Tech:NYC Digest: November 10

Tech:NYC Digest: November 10

November 10, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

In today’s digest, state incentivizes child vax with chance for college scholarships, AG drops Cuomo investigation transcripts, and breaking down the NYC VC surge.

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  • The COVID-19 vaccination rate for municipal workers required to get shots outpaces that of the general public in several major US cities, a sign that mandates have been largely effective. (NBC News)

    • Just 2,600 New York City employees — less than one percent of the 378,000-member municipal workforce — remain on unpaid leave, a plunge from the 9,000 who took that route when the mayor's vaccine mandate expansion took effect nine days ago. (NBC New York)

  • Fifty vaccinated five to 11 year olds in New York will be eligible for full scholarships to any SUNY or CUNY school through a statewide outreach program incentivizing parents to vaccinate their children. (ABC New York)

    • More than 10,000 doses were administered to kids at public school sites on Monday and Tuesday, and added to the doses administered from other providers, more than 31,000 kids have received their first dose of the vaccine. (Gothamist)

  • In shifting attitudes around COVID, Americans are increasingly likely to believe returning to normal life is only a low to moderate risk as Delta cases plummet. (Axios)

  • The Partnership for New York City released a new survey on New York work trends, finding 28 percent of Manhattan workers are back in the office on an average weekday, and that’s expected to rise to about 50 percent by the end of January 2022. (CNBC)

  • The New York Attorney General’s office today released transcripts from depositions in the Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment investigation, including 512-pages from the former governor. (City & State New York) The transcripts and exhibits are available here. 

In other reading:

  • What would the public health experts do? 28 share their holiday plans amid COVID-19 (STAT News)

  • How Easily Can Vaccinated People Spread COVID? (The Atlantic)

  • Two controversial rezonings in Gowanus and UES move forward through NYC Council (New York Daily News)

Over the past year, you may have seen the same anecdotes we have about VC interest in New York — a prominent investor moves here, or a major firm announces plans to open a NYC office. But now, it’s decidedly a trend, writes Forbes.

  • Historically West Coast-based firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Craft Ventures, Greylock, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint, and Threshold Ventures now have check-writing investors living in New York.

Threshold Ventures established a presence in the city as a natural business decision:

  • Six of the firm’s recent investments (Benepass, Tia, and Calibrate, for example) are based in New York, and nearly 40 percent of its Fund III companies have an East Coast founder.

Andreessen Horowitz, which historically has insisted its investors reside in the Bay Area, has also shifted significant energy to New York, citing the recent success of NYC-headquartered tech companies going public:

  • New partner David Haber says “venture is still a relationship business.” Investors want to be near companies that want to be near broader industry peers. 

NYC remains a global hub for finance, advertising, and retail, for example, so it’s no surprise fintech, adtech, and ecommerce are doing well right now.

  • As of late September, investors have poured $39 billion in NYC startups, 154 percent of the city’s previous record over the same period.

  • Fintech companies Ramp and Alloy are just two that have announced nine-figure raises in the last few months.

And Tech:NYC’s own deal trackers count another 20 megadeals (funding rounds of $100 million or more) since then.

But it’s not all business:

  • Craft Ventures partner Lainy Painter: “I chose to move to New York because it’s filled with arts and culture, diverse people and a massive economic engine.”

  • Lerer Hippeau partner Caitlin Strandberg: “For me personally, it all means many more coffee meetings.”

  • Redpoint Ventures managing director Logan Bartlett: “People want to be in NYC for lifestyle reasons and because no one wears a Patagonia vest.”

Our takeaway: Tech companies want to be where talent wants to be, and talent wants to be in NYC. It’s no surprise investors want in, as well. That’s already been proven through the pandemic, and in a city where proximity is a competitive advantage, it will only heat up as in-person meetings and events become regular again.

In other reading:

  • How much of your life will you lose by going back to the office? Try our calculator. (Washington Post)

  • Fix Burnout—Without Blowing Up Your Life (Wall Street Journal)

  • If U.S. companies have 100 employees, the vaccine mandate kicks in. But what if they have 98? (New York Times)

  • Constructor, a New York City-based maker of workflow management software, raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. Investors include Flybridge, Nextview, and Soma Capital. (VentureBeat)

  • For Them, a New York City-based wellness company focused on the queer community, raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. Resolute Ventures led the round and was joined by Yes VC, Animo Ventures, Gaingels Spark Fund, and a group of individual investors. (TechCrunch)

  • GetCovered.io, a New York City-based insurance software company, raised $7 million in Series A funding. RET Ventures led the round and was joined by Updater, Pelican Ventures, and Crocker Mountain. (BusinessWire)

  • Notabene, a New York City-based crypto compliance SaaS, raised $10.2 million in Series A funding. F-Prime Capital and Jump Capital co-led the round and were joined by Blockfi, Gemini Frontier Fund, Illuminate Financial, CMT Digital, Fenbushi Capital, as well as insiders Castle Island Ventures and Green Visor Capital. (TechCrunch)

  • OpenWeb, a New York City-based audience relationship company, raised $150 million in Series E funding. Insight Partners and Georgian Partners co-led the round and were joined by Omer Cygler, Harel, and Entrée Capital; strategic investors The New York Times Company, Dentsu and Samsung Next; and individual investor Scott Galloway. (FinSMEs)

The New York FinTech Innovation Lab is seeking applications for its 2022 program. The 12-week program welcomes early and growth stage tech companies developing products serving the enterprise financial services ecosystem. Run by the Partnership Fund for New York City and Accenture, the Lab engages with over 40 of the world’s leading financial institutions to support participants in refining and testing their value proposition and developing invaluable relationships with decision makers. Learn more and apply by Dec. 1 here.Startup Leadership Program (SLP) is seeking applications for its 2022 program. SLP is a six-month, no-equity “accelerator for the founder” focused on early-stage entrepreneurs. RSVP for the virtual info session here and apply by Dec. 1 here.The NYC Media Lab is accepting applications for its AI & Local News Challenge, an opportunity for startups to develop projects that use AI to address the needs of news organizations. Winning teams will receive awards up to $7,500, as well as mentorship from media and technology industry leaders. RSVP for virtual info sessions here and apply by Dec. 1 here.The David Prize is accepting open call submissions for its 2021-2022 cycle. The prize awards a no-strings-attached $200,000 grant to five New Yorkers with ideas, projects, products, and passions that are making (or will make) New York City a better place for more of us. Nominations or self-nominations are being accepted through Dec. 21 here.

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