Tech:NYC Digest: October 17

October 17, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

#NYTechWeek, Day 2! ✔️

In today’s digest, our Tech Week Day 2 recap, the over/under in AI hype, and the local shops New Yorkers miss most.

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A newly-released analysis found that one in three NYC households are spending at least half their income on rent. (Gothamist)
And in case you need another reason to take the subway: Parking meters raised their rates this week. The new costs will be variably calculated by location, demand, and duration of parking. (NY1)

In other reading:

Interactive: How to Navigate 8 of the Most Insidious and Infectious Illnesses (New York Times)
Meet New York’s New Guard of Pastry Chefs (Eater NY)
The 16 businesses New Yorkers want to bring back from the dead (TimeOut New York)

The top three topics of conversation on Day 2 of #NYTechWeek: AI, AI, and AI.

Of the 400+ events on the official calendar for the week, by our count, at least 50 are focused on AI.

That includes three of our own. Here’s some of what we heard today:

Is AI over- or under-hyped? Yes, both, at the same time.

That’s a question Thrive Capital partner Kelly Sims posed to a panel of top New York tech journalists at the media breakfast we co-hosted this morning with Edelman.
While AI has been around long before its recent wave of buzz, the panelists said, its applications are filtering into every other area of tech — and all other industries.

AI will define the “industry of everything” – even how we dine.

Our president Julie Samuels joined iconic New York restaurateur Danny Meyer and IBM’s SVP of Software Rob Thomas in a discussion at Meyer’s restaurant Manhatta on how AI is transforming food and hospitality.

Fairness and transparency will take center stage on how AI evolves.

Julie also joined the Chainsmokers’ bandmate (and Mantis VC general partner) Alex Pall and other industry experts to chart a path for responsible use of AI – by consumers, governments, and other actors alike.

AI is top of mind outside of industry too: City halls and state capitols are discussing how to assess use cases on AI technologies.

Mayor Eric Adams yesterday announced a comprehensive plan for how NYC government will use AI tools, and on the same day, Gov. Kathy Hochul launched a new AI research initiative in partnership with IBM and the University of Albany.
There’s certainly no shortage of homegrown expertise: In 2022, NYC-based AI companies raised a whopping $484 million in venture funding, compared to just $41 million in 2018.

The bottom line: The AI buzz will persist well beyond New York Tech Week.

👀

Also spotted in the Tech:NYC Founder House today

: Roam & Yext founder

Howard Lerman

, New York State Assemblyman

Clyde Vanel

, Gunderson Dettmer partners

Aliya Sanders

and

Aaron Rubin

, New York Ventures investor

Audrey Chisholm

, and others.

Nova Credit, a NYC-based cross-border and alternative credit data startup, raised $45 million in Series C funding. Canapi Ventures led the round and was joined by Geodesic Capital, Harmonic Capital, Radiate Capital, Cox Enterprises, as well as insiders Index Ventures, General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, YC, and Avid Ventures.
Prove Identity, a NYC-based fraud reduction startup, raised $40 million in new funding. MassMutual Ventures and Capital One Ventures co-led the round
Reality Defender, a NYC-based deepfake and AI-generated media detection platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding. DCVC led the round and was joined by Comcast Ventures, Ex/ante, Parameter Ventures, and AI Grant.
SwiftConnect, a NYC and Stamford-based provider of software designed to let users store physical access credentials on mobile devices and smart watches, raised $10 million in new funding. Quadri Ventures led the round and was joined by others.

October 18: In-person: NY Enterprise Tech Meetup, with Grafana Labs COO Doug Hanna, Vercel VP of Product Jared Palmer, and Apollo senior director of develop experience Peggy Rayzis. Hosted by Work-Bench. Register here.
October 19: State of Compensation: Major Shifts in 2023, with Carta head of insights Peter Walker, Assembly co-CEO Lisa Wallace, and others. Hosted by Carta. Register here.
October 21: #NYTech Week: NYC’s Road to Electrification, with Revel CEO Frank Reig, Con Edison director of e-mobility Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud, NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission first deputy commissioner Ryan Wantajja, and Joint Office of Energy & Transportation senior advisor Kevin Miller. Hosted by Revel and Tech:NYC. Register here

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