Monday, June 15, 2026
In today’s digest, early voting is underway, see ya later red tape, and a deep dive into Gutter Capital’s accelerator, Elbow Grease. 💪
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Early voting is underway for New York’s June 23 primary, and more than 16,500 New Yorkers cast ballots on the first day alone. 🗳️ (NY 1)
Manhattan led turnout with more than 7,500 ballots cast, followed by Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Need a refresher on what’s on the ballot, key dates, or where to vote? Check out Tech:NYC’s primary primer, or here’s a cool app to help research candidates, issues, and races before heading to the polls.
The state is taking a weed-whacker to red tape. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced 50 actions aimed at cutting regulations, fees, paperwork, and permit requirements that the administration says will save New Yorkers roughly 1 million hours and tens of millions of dollars. ✂️ (NY Post)
Nearly 800,000 licensed professionals — from barbers to real estate agents to notaries — will see simplified renewal processes.
Other changes include reducing paperwork for healthcare providers and making it easier to build housing and modernize nursing homes.
From red tape to ticker tape. New York City is preparing for what could be one of the biggest celebrations in city history as the Knicks get their first-ever Canyon of Heroes parade after winning their first NBA title in 53 years. 🏀 (FOX New York)
The parade kicks off Thursday at 10am near Battery Park before heading up Broadway to City Hall Plaza.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to present Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and the rest of the team with Keys to the City.
In other reading:
A mystery vending machine in Coney Island is dispensing original works from Brooklyn artists (Time Out New York)
The pulse of NYC: How the Knicks playoff drama impacted Oura members’ metrics (Oura)
We toured New York to find a bar for every World Cup team (Wall Street Journal)
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NYC’s Early-Stage Tech Scene Just Got Another Dose of Elbow Grease
New York just added a little more elbow grease to its startup scene. 💪
Gutter Capital has opened applications for the second cohort of Elbow Grease, its Chinatown-based accelerator for early-stage founders. The firm is also launching a new $75 million Fund III focused on the program and follow-on backing for participating startups
And, much like last year, the bigger story is that New York keeps getting better at producing practical AI and tech startups built close to real industries, customers, and operators.
The deets: Applications for the accelerator are open until July 31, and the 10-week program begins in September for up to 15 companies.
Each selected team gets a $300k first check and works out of Gutter HQ on Canal Street.
Last year’s inaugural cohort drew more than 600 applications, and the first batch included companies working on everything from school safety software and insurance tools to low-orbit satellite imagery.
Cohort 1 even had a couple teams (Keeper Systems and QuickSecure) relocate their businesses to New York.
Who’s involved: The mentor bench is a real who’s who of New York operators and founders, including Carly Strife (BARK, Ambush Capital), Ryan Denehy (Electric AI), JT White (Forerunner), Rachael Nemeth (Opus), and Robert Yuen (Monograph).
Plus speakers include the likes of Neil Blumenthal (Warby Parker), Scott Belsky (A24, Adobe), Hunter Walk (Homebrew), Kate Ryder (Maven), and Julie Menin (New York City Council Speaker).
This all reflects the broader NYC tech picture. 🧑💻
NYC has 2,000+ AI startups, 25,000+ tech-enabled startups, and 40,000+ workers with AI skills, with much of the city’s tech energy concentrated in sectors like finance, healthcare, legal, and logistics.
🗽 Why NYC: “New York is an incredible place for Elbow Grease because there is so much else going on,” said Gutter Capital cofounder Dan Teran. “It is the center of the world for so many different industries like art, media, finance, fashion that it not only provides access to customers and insights, but also forces a humility on founders.”
“There is also something special about being in a city where everyone rides the same subway,” Dan continued. “There is a diversity of people, opinions, lifestyles that I think ultimately makes for richer experiences, better products, and more interesting companies.”
Because where should you build your future? In the capital of everything, obviously.
In other reading:
As AI companies race to go public, who else is along for the ride? (TechCrunch)
Calm has one of their lawyers reading their terms of service as a sleep story (Daniel Storm/X)
The job that AI was supposed to kill needs more humans than ever (Wall Street Journal)
Dapple, an NYC-based operating system for AI infrastructure, raised $30 million in seed funding. The Raptor Group and Ion Pacific led the round.
Hypha, an NYC-based AI-native asset intelligence platform designed to modernize private credit and private equity workflows, raised $50 million in seed funding. TriEdge Investments led the round and was joined by Bankwell, Cammeby’s International, CFG Bank, and others.
Podium Automation, an NYC-based maker of control panels, raised $18m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Construct Capital led, joined by a16z, Transition Ventures, Sunflower Capital, and Banter Capital.
REMEDY, an NYC-based skincare brand, raised $19 million in Series A funding. L Catterton led the round and was joined by Sonoma Brands and existing investor Norwest.
Sandstone, an NYC-based operating system for in-house legal teams that uses AI agents to automate contract and matter workflows, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed led the round.
Featured event:
⭐ June 24: NYC AI Demos, from Tech:NYC, Pensar, and Two Trees, this month featuring a hand-picked lineup of fast-growing startups selected by some of New York’s most influential venture firms: Thrive Capital, First Round Capital, Index Ventures, Inspired Capital, Able Partners, and more. Register here.
Other great events:
June 16: Business Incubator Association of New York State’s 2026 Annual Conference, featuring high-impact panels with communities building across New York. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for a discounted pass.
June 18: Brex Baseball Series: White Socks @ Yankees, where founders can come together to relax and enjoy some sports and good conversation. Register here.
June 18: [untitled] Series // Craft and Code, a fireside with a few engineers who care about design talking honestly about craft, taste, and how they actually work. Register here.
June 22: NYC Summer Retail Mixer, an evening designed for meaningful conversations, genuine connections, and fresh perspectives with peers across the retail ecosystem. Register here.
June 23: The Choose NYC Summit, an annual convening connecting business leaders, investors, and policymakers to facilitate the expansion of companies from around the world to New York City. Register here.
June 23: Happy Hour — CommerceNext Growth Show, NYC, an evening of drinks and conversation for founders, operators, and growth folks who’d rather swap notes over a cocktail than a coffee queue. Register here.
June 23: AmTech Happy Hour, for all founders and operators, engineers and investors, civil servants past and present, and policy enthusiasts. Register here.
June 24: Brderless Founder Dinner, a private founder dinner for a curated group of Seed+ founders. Register here.
June 24: Ugly Talk: What Investors Don’t Tell You About Fundraising, a panel bringing together three early-stage investors to talk about the stuff that usually stays off the record, and to give founders a clearer view of how decisions actually get made behind closed doors. Register here.
June 25: Pitching Yourself in the Moments That Matter, an interactive workshop where you can learn how to introduce yourself in a way that is clear, natural, and designed to start real conversations. Register here.
June 25: Ugly Talk: The ROI of Living Your Brand, where you can hear founders break down how visibility actually turns into trust, reach, and revenue. Register here.
June 26: Brits Tech — Coffee Meet, where you can grab a cuppa tea (or coffee if you must), with fellow founders and tech industry folks from across the pond. Register here.
June 27: TechWalk — Brooklyn, a networking event for members of the tech and SaaS communities to get outside, meet new people, and enjoy some fresh air, while practicing mindful movement. Register here.
June 30: June Tech Rooftop Mixer, an evening of sunset views, conversations, and connections. Register here.
July 2: NYC Tech & Startup Mixer, putting founders, engineers, investors, recruiters, freelancers, and mentors in the same room for a night of straight‑up networking. Register here.
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