Tech:NYC Digest: March 11

Tech:NYC Digest: March 11

March 11, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Friday, March 11, 2022 

Happy Friday — don’t forget to spring forward this weekend! In today’s digest, Mayor Adams extends Summer Rising program, federal airport mask mandate extended to April 18, and celebrating the inaugural class of NYC Recovery Challenge Fellows.  

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 2,107

    • New positive cases, NYC: 669

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 1.0 percent (no change)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 416 (+3)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 89.2 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 75.8 percent

In today’s latest:

  • While other areas of the country have seen inflation rates of over ten percent, especially tech hubs like Atlanta, NYC’s inflation rate rose only 5.1 percent in February compared to last year, the lowest among all US cities. (Bloomberg) That figure was 7.9 percent nationwide, the highest in decades.

  • Mayor Adams announced he would continue last year’s Summer Rising program, a free summer school program for elementary and middle school students catching up from pandemic-related learning losses. (Gothamist) The program will expand to accommodate about 110,000 students and add more hours to daily schedules.

  • The federal mandate requiring masks in airports, planes, and other public transportation was extended by one month to April 18. (Washington Post)

  • While many businesses across the city no longer require masks in the wake of mandates being lifted, masks are still required to enter The Metropolitan Museum of Art and several other museums. Broadway performances will require masks and proof of vaccination until April 30. (Crain’s New York)

  • And according to the National Weather Service, NYC is in for a gross Saturday.

In other reading:

  • A Running List of NYC Restaurants and Bars Still Requiring Proof of Vaccination (Eater NY)

  • Office Workers Are Heading Back. Times Square Bartenders Will Drink to That. (Grub Street)

  • Six ways to help Ukraine right now in NYC (Time Out NY)

Last night, Tech:NYC gathered with our partners Google for Startups and Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island to celebrate the end of the inaugural NYC Recovery Challenge!

Back in October, we received more than 170 applications for the challenge, and ten winning founders (many of whom were meeting in-person for the first time last night!) began a robust, eight-week accelerator program in January. Last night, each pitched their ideas and the progress they’ve made since to a room of industry and city leaders.

  • Queens Borough President Donovan Richards celebrated the group by officially proclaiming yesterday’s date as NYC Recovery Challenge Fellows Day!

The cohort reflects the broader diversity of the city. 40 percent of the founders are women, and 75 percent are people of color. The founders are each building tools meant to serve consumers and communities often overlooked. To name a few examples: 

  • Guava is bringing digital community banking services to Black-owned small businesses; Dollaride is improving mobility infrastructure in transit deserts; and TYCA is building an online community marketplace for neighborhood bodegas.

The evening ended with a surprise for one of the founders: Sector co-founder and CEO Amina Yamusah was awarded an additional $15,000 prize by Silicon Valley Bank.

  • Sector is building a tracking tool to help job training organizations improve their placement outcomes for job seekers, including those breaking into entry-level tech careers.

Each founder showcased how technology can be used to propose innovative solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing New York

and

New Yorkers throughout the pandemic. We’re optimistic now more than ever about the tech sector here as the city continues its economic recovery.

In other reading:

  • How startups are chasing workers in a red-hot tech labor market (Crain's New York)

  • Ask a tech worker: How long should you stay at your tech job? (Protocol)

  • Are naps coming back with us to the office? (Fast Company)

  • Atlan, a NYC-based data collaboration workspace, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Participating investors include Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, Taylor Brown, and ThoughtSpot co-founder Ajeet Singh. (VentureBeat)

  • Capchase, a NYC-based provider of non-dilutive capital for recurring-revenue businesses, raised $80 million in Series B funding. 01 Advisors led the round and was joined by QED, Caffeinated Capital, Bling Capital, ScifiVC, Thomvest Ventures, Tusk Venture Partners, Invesco, and Gaingels. (Crunchbase News)

  • Creatively, a Brooklyn-based job platform for creatives, raised $8 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Thirty Five Ventures, Tornante Company, Link Ventures, and entertainment lawyer Kevin Yorn. (The Hollywood Reporter)

  • Glean AI, a NYC-based AI-powered spending intelligence platform, raised $10.8 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Contour Venture Partners, Infinity Ventures, B Capital, Portage Ventures, Amex Ventures, and others. (TechCrunch)

  • Zaya, a NYC-based maternal care company, raised $7.6M in seed funding. Inspired Capital led the round and was joined by Story Ventures, Tiger Global, and Operator Partners. (FemTech Insider)

  • March 17: Virtual: Caregiving: the new DEI lens for your family benefits strategy, with DocuSign senior director of global benefits Ellen Meza and Maven VP of People Karsten Vagner. Hosted by Maven. Register here.

  • March 21: Virtual: #newtovc: Developing Your Fund Thesis, with Union Square Ventures partner Brad Burnham and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures founder Charlie O’Donnell. Hosted by Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. Register here.

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