Friday, September 26, 2025

September 26, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Friday, September 26, 2025 

Welcome to another Friday edition of the Tech:NYC Digest, featuring our favorite five highlights in New York tech this week.

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How New York City became the fintech world’s new hotspot (Payments Unbound by J.P. Morgan x Wired)

  • In 2024, fintech deal values in NYC increased to $6.71 billion, up 50% compared to 2023. And there are now over 4,000 fintech startups in Gotham. So what’s behind the fintech boom? 

    • “You can build a technology anywhere in the country that’s related to fintech or payments. But, when it comes time to figure out who’s paying for that technology, who’s using that technology, how does that technology function in a broader financial ecosystem, who knows how to market it, who knows how to sell it? That’s all happening in New York,” said Tech:NYC President and CEO Julie Samuels.

As Union Square Cafe celebrates its 40th anniversary, owner Danny Meyer recalls its nail-biting opening phase (Airmail)

  • From chalk outlines near Union Square to Halloween pranks, Danny Meyer’s early days running the now iconic Union Square Cafe were anything but smooth. 🍝 

    • Forty years later, the restaurant is an NYC institution — but Meyer (who also runs a hospitality investment firm) still remembers the jitters of those first reviews, the Mafia-owned linen contracts, and the dream of “democratic dining.”

The Met’s iconic steps just got four new residents: a hawk, squirrel, coyote, and deer (Time Out New York)

  • Artist Jeffrey Gibson has perched four monumental bronze sculptures on The Met’s Fifth Avenue facade. 🦅🐿️🐺🦌 

    • The installation, The Animal That Therefore I Am, celebrates NYC’s wild side — the same creatures we spot in Central Park or dashing down Broadway, now immortalized at 10 feet tall.

NYC isn’t just betting on startups — it’s betting on global scale (Forbes)

  • With the launch of the International Landing Pad Network, the city is positioning itself as the hub for international growth companies. 🌍

    • From AI to climate tech, more than 50 global scale-ups will expand to NYC in the coming year, with help from operators like Plug and Play, SOSA, and Supermomos. Think of it as New York turning empty offices into launchpads. 🚀

‘Am I the Drama?’ Cardi B is the newest voice of MTA public service announcements (amNY)

  • If you hear “keep it cute and keep it moving” on the platform this week, no, you’re not hallucinating — that’s Cardi B. 🎤 

    • The Bronx-born rapper is lending her voice to MTA announcements, swapping out the usual monotone with sass, humor, and plenty of Bronx flair.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Friday Five – keep it cute and keep it moving, New York! 🏃

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