Tech:NYC Digest: May 4

Tech:NYC Digest: May 4

May 04, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Thursday, May 4, 2023

In today’s digest, the funding lifeline to create more subway service, how abortion care in New York became a key budget priority, and a dispatch from our trip to Albany with a group of Tech:NYC member companies! 

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  • As part of an agreement in the state budget passed this week, the MTA will increase the frequency of its service this summer on lines where ridership is rebounding from the pandemic. Expect to see more night and weekend trains on G, J, M, 1, and 6 lines. (Gothamist)

  • A new statewide law taking effect in November 2024 will allow trained pharmacists to distribute self-administered birth control pills and other contraceptives, even if patients don’t have a prescription from their doctor or nurse practitioner. (PBS NewsHour)

  • The city Dept. of Transportation announced an initiative to add 50 new electric vehicle charging plugs at 13 city-owned parking garages, a major increase from the 186 ports that are currently in place across the five boroughs. (Gothamist)

In other reading:

  • The City Can Fix Its Rat Problem if It Loses 150,000 Parking Spots (Curbed)

  • 5 questions answered about changes to New York’s bail laws (Gothamist)

  • New York’s Way-Too-Cute (But Not Too Sweet) Asian Pastries (Grub Street)

Earlier this week, the entire Tech:NYC team — together with a caravan of several of our member companies — spent the day in Albany to meet with elected officials and share notes on mutual priorities through the rest of the year. 

  • It was our first annual advocacy day back since before the pandemic, and we were excited to introduce a lot of new startup founders and other tech leaders to our partners in government.

Here’s a peek into the itinerary: We reconnected with State Sen. Kristin Gonzalez (chair of the Internet and Technology Committee), State Sen. Kevin Parker (chair of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee), Assemblymember Steve Otis (chair of the Science and Technology Committee), Assemblymember Michaelle C. Solages (chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus), and many more.

  • “As legislators, we are duty-bound to advance innovation and government modernization in New York State,” Assemblymember Solages wrote to us. “Tech companies can educate us about emerging trends and challenges, while legislators can provide insights into the needs and concerns of our communities. By working together, we can develop policies that maximize the benefits of technology to better serve the people of New York."

One of the companies that joined us was itselectric, a Brooklyn-based curbside EV charging startup focused on cities. It was exactly the right time, as New York accelerates its commitments to EV and other clean energy investments:

  • “One of itselectric's founding principles is to overvalue relationships with community stakeholders, starting with our local electeds,” said itselectric co-founder and CEO Nathan King. “This is important, even existential, for companies that are working on projects reliant on partnerships with government agencies. Building these relationships takes a lot of time and resources, so we were thrilled to participate in Tech:NYC's Advocacy Day — it gave us a head start on kicking off these conversations at a high level.”

We also got the full group together for lunch with Albert Pulido, Gov. Hochul’s newly-appointed Deputy Secretary for Finance and Technology. 

  • We talked about using tech tools to streamline state services, expanding broadband access, and how to take advantage of AI to make tax returns and other core government functions more efficient.

To no one’s surprise, AI came up a lot: It’s surely an area in which policymakers in New York — as well as at the White House and across the rest of the country — will devote a lot of attention. And it’s an area Assemblymember Alex Bores hit on in our conversations:

  • “While it can sometimes feel as though technology has been siloed into its own niche legislative lane, in reality it may be the only sector with the potential to touch every single aspect of policy and government,” Assemblymember Bores said. “As advanced technologies rapidly develop, in the field of Artificial Intelligence, for example, where the difference between tech radically improving our lives or threatening our very existence may be a matter of regulation, it is critical to maintain strong collaborative relationships with industry to ensure our government isn’t being left behind.”

What we’re looking forward to: Getting these sprints back on the calendar more regularly! 

In other reading:

  • The AI chatbot coming to Slack to summarize messages, take notes, and more (CNBC)

  • How to recruit Gen Z workers, according to a Google, Uber, and TikTok recruiter (Fast Company)

  • 7 Metrics to Measure Your Organization’s DEI Progress (Harvard Business Review)

  • Duetti, a NYC-based music financing platform, raised $32 million in funding. Viola Ventures, Viola Credit, Roc Nation, Untitled, and Presight Capital invested in the round.

  • Intrinsic, a NYC-based women's health and wellness brand, raised $15 million in equity and debt funding. FCA Venture Partners and MAP Investco co-led the round and were joined by Define Ventures, Link Ventures, and Redesign Health.

  • Pietra, a NYC-based e-commerce infrastructure startup, raised $16 million in Series A expansion funding. M13 led the round and was joined by Founders Fund, TQ Ventures, and Abstract Ventures.

  • Thesis, a NYC-based DTC supplements brand, has raised $8.4 in Series A funding. Participating from Unilever Ventures, MBX, Trust Ventures, and Redo Ventures.

  • May 10: In-person: Climate Change: Politics, Policy, and Opportunity in New York, with Spring Street Climate Fund president John Raskin. Hosted by Betaworks. Register here.

  • May 11: In-person: 2023 New York CTO Summit, featuring executive product and engineering speakers from Adobe, Flatiron Health, ngrok, Oscar Health, Sotheby’s, and more. Learn more and apply to attend here.

  • May 16: In-person: NY Enterprise Technology Meetup, with Arthur CEO Adam Wenchel, MosaicML co-founder Jonathan Frankle, JPMorgan Chase executive director of global tech, AI, & ML Sage Lee, and Morgan Stanley managing director H. David Wu. Hosted by Work-Bench. Register here.

  • May 16: In-person: Open Source AI NYC Meetup, with Stability AI, Baseten, Bloomberg Beta, and Coatue. Hosted by Betaworks. Register here.

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