Tech:NYC Digest: October 18

Tech:NYC Digest: October 18

October 18, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

We’re nearly halfway through New York Tech Week! If you haven’t been able to jump in yet, there are 150 more events planned through Sunday. 🗓️

  • In today’s digest, 70 NYC venture firms get serious about diversity in New York tech, the weather forecasts trolling our weekends, and your guide to the rest of #NYTechWeek.

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  • Don’t put your umbrella away just yet. New York hasn’t seen a dry weekend since Labor Day – and this weekend doesn’t seem to look any different. (Staten Island Advance)

    • A nor’easter could blow through the city this weekend. Rain is expected to begin Friday with the brunt of the winds coming Sunday.

    • Meteorologists don’t see flooding as a big threat this weekend, but you can find the areas of the city most at risk with this city flood hazard mapper.

  • Commuting in Staten Island via the railway? Get excited for new subway cars. (Gothamist)

    • For the first time in 50 years, the system is getting a major revamp: 75 new “cutting-edge” cars featuring wider doors, security cameras, LED lighting, and digital displays. 

In other reading:

  • Business travel would be booming – if flights weren’t so miserable (Wall Street Journal)

  • The subs that arrive on a moped (Grub Street)

  • New York Subway stations, through the eyes of an architect (Bloomberg)

Dozens of investors joined together to promise a diversity boost in New York’s startup ecosystem, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced today. (TechCrunch)

What’s new: A new group of more than 70 VC firms today launched the Venture Access Alliance, a citywide effort to encourage firms and founders to collect diversity data and standardize targets for hiring women and BIPOC talent.

  • At a #NYTechWeek event tonight, Mayor Eric Adams, Tech:NYC president Julie Samuels, Union Square Ventures partner (and Tech:NYC chairman) Fred Wilson, Harlem Capital partner Brandon Bryant, and several others will kick off the initiative.

Why it matters: NYC has fortified its position as the second largest tech hub in the world, and when it comes to early-stage activity, it’s moving into the top spot.

  • Data collected by Tech:NYC in partnership with the Center for an Urban Future in 2021 found that 20.8% of the New York tech workforce is Black and Hispanic, double the rate of the other two leading US tech hubs, San Francisco and Boston, combined.

But there’s still a long way to:

  • According to NYCEDC’s new Diversity in Venture Capital report, In 2022, Black entrepreneurs took in 2.9% of all venture funding invested in NYC companies. Latinx entrepreneurs also took in 2.9% of total New York VC funding in 2022.

  • Of the more than 1,000 Black and Latinx founders in the US who have raised more than $1 million, 18.4% are based in New York.

“As venture capital firms continue flocking to the city to be in proximity to homegrown startups, the Venture Access Alliance is a key step to attracting and retaining diverse tech founders ready to build and scale their businesses right here in New York,” said Julie Samuels, President & Executive Director of Tech:NYC.

In other reading:

  • American work-from-home rates drop to lowest since the pandemic (Bloomberg)

  • Bosses have a problem: People are actually using sick days (WSJ)

  • Why you should create a not-to-do list (Fast Company)

  • Bond Vet, a NYC-based urgent and primary veterinary care provider, raised $50 million in new funding. Participating investors include insiders Warburg Pincus and Talisman Capital Partners.

  • Ilant Health, a NYC-based obesity and weight management startup, raised $3 million in funding from a group of individual angels.

  • Joor, a NYC-based B2B fashion wholesale management platform, raised $25 million in equity and debt funding. Brightwood Capital and Tamarix Capital Partners co-led the round.

  • Allara, a NYC-based provider of virtual care for women’s chronic hormonal conditions, raised $10 million in Series A funding. GV led the round and was joined by Great Oaks Venture Capital, Humbition, Vanterra, and Gaingels. 

  • ThoughtFull, a NYC-based mental health app designed to combat loneliness, raised $7 million in seed funding. VCP Ventures led the round.

  • 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 19: #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.

  • October 22: NYC AI Hackathon: AI for the Public Good, with a16z and the founding Chief AI Officer of the NYC Mayor’s Office. Hosted by Anthropic and Cornell Tech. Register here.

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