Tech:NYC Digest: November 8

Tech:NYC Digest: November 8

November 08, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Happy Election Day! 🗳 In today’s digest, New York (and the rest of the country) braces for results in a nailbiter election cycle. Plus, early-stage startups hungry for talent see a silver lining in ongoing tech layoffs.

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If you haven’t found a moment to head to the polls, go now! Polls are open until 9pm (where you can vote in-person or drop off an absentee ballot).

  • In our final check-in with the NYC Board of Elections before polls close, more than 1.4 million NYC residents have cast votes, already surpassing total vote counts in most other gubernatorial races in the past three decades.

When polls close, you can begin watching results trickle in here. For results on midterm races nationwide, click here (and yes, that anxiety-inducing New York Times needle is back).

In other news:

  • Beginning May 3, 2023, US travelers flying within the US will need to show TSA agents either a security-enhanced driver’s license that’s Real ID-compliant or another TSA-approved form of identification like a passport. A state driver’s license that does not contain the Real ID seal will no longer be accepted. (New York Times)

  • New analysis shows that NYC schools have enrolled nearly 6,000 migrant students in more than 300 schools since July, with Queens taking in the most. (Gothamist)

  • Pfizer reported that its updated coronavirus booster is four times more effective against the most common variant now circulating than the original booster. Federal officials are hoping the new data will encourage more Americans to get an updated booster before an expected winter surge in cases. (New York Times)

In other reading:

  • What Are Those Mysterious New Towers Looming Over New York’s Sidewalks? (New York Times)

  • New Covid Variants Are Circulating. Here’s What to Know. (New York Times)

  • 10,000 People Can’t Be Wrong About Pecking House Hot Chicken (Eater NY)

We’re continuing to track ongoing layoff and hiring announcements in tech, most of which are still being made from larger employers. And startup founders are keeping close watch too.

What’s new: The silver lining in recent layoffs is that another stream of talent has become available to early-stage startups ready to scoop it up, writes the Wall Street Journal.  

  • With more mature companies in a holding pattern — and more exposed to macroeconomic economic conditions — early-stage startups are enjoying more investor interest and more runway to weather current labor trends.

  • The median seed-stage deal size in NYC remained steady during Q3, and average salaries at NYC startups have risen across all job functions through Q2 and Q3 of this year. 

Kunal Sarda, founder and CEO of NYC-based automated compensation management platform Arya, said he plans to use funding from his recent seed round to prioritize hiring:

  • “We’re seeing candidates come through from the FAANGS of the world that we would never have seen before,” Sarda said.

  • About half of Arya’s current applicant pool is made up of recently laid-off tech workers.

According to the latest data from trade group CompTIA, competition for tech workers isn’t going away: US employers across all sectors posted nearly 317,000 tech job openings in October, up more than 10,000 from September.

  • At the same time, this is a time for younger companies to “be more strategic in their hiring practices than we would have seen a year ago,” said Pitchbook senior analyst Kyle Sanford. It “should be a warning to small companies to preserve runway and opt for sustainable growth, if growth is still possible.”

In other reading:

  • An Engine of Upward Mobility Struggles to Capture Opportunities in Tech (New York Times)

  • Slack Notifications Can Be Easy to Miss or Overwhelming — Here’s What to Do About It (Wall Street Journal)

  • How work gossip has changed in the era of hybrid work (Fast Company)

  • Apiiro, a NYC, Boston, and Tel Aviv-based cloud-native application security company, raised $100 million in Series B funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by Greylock and Kleiner Perkins. (TechCrunch)

  • Ernesta, a NYC-based DTC custom rug company, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Addition led the round and was joined by True Ventures and others. (TechCrunch)

  • Doola, a NYC-based startup that helps foreign founders start LLCs in the US, raised $8 million in Series A funding. Nexus Venture Partners led the round and was joined by YC, Hustle Fund, and Vibe Capital. (FinSMEs)

  • Hoken, a NYC-based events-focused hotel marketplace, raised $9 million in funding. Streamlined Ventures led the round and was joined by BY Venture Partners. (Newswire)

  • InterPrice Technologies, a NYC-based treasury capital markets funding platform, raised $7.3 million in Series A funding. Nasdaq Ventures and DRW Venture Capital co-led the round and were joined by Bowery Capital. (Newswire)

  • Runwise, a NYC-based provider of building energy management software, raised $19m in Series A funding. Fifth Wall led the round and was joined by Rudin Management, SOJA Ventures, Derive Ventures, Helium-3, Silence VC, The Cannon Project, and Waterman Ventures. (Newswire)

  • Xeal, a NYC-based electric vehicle charging company, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Keyframe Capital led the round and was joined by ArcTern Ventures, Moderne Ventures, Nexus Labs, Wind Ventures, and Alpaca VC. (Forbes)

  • November 9: In-person: How to Get PR for Your Early-Stage Startup, with DKC executive director Rachel Carr, Truehold director of brand marketing Molly Graizzaro, and Moxie founder Taryn Langer. Hosted by Stacklist and USV. Register here.

  • November 10: In-person and virtual: Responsible Innovation Founder Summit, with Gusto CEO Josh Reeves, Cityblock CEO Dr. Toyin Ajayi, Base 10 partner Laura Weidman Powers, and others. Hosted by Betaworks. Register here.

  • November 16: Virtual: Fintech Summit: Shaping the Future of Finance, with New York State Dept. of Financial Services superintendent Adrienne Harris, Plaid general counsel Meredith Fuchs, and others. Hosted by FTA. Register here.

  • November 22: Virtual: #notapitch: Unofficial Feedback on your Idea/Prototype from a VC, with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Register here.

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