Tech:NYC Digest: March 29

Tech:NYC Digest: March 29

March 29, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

In today’s digest, the new citywide tool for streamlining city services, New York’s latest broadband investments, and how in-person company culture is coming into focus.

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  • NYC today launched its new MyCity portal, a one-stop shop for accessing and managing services and benefits online.(New York Times)

    • The first phase of the portal kicks off with a benefits application portal focused on child care. Phase Two will go live later this year, with a focus on job seekers and small business owners. 

  • New York will receive $100 million through the American Rescue Plan to expand access to high-speed internet across the state, making it possible for an estimated 100,000 homes and families to get affordable broadband for the first time. (Crain’s New York Business)

  • Beginning tomorrow, more than 2,000 subway station agents will be stepping out of their booths in favor of more free-roaming service that makes agents available to help customers find their routes trackside, as well as to better assist subway riders with disabilities. (Gothamist)

In other reading:

  • Is America’s Pandemic Really Over? A Fresh Look (New York Magazine)

  • Can New York Fix Its Housing Crisis? It Depends on the Suburbs. (New York Times)

  • The James Beard Foundation Announces 2023 Finalists in NYC (Eater NYC)

Remote work is becoming less popular — even in tech, writes Axios.

What’s new: Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, while there is still some WFH — more than in the pre-COVID era — it is now noticeably less than the height of Zoom-powered workplaces of the last few years.

On the other hand: Industries like tech and media still have a large share of employees working from home — the Bureau’s data found 67% of these sectors still have people working remotely some or all of the time in 2022.

  • That closely aligns to what NYC is logging, as well: survey data last month showed Manhattan office employers registered a 52% occupancy rate on any given weekday, an increase of just 3 percentage points from September 2022.

What we’re watching: the Wall Street Journal suggested this week that the WFH era is fading away, but Q2 will be a useful moment to track how companies are looking ahead — by mid-year, their workplace decisions will be about long-term company strategy, not pandemic-era necessity.

Go deeper: Research: What we know about remote and hybrid mentorship (Charter)

In other reading:

  • WFH has downtowns empty. A solution? Live in a former office. (Washington Post)

  • Forerunner partner Brian O’Malley predicts what type of AI businesses will scale and succeed (Fortune)

  • 5 ways to use data to maximize your résumé’s impact (Fast Company)

  • Coursedog, a NYC-based academic operations platform for higher ed, raised $90 million in growth funding. JMI Equity led the round..

  • Smalls, a NYC-based DTC fresh cat food brand, raised $19 million in Series B funding. Companion Fund led the round and was joined by Left Lane Capital, Valor Capital, and 301 INC.

  • Spiral, a NYC-based financial services company focused on ESG, raised $28 million in Series A funding. Team8 led the round and was joined by Euclidean Capital, Intuition Fund, Communitas Capital, Phoenix, and Nidoco AB.

  • Torch Capital, a NYC-based VC firm focused on early-stage consumer tech companies, raised over $200 million for its latest fund.

  • Zorro, a NYC and Tel Aviv-based health benefits experience platform for employees, employers, and brokers, raised $11.5 million in seed funding. Pitango and 10D co-led the round.

  • April 3: In-person: The Business Case for Second Chance Employment, with Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, JPMorgan Chase EVP of human resources Robin Leopold, Justice Through Code founder Aedan Macdonald, and others. Hosted by the Business Roundtable and Columbia Business School. Register here.

  • April 4: In-person: How to Execute a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy, with Pandium founder Cristina Flaschen, Sharmar Brands CEO Nik Sharma, Thingtesting head of content Natalie Sportelli, and Adore Me head of strategy Ranjan Roy. Hosted by Stacklist and Betaworks. Register here.

  • April 4: In-person: Make it in Brooklyn Female Founders Pitch Contest, with Female Founders Fund principal Adriana Samaniego, NYCEDC EVP Faye Penn, HearstLab venture associate Eastin Rossell, and others. Register here.

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