Wednesday, March 26, 2025

March 26, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 

In today’s digest, firefighters take on calendars, Broadway plays take center stage, and we take a deep dive into AmTech. 🇺🇸

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

  • Access-a-Ride, the MTA’s paratransit services, are speeding up in the congestion zone by 5%. The service, which carries people whose disabilities prevent them from riding public transportation, is becoming more dependable after its citywide reliability fell to its lowest level in 2021. 🚌 (THE CITY)

    • In February, ~95% of for-hire vehicles arrived within 20 minutes of scheduled pickup times (up from 90.6% from February last year).

  • Broadway plays are so back (but did they ever really leave?). Unusually, all three of its highest grossing shows aren’t musicals. 🎭 (Axios)

    • “Good Night, and Good Luck” starring George Clooney brought in $3.3 million last week, and “Othello” and “Glengarry Glen Ross” are also topping the charts.

  • Baseball season returns tomorrow, which is good news for New Yorkers — baseball fans and non-fans alike. The Mets and Yankees are projected to bring in over $900 million this season. (ABC7 NY)

    • The projection is based on direct impacts from visitor spending, including ticket sales and concessions, and lodging for those who travel to town for a game.

In other reading:

  • That's hot: 'Calendar of Heroes' returning with scantily-clad FDNY members (Gothamist)

  • The art of perfect vibes: How New York City’s hottest restaurants got that way (Bloomberg)

➕ It’s not too late to take our one-minute newsletter survey to help us provide the news, ideas, and resources that are most useful to you. (Plus, you could win a $100 gift card!)

A16z’s recent American Dynamism 50 list of GovTech startups, Commonweal’s list of the 76 top venture capital firms investing in the future of America, and Coatue’s deep-dive on the U.S. industrial revival all point to one thing: Re-industrializing America is gaining momentum. 

American Tech, or AmTech as Commonweal calls it, is a huge opportunity for tech innovation — but there’s a need for modernization within the sector. 🇺🇸

⭕ Challenges:

  • The U.S. has historically driven tech innovation in nuclear energy, space exploration, the internet, and GPS.

  • Today, the defense tech industry is plagued by slow-adoption, bureaucratic hurdles, heavy regulations, and fixed contracts.

🟢 Opportunities for new players:

  • A wave of talent is tackling hard-tech problems, and many are launching startups.

  • Venture funding in hard-tech is strong — with $13 billion invested in 2024.

  • Falling GPU costs are enabling faster, cheaper model training and automation.

  • The future industrial base can look like: Fixed pricing, rapid innovation, autonomous systems, AI-driven manufacturing, and nuclear energy at scale.

So what does this mean for NYC?

  • 🧠 We’ve got the talent — NYC’s deep bench in AI, fintech, and enterprise SaaS is key to building the digital infrastructure behind industrial tech.

  • 💰 We’ve got the capital — NYC-based VCs like Commonweal and a16z are already investing in this space — and more will follow.

  • 🗽 We’ve got the policy momentum — NY’s Empire AI investment shows the state is serious about emerging tech.

  • 📊 We’ve got the diversity — Our ecosystem's strength in sectors like climate, cybersecurity, and logistics makes NYC the ultimate cross-sector sandbox.

Be part of the convo: As part of New York’s Deep Tech Week (March 31-April 4), join the founders of three hardware tech companies based in New York for a panel on “Building a Hardware Company in NYC.” Register here. 

In other reading:

  • What leaders need to know about auditing AI (Harvard Business Review)

  • Tech mogul Jon McNeill on placing long-term AI bets (Semafor)

  • Why startups and tech giants are racing to build a practical quantum computer (CNBC)

  • Arlo, an NYC-based AI-powered health insurance provider for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $4 million in seed funding. Upfront Ventures led the round and was joined by 8VC and General Catalyst.

  • Rogo AI, an NYC-based provider of genAI for banking analysts, is raising $40 million at up to a $350m valuation led by Thrive Capital with Khosla Ventures participating, per the Information.

  • Silna Health, an NYC-based prior authorization, benefit checks, and eligibility verification AI-powered management solutions provider for the healthcare industry, raised $27 million in funding. Accel and Bain Capital Ventures led the $5 million seed round and were joined by Activant. Existing investors Accel and Bain Capital Ventures led the $22 million Series A round and were joined by existing investor Activant and angel investors.

  • Sympera AI, an NYC-based agentic-AI platform for relationship managers in the banking sector, raised $10 million in seed funding from Nyca Partners and Viola Ventures.

  • Underdog, an NYC-based sports betting app, raised $70 million in Series C funding at a $1.2 billion valuation from Spark Capital.

  • Voiceops, an NYC-based AI-powered phone call analysis and insights provider for marketing, raised $5 million in seed funding. Bonfire Ventures and Twelve Below led the round and were joined by Precursor Ventures, Not Boring Capital, Village Global, and others.

  • Applications are open for Decoded Futures at the Tech:NYC Foundation — our no-cost, seven-week program designed for NYC nonprofits looking to use AI to scale their impact.

  • NYCEDC is looking for proposals for organizations to operate the NYC AI Nexus. Apply by April 2 here.

  • New Schools is accepting applications for the Gen AI Math Tutoring Funding Opportunity, providing up to $300,000 in funding, expert assistance, and product feedback for selected ventures. Apply by April 18 here.

  • Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, a four-month program providing funding and mentorship for early-stage companies. Apply by April 28 here.

  • Urban Future Lab hosts the Urban Future Prize Competition, which identifies and supports top climate-tech startups. Apply by April 28 here.

  • Forum Ventures is accepting pitches for Forum for Founders, which will invest in 30+ companies over the next three months, offering $100K and admission to its pre-seed accelerator to provide personalized GTM and sales support. Apply here.

  • AcceleratorCON introduces Draft Combine, an opportunity for startups to be scouted by top accelerators and investors. Apply here.

  • Each month, Union Square Ventures hosts usvwork — a casual coworking day for founders and builders in NYC. Apply here.

  • La Creme de la STEM’s Founding Member application, for early-stage female founders in tech or science, providing access to the knowledge of investors and guest speakers, and perks from corporate partners. Apply here.

  • Company Ventures’ Grand Central Tech Residency, for pre-seed/seed stage teams building venture-scale companies, or individuals launching a venture within six months. Apply here.