Tech:NYC Digest: October 18

Tech:NYC Digest: October 18

October 18, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

In today’s digest, how NYC has almost eliminated monkeypox, your t-minus three weeks reminders for Election Day, and why 2022 will be known as the year of the seed stage startup.

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  • After a daily average of 74 reported monkeypox infections in late July, NYC is now recording fewer than ten cases per day, although Black and Latino individuals remain undervaccinated compared to eligible population percentages. (Gothamist)

  • Paying for parking in NYC just got easier: An updated "ParkNYC" app launched yesterday that offers a pay-as-you-go feature where drivers use a credit or debit card to make payments directly, instead of pre-loading a digital wallet with money. (Patch NYC)

  • Several of the city’s leading performing arts organizations — including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet — announced that masks would now be optional, citing demands from audience members and declines in coronavirus cases. (New York Times)

  • The iconic Wollman Rink in Central Park opens for the season on Sunday, Oct. 23 with a massive opening day party. (TimeOut) Get tickets in advance here.

  • And final reminder: tomorrow is the deadline to update your address on your voter registration before the Nov. 8 general election! 

In other reading:

  • The COVID Data That Are Actually Useful Now (The Atlantic)

  • How the Pandemic Has Forever Changed Restaurants (So Far) (Grub Street)

  • New York City: What If We Put Trash Inside Cans? (Curbed)

If 2021 was defined by bigger venture capital raises for bigger companies, 2022 is shaping up to be the year of the early-stage startup. 

  • The median deal amount for seed-stage companies in New York is on the rise, where investment levels have reached $3.58 million, up 31% from last year, according to updated Pitchbook data. (Crain’s New York Business)

  • Talent is also still drawn to New York: In the six months between February and August of this year, tech employment grew 4%, according to new data from the Center for New York City Affairs, contrary to headlines about layoffs and workforce shrinkages. (THE CITY)

A reality check: Investments in NYC startups is down overall from 2021, but that trend line is true across all major tech hubs, particularly for later-stage fundraising cycles.

  • According to Pitchbook, there were 424 venture deals in the city during the third quarter, a 31% decrease from the same period last year, when deal flow was at its peak.

  • Later-stage companies saw outlier spikes in VC activity last year (with median deals of $20 million) and this year, the median has settled back to $13.25 million.

What we’re watching: The growing valuations of seed-stage startups in NYC has been a bright spot amid larger market turbulence, and Tech:NYC is closely monitoring how venture activity will close out the year. As always, we’re confident the New York tech ecosystem is positioned to withstand shifting market sentiment. As Pitchbook senior VC analyst Kyle Sanford told Crain’s New York at the end of the second quarter:

  • New York is “still home to everything that a startup needs,” referencing the restaurant scene, events calendar, and other factors that contribute to a city’s vibrancy. “That’s not something you get in every area.”

In other reading:

  • Remote work boosts opportunities for workers with disabilities (Axios)

  • The 4-day work week firms seeing a surge in job applications (CNBC)

  • Software Sprawl: Workers Flit Between Apps 1,200 Times a Day (Bloomberg)

  • DataGrail, a NYC-based automated risk assessment platform, raised $45 million in Series C funding. Third Point Ventures led the round and was joined by Thomson Reuters Ventures and Sixty Degree Capital, as well as insiders Felicis Ventures, Operator Collective, Next47, Cloud Apps Capital and others. (TechCrunch)

  • Landis, a NYC-based real estate platform that helps transition renters into owners, raised $40 million in Series B funding. GV led the round and was joined by Sequoia Capital, Arrive, Second Century Ventures, Operator Partners, Signia Ventures, and Team Builder Ventures. (TechCrunch)

  • Redbird, a NYC-based analytics operating system, raised $7.6 million in seed funding. B Capital led the round and was joined by Y Combinator, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Soma Capital, and a group of angels. (TechCrunch)

  • October 20: In-person: Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg Speaker Series, with Index Ventures partners Martin Mignot and Shardul Shah. Hosted by Tech:NYC, Cornell Tech, and Bloomberg. Register here.

  • October 21: In-person: Future Ready 2022: the 9th Annual Silicon Harlem Annual Conference, with Tech:NYC executive director Jason Myles Clark, NYC CTO Matt Fraser, Transit Wireless CEO Melinda White, and others. Hosted by Silicon Harlem and the C-Better Foundation. Register here.

  • October 24 – 25: In-person: SCNY Urban Tech Summit, with Tech:NYC executive director Jason Myles Clark, NYC Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung, JustAir co-founder and CEO Darren Riley, and others. Hosted by Cornell Tech. Register here.

  • October 25: In-person: Your First Venture Round: Advice & Insights for Founders, with BBG Ventures managing partner Susan Lyne, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell, and m]x[v Capital partner Mark Ghermezian. Hosted by Stacklist. Register here.

  • October 27: In-person: AWS Startup Crowds NYC with Vetty CTO Bejoy John, Branch Insurance CTO Joe Emison, Michael Guarino Plural founder, Teleskope CEO Lizzy Nammour, Inspired Capital investor Claire Pan, and more. Hosted by AWS Startups. Register here.

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