Tech:NYC Digest: September 19

Tech:NYC Digest: September 19

September 19, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

In today’s digest, the state of the IPO market, President Biden addresses the UN, and announcing NYC’s newest beach.

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  • UNGA kicked off in earnest today, and President Biden, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and a host of other world leaders made remarks:

    • President Biden urged world leaders to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, pointed to the future of democracy in the world, and addressed the climate crisis. (CNN)

      • On a tech note, he warned that AI holds both “potential and enormous peril.” (CNBC)

    • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine also spoke at UNGA, calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine “clearly a genocide.” (Axios)

    • His Royal Highness Prince William is in town for the Earthshot Prize–an environmental summit. Yesterday, while donning an orange life preserver jacket and new waders, he visited Governors Island in New York Harbor–even taking a dip in the East River!--to see the efforts of the Billion Oyster Project. (NYT)

    • Other leaders who spoke at UNGA today include: President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, President Andrzej Duda of Poland, and King Abdullah of Jordan.

  • Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other foreign ministers were scheduled to meet with Meta, Amazon and other AI developers to discuss AI’s potential in accelerating the UN Sustainable Development Goals. (Politico) We look forward to the readout…

In other reading

:

  • Hudson River Park now has a beach; with companies like Google and IAC opening offices on the west side, development is booming. (New York Times)

  • The Perelman Arts Center, the monumental building next to the World Trade Center, hosts its first show tonight. (NYT)

  • Love Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin? This weekend only, you can check out the theater where season 3 of their show, “Only Murders in the Building” was filmed. Get tickets here. (TimeOut)

  • Manet and Degas come to New York – explore the French artists’ relationship and artwork at the MET, starting this Sunday, September 24. (TimeOut)

There are signs the IPO market is thawing: Instacart went public today on the NASDAQ, and after pricing its shares at $30 — the high end of its expected range — shares soared 40 percent to $42 at opening. (New York Times)

  • Instacart’s successful first day came after Arm’s listing last week, which saw shares in the chip design company climb 25% on its debut.

  • Later this week, Klaviyo is set to debut on the New York Stock Exchange — like Instacart, the marketing software startup raised its proposed price range on Monday after Arm’s debut last week. (CNBC)

Yes, but: Those who have followed the grocery delivery company closely will note that the company’s market cap after today’s trading — about $13.9 billion — is well below its 2021 valuation. 

  • Even still, the early success these companies are seeing is welcome news to tech companies and investors alike, who have withstood a frosty IPO market the last two years.

In other reading:

  • In the work-from-home debate, the generation most against RTO might surprise you (Fast Company)

  • Nearly half of CEOs believe AI could replace their own jobs, says new poll—and 47% say that’s a good thing (CNBC)

  • Bastion, a New York City-based startup for companies to integrate blockchain technology and crypto wallets into their infrastructure, raised $25 million in seed funding. a16z crypto led the round and was joined by Laser Digital Ventures, Robot Ventures, Not Boring Capital, and others.

  • LastMile AI, a New York City-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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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