Tech:NYC Digest: September 18

Tech:NYC Digest: September 18

September 18, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Monday, September 18, 2023

It’s Climate Week and the UN General Assembly here in New York. You know what that means: Tons of events and tons of traffic (take the subways!).

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  • It's UNGA week in NYC, and as always, schedules (and streets) are packed.

    • President Biden is in town to deliver a speech at UNGA, meet with world leaders, host a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and attend campaign fundraisers. (CBS, Politico)

    • Later this week he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

  • UNGA coincides with Climate Week NYC, and while there will be hundreds of public and private meetings between public and private entities around tackling climate change, the headlining event will be Secretary-General António Guterres' Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday. (Axios)

  • All of which means it’s a good week for public transit… The MTA clocked a seasonal high in subway ridership twice last week, with more than 4 million returning on separate days (about 69% of pre-pandemic levels). Will UNGA traffic push those numbers even higher? (Gothamist)

In other reading:

  • Check out the long-time Greenwich Village favorite where First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, President Biden, and their daughter Ashley Biden dined last night.

  • A look at this year’s New York Film Festival in a year of writers’ and actors’ strikes (Gothamist)

  • The Original Scarr’s Pizza Is Now a Sushi Counter, Good Luck Getting a Seat (Grub Street)

Throughout the hundreds of policy speeches, panels, sideline events, and cocktail hours at UNGA this week, we’ll be keeping a close eye on what world leaders say about AI. The most influential decision makers have recently taken every opportunity to advance a dialogue on how to regulate AI (as they should) and there could be some interesting movement in the space on this rare occasion that so many of them are in the same zip code(s).Some context: In July, the UN Security Council held its first meeting on AI, in which UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on members to “work together for AI that bridges social, digital, and economic divides, not one that pushes us further apart.” (UN News) 

  • In addition to climate change, regulating AI has emerged as a key focus for the Secretary-General, as he just announced the creation of a High-Level Advisory Body for Artificial Intelligence that will issue a report on global AI governance by the end of the year.

  • We also know conversations around AI and climate change will happen together: when the Secretary-General spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the weekend, on the agenda was how we can harness AI to advance the UN’s sustainable development goals. (U.S. Department of State)

The Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer noted that one reason AI will be a key area to follow this week is that unlike many of the usual topics covered at UNGA, there remains a lack of global consensus on what an ideal outcome for governing AI looks like. (GZERO Media)One FYI: Pay transparency laws requiring employers to list salary ranges in job postings went into effect statewide yesterday (a similar rule went into effect in NYC last year). (AP)

  • The law will apply to remote employees who work outside of New York but report to a supervisor, office, or worksite based in the state. 

In other reading:

  • LastMile AI, a NYC-based platform designed to help engineers integrate AI into their apps, raised $10 million in seed funding. Gradient led the round and was joined by AME Cloud Ventures, Vercel’s Guillermo Rauch, 10x Founders, and Exceptional Capital.

  • VideoAmp, a NYC and Los Angeles-based audience data and adtech company, raised $150 million in Series G funding. Vista Credit Partners led the round.

  • Roam, a NYC-based online platform allowing users to purchase a home with an assumable low-rate mortgage included, raised $1.25 million in seed funding. Founders Fund led the round and was joined by a group of individuals.

  • September 21: In-person: New Climate Futures, with Revel CEO Frank Reig, Brooklyn Navy Yard CEO Lindsay Greene, Activate co-founder Matt Price, and more. Hosted by Newlab. Register here.

  • October 11: In-person: 2023 Tech Summit, featuring CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman Becker, Esusu Co-CEO Wemimo Abbey, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and others. Hosted by Tech:NYC and Crain’s New York Business. Register here.

  • October 4: In-person: How to Go From $1M ARR to $10M, with Help Scout chief revenue officer Andrea Kayal and Innovatemap principal product marketer and brand strategist Meghan Pfeifer. Hosted by Innovatemap. Register here.

  • September 29: In-person: AcceleratorCON 2023, with The Muse founder Kathryn Minshew, Remarkable Ventures managing partner Murat Aktihanoglu, Founders Village CEO Yasmeen Butt, and others. Use code “AC23013%” for 30% off tickets by registering here.

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