Monday, November 17, 2025
In today’s digest, New York airports return to normal, the MetroCard’s days are numbered, and how AI is giving small businesses a helping hand. 🤝🤖
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It’s looking like clear skies again for NYC airports! Flight schedules at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports have returned to normal after last week’s chaos due to the shutdown. 🛩️ (Gothamist)
Air traffic controller staffing has finally rebounded, letting the FAA lift its emergency order that cut domestic flights by 10% at 40 major U.S. airports.
Pour one out for a New York icon: The MetroCard’s retirement tour has officially begun. Sales of the classic yellow card end Dec. 31, and to nudge riders toward OMNY, the MTA is giving away free OMNY cards at select stations tomorrow. 🚆 (amNY)
MetroCards will still swipe through 2026, and any leftover balance can be transferred or reimbursed for two years after the card expires.
Keep up with the events and restaurant deals honoring the MetroCard throughout the city here.
You say you want a (trash) revolution: In the latest chapter in the city’s “trash revolution,” the City Council has passed legislation to continue a program replacing some street-parking spots with large trash bins to aid in NYC’s ongoing battle against rats. 🐀 (Gothamist)
The “RAT” act requires all buildings with 31 or more units to use on-street bins to dispose of residential waste. (Buildings with 10 to 30 units can use the large bins or smaller containers.)
The bins are currently on streets in Upper Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, and the new legislation gives the city until 2032 to install the bins throughout the five boroughs.
In other reading:
Spike Lee blesses Pope Leo with Knicks jersey (Vulture)
AI boom tests New York’s energy limits (Crain’s New York)
Meta just opened a blue-colored pop-up store in NYC (Time Out New York)
Small Biz, Big Tech
Lots of the “AI at work” talk today focuses on how large enterprises are using the technology. But how are small businesses using AI?
Across the country — and especially here in New York — small businesses are embracing AI as a core tool for survival and growth. Let’s take a look. 👇
📈 AI is now a small-business force multiplier: Owners are leaning on AI to scale marketing, customer support, and admin work.
Go-to-market teams feel it most: marketing, sales, and customer service are where AI is moving the needle fastest.
By the numbers: According to a recent nationwide U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey:
58% of the roughly 3,800 small businesses surveyed said they are using generative AI tools.
That’s up from 40% in 2024 and more than double what it was two years prior. 📈
🗽 New York is turning into a small business AI lab: NYCEDC’s new AI Nexus initiative connects startups building AI tools with local small businesses ready to deploy them.
NYC-based startups participating in the AI Nexus get access to coworking space, technical and go-to-market support, curated pilot opportunities, mentorship, and fundraising help — all designed to accelerate AI adoption across sectors.
📊 New York by the numbers:
57% of New York small businesses use gen AI tools.
44% use gen AI chatbots.
77% believe AI will help their businesses in the future.
The city already counts 2,000+ AI startups and 40,000 AI professionals, cementing its position as the global capital of applied AI.
The bottom line: Small businesses may lack big-company tech teams, but they’re experimenting faster, shipping quicker, and adopting AI where it makes their work easier today.
In other reading:
When employee AI adoption stalls out, workplace influencers get called in (Bloomberg)
‘Vibe coding’ named Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year (CNN)
Frustrated by the medical system, patients turn to AI (New York Times)
Baselane, an NYC-based banking and financial platform designed for real estate investors, raised $34.4 million across Series A and B rounds. Thomvest Ventures led the $20 million Series B round and Matrix Partners led the $14.4 million Series A round.
Filament, an NYC-based invite-only connection platform for professionals, raised $10.7 million in seed funding from EQT Ventures, Flybridge Capital, Oceans Ventures, and others.
Maybern, an NYC-based provider of software that automates calculations for private fund managers, raised a $50 million Series B led by Battery Ventures, and joined by Primary Venture Partners, Human Capital, MetaProp, Grafton Street Partners, Camber Creek, and Friends & Family Capital.
Songscription, an NYC-based music transcription platform, raised a $5 million round. Reach Capital led the round, joined by Emerge Capital, 10x Founders, Dent Capital and angels.
TandemAI, an NYC-based drug discovery platform, raised a $22 million Series A extension round from investors including V-Capital and KHK Fund.
Vibe.co, an NYC-based ad platform designed to bring hyper-targeting to connected TV, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Hedosophia led the round and was joined by Elaia, Singular, and others.
November 18: Techonomy 25: Human Agency Meets Machine Autonomy, where global innovators, policymakers, and industry leaders, including Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels, Chief’s Alison Moore, and Wyclef Jean, will convene to discuss how autonomous systems are reshaping the fabric of our society. Register with promo code DAN399 for a $350 discount here.
November 18: Gen Next: Real Talk with the Founders Redefining What’s Next, for founders, creators, and early-career professionals shaping what’s next, and corporate innovators and investors eager to understand Gen Z’s mindset. Register here.
November 19: Join Glean and The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson for Beyond Pilots: How Organizations Can Turn AI Into Real Results, a summit on AI produced by Glean. Apply to attend in person here.
November 19: Decoded Futures Build Day, a day of collaboration between technologists and nonprofit organizations to explore practical, hands-on ways to apply AI to real challenges. Register here. Want to volunteer? Apply here.
November 19: Tech and Business Networking — Long Island City, where you can meet consultants, analysts of all types, bankers, software engineers, entrepreneurs, and more. Register here.
November 20: Insecure Agents: Live Panel & Podcast, a live conversation following day one of AIE Code exploring the cutting edge of AI agent development and security. Register here.
November 20: Smart Fundraising Strategies — Say No to Cold Outreach for Revenue-Generating, where you can learn how to connect with the right investors without a strong network, and to create a credible financial model that passes due diligence. Register here.
November 21: Brits in Tech — Coffee Meet, where you can mingle with fellow founders and tech industry folks from across the pond. Register here.
December 2: Builders and Disrupters in the AI Era, featuring presentations from Cornell Tech graduate students, startups, and researchers tackling real-world challenges through technology and collaboration. Register here.
December 4: The SEEN Summit, the ultimate gathering for NYC-based founders, investors, and advocates of diverse-led teams, designed to foster networking, collaboration, and growth. Register here.
December 4: H-1Bs: Who Wins and Who Loses? A lively, high-stakes debate between a Rutgers professor and the Executive Director of an immigration think-tank on whether H1Bs and other non-immigration visas help American innovation more than they hurt American labor. Register here.
December 10-11: The AI Summit New York, a platform for enterprise leaders and tech innovators to explore and apply commercial AI, featuring Flybidge’s Jesse Middleton, NYCEDC’s Jonathan Schulhof, and Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels discussing NYC’s startup ecosystem. Register here.
December 10: The AI Summit NY Healthcare Happy Hour, a mixer for healthcare and pharma professionals after day one of the AI Summit in New York. Register here.
December 11: The Future of Applied AI in Finance and Banking, an annual one-day, invite-only conference blending elements of TEDx, Foo Camp, and Summit to bring senior managers, C-suite executives, and top AI/ML researchers together for curated sessions on applying the latest technology to problems in finance, banking, and insurance. Register here.
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