Tech:NYC Digest: October 13

October 13, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Friday, October 13, 2023

We’re back with another Friday edition of the Tech:NYC Digest, featuring our top five highlights in New York tech this week.

Are you getting excited for New York Tech Week starting on Monday? There are now more than 400 opportunities to get involved! 🗽

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New York wants to be AI’s world capital (Axios)

As we gear up for New York Tech Week, you can bet AI will be a key topic of discussion for many of the 400+ events on the calendar. And it should be: It will power the next phase of growth for all kinds of industries in New York, not just tech. As our president Julie Samuels told Axios this week: New York is “the best place to apply, monetize, and scale the transformational AI tech [founders] have built." (ICYMI: we asked several other leaders in our network what about AI still isn’t getting enough attention. Here’s what they told us.)

Tech org president warns potential pitfalls of proposed social media plan (NY1)

Two new proposed pieces of legislation in New York would create rules on how children under the age of 18 can use social media, but protecting children’s safety online or preserving user privacy is a false choice. As our president Julie Samuels told NY1, “We’ve seen bills like this in blue states and in red states. They really infringe on some First Amendment rights. We really want to make sure that whatever we end up with here isn’t just an exercise of going straight to court, but actually is something that will work for New York families.”

The 68 most important VCs in New York, according to other VCs (Insider)

We spotted a lot of familiar names on this list: congrats to to Tech:NYC Board members Peter Boyce II (Stellation Capital), Susan Lyne (BBG Ventures), Nihal Mehta (Eniac Ventures), Jarrid Tingle (Harlem Capital), and Fred WIlson (Union Square Ventures) for all they continue doing to support NYC’s homegrown tech sector.

Proptech can bolster housing affordability in the city, VC investors says (Crain’s New York Business)

At Tech:NYC’s 2023 Tech Summit earlier this week, MetaProp partner Zak Schwarzman told the audience real solutions to NYC’s housing crisis will require deeper collaboration between the public and private sectors. New York is home to several high-growth startups at the nexus of consumer financial services and real estate that could help find a common ground between landlords and renters.

Here’s the new NYC gallery show by Ukrainian artists that’s giving back (TimeOut New York)

Several works produced in the active warzone in Ukraine are now on display at a gallery in Hudson Square, and all proceeds from the show will go towards building a new hospital in the region. Learn more here.

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