGBTQ+ students to use their chosen name and pronouns in official transcripts, diplomas, and other documentation, including the ability to select the gender marker ‘X.’ (NY State of Politics)

In other reading:

  • I’ve Eaten at 200 Different NYC Restaurants This Year. Here’s What I Learned. (Grub Street)

  • 10 Reasons New York City’s Rental Market Has Gone Haywire (Slate)

  • The Talented Security Guards of the Met (New York Magazine)

Despite the deluge of headlines sounding the alarm on recent layoffs in other cities, New York tech companies are still hiring, writes Crain's New York Business.

  • Polling conducted last month by Tech:NYC and Accenture found 70 percent of companies expect to increase tech-related hiring by the end of the year.

What’s new: In addition to established recruitment channels, NYC tech companies are setting up partnerships with schools and nonprofit tech training organizations to create direct pipelines for new tech talent.

  • Accenture launched its apprenticeship program in 2016 with just five participants. The program has now grown to count for 1,200 roles, for which half are women and 80 percent are apprentices without a four-year college degree.

  • Laura Peterson, senior managing director for Accenture in New York, said “It’s not finding talent. It’s creating talent.”

The Tech-in-Residence Corps, a group of tech sector leaders who teach at CUNY schools, now also provide 30 courses every semester, teaching everything from AI and agile software development to blockchain and data warehousing protocols.

  • CUNY alumni with technology degrees are earning job placements at a pace that increases 16 percent year over year, and entry-level salaries for those graduates have increased 15 percent.

Our takeaway: Tech training providers in NYC like Per Scholas and Pursuit aren’t letting up — in fact, demand is increasing. Skills-based programs are a critical pipeline to the future of the city’s tech sector — and to better jobs for more New Yorkers.

In other reading:

  • It’s Time to Bring Back the AIM Away Message (WIRED)

  • How to work across time zones without losing your mind (Protocol)

  • How to Build an Effective Remote Workplace for Your Team (Inc.)

  • Adelaide, a NYC-based ad tech and media measurement startup, raised $7 million in seed funding. Human Ventures led the round. (Axios)

  • Ethena, a Brooklyn-based compliance training platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Lachy Groom led the round and was joined by Felicis, Neo, Homebrew, and a group of angels. (FinSMEs)

  • Massive Bio, a NYC-based clinical trials startup, raised $9 million in new venture funding. Revo Capital and PaigeAI chair Kenan Turnacioğlu co-led the round and were joined by Deutsche Investitions and the German Development Finance Institution. (Businesswire)

  • Multiverse, a NYC and London-based tech apprenticeship platform, raised $220 million in Series D funding at a $1.7 billion valuation. StepStone Group led the round and was joined by insiders Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst. (TechCrunch)

  • Nextiles, a NYC-based maker of smart fabrics for athletes, raised $5 million seed funding. Drive by DraftKings led the round and was joined by the NBA, Madison Square Garden Sports, Alumni Ventures, and SmartSports. (Newswire)

Tech:NYC, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Youth Employment, is recruiting tech companies to participate in Tech Year NYC, a pilot initiative to broaden access to career pathways in tech to underrepresented youth. If your company would like to participate this summer, learn more here and register your interest here. The Data Future Lab at NYU is accepting applications for its Next Round incubator program. The two-year, zero-equity program is open to seed and Series A startups focused on cybersecurity, responsible AI, robotics, emerging media, or web3 and provides subsidized office space and other startup support services. Learn more and apply by June 12 here.Cela, the startup accelerator services provider, is hosting curated office hours on June 28 to facilitate one-on-one mentorship sessions between founders and top accelerator programs. Learn more and apply by June 23 here.Grow-NY, an initiative of New York State Empire State Development (ESD), is accepting applications for its 2022 competition. Startups and/or investors in the food, beverage, and agriculture sectors across 22 Upstate counties are eligible for a cash prize of up to $1 million, as well as marketing support and other resources. Learn more and apply by July 1 here.Antler, a global early-stage VC, is accepting applications for its summer 2022 New York cohort. Following the six-week, in-person residency, founders will have the opportunity to pitch Antler’s investment committee for $150,000 in pre-seed funding. Learn more and apply here.

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