Monday, September 22, 2025

September 22, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Monday, September 22, 2025 

In today's digest, NYC Climate Week kicks off, UNGA traffic, and Amanda Eilian on building a VC firm from scratch. 🏗️

  • Shanah Tovah to those celebrating Rosh Hashanah beginning this evening! 🍎 

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  • Climate Week NYC is officially underway! 🎉 The week-long event brings together international leaders, business execs, and activists to discuss solutions and innovations to tackle climate change. (Forbes)

    • The agenda is packed with events focused on everything from urban planning to sustainable finance.

    • Check out more details on all the events happening throughout the city here.

  • The 80th session of the UN General Assembly kicks off today (read: it’s Gridlock Week).  Major street closures are expected to cause lots of traffic, especially around Midtown East. 🚧 (The New York Times)

    • Vehicle speeds in Midtown are expected to drop to under 4 MPH during peak times. 

    • Officials strongly encourage people to walk, bike, or use public transportation instead of driving. 🚴

  • It’s the first day of fall, and forecasters are expecting autumn to be warmer than usual in NYC. 🍁 (Gothamist)


👑 Referral royalty: Big thanks to Beth Ferreira, Franziska Ehrhardt, Jose Espinoza, and Madison McCormick, for referring subscribers to the Tech:NYC Digest this week! Join them and win swag by participating in our referral program — details at the end of this email.

In other reading:

  • Every open bathroom in NYC is on this genius map — from coffee shops to parks (Secret NYC)

  • Four of the best burgers in the world are officially in NYC (TimeOut New York)

➕ One more thing: Not to toot our own horn, but Tech:NYC was just named to the Top Trade Associations list by City & State! More here.

VC Spotlight: Able Partners’ Amanda Eilian

Amanda Eilian, Founding Partner at Able Partners, didn’t plan on becoming a venture capitalist. 

But after years of “trying just about everything else in finance,” she caught the entrepreneurial bug, cofounded an enterprise software company, and realized that her passion was helping other early stage founders on their startup journeys. 🚀

  • Able partners with companies that are narrowing the “Wellness Gap.”

  • But how is Amanda able to differentiate the startups with real potential for impact versus the ones that may just be riding the wellness trend?

For our latest VC Spotlight, we caught up with Amanda to discuss her career, what she looks for in founders, how she identifies the most promising companies working to narrow the Wellness Gap, and much more.

Here’s a preview of what Amanda had to say:

😯 On the most unexpected lesson she learned about building a VC firm from scratch:

  • “One of the biggest surprises has been how entrepreneurial the process of building a VC firm really is. Just like the founders we invest in, we had to start with a blank page and define our vision, build our culture, and carve out a differentiated position in a competitive market.”

💰 On some recent investments she’s excited by:

  • “We’re very excited about SuppCo, a platform that helps consumers manage and optimize their supplement routines. What drew us in is the combination of scientific rigor with consumer-friendly product design: an independent quality-rating system and personalized “StackScore” translate evidence and label data into clear, actionable guidance.”

🤝 On the resources she recommends for founders:

  • “The best resource is other founders who are just a little further along, usually 12 to 18 months ahead. Their lessons are fresh and directly applicable. We know that many of the founders that we invest in get excited about the access they will have to our broader portfolio, and the learnings that come from the companies that are just a step ahead.”

🍕 And, of course, on the best slice in the city:

  • “I've had a gluten allergy for two decades so my recommendations will never be as good as the real thing, but Eataly's gluten free pizza is pretty close. For a local neighborhood option, Wild has a wide selection of GF pizza and pasta.”

In other reading:

  • Centari, an NYC-based deal intelligence platform, raised $14 million in funding from Sentinel Global, GTMFund, South Park Commons, ALT Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Recall Capital, and others.

  • Druid AI, an NYC-based agentic AI startup, raised $31 million in Series C funding. Cipio Partners led the round with participation from TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, and Smedvig.

  • Extend, an NYC-based spend management platform, raised $20 million in new funding. B Capital led the round and was joined by March Capital, Point72 Ventures, FinTech Collective, and Commerce Ventures.

  • Le Walk, an NYC-based developer of personalized audio walking tours (featured in Tech:NYC’s “Travel and Hospitality Companies to Watch” in July!), raised $4.1 million in seed funding. Adverb Ventures and Lerer Hippeau led the round, joined by Origins Fund and Point72 Ventures.

  • Nolla Health, an NYC-based AI-powered personal healthcare platform, raised $4.5 million in seed funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by SNÖ Ventures and angel investors.

  • Seven Starling, an NYC-based virtual provider of women’s behavioral health services, raised $8 million in funding. Rethink Impact led the round and was joined by Pear VC, Zeal Capital Partners, Magnify Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Expa, and others.

  • Vibranium Labs, an NYC-based provider of AI-powered incident management solutions, raised $4.6 million in seed funding. Calibrate Ventures and Mirae Asset led the round and was joined by a16z, Franklin Templeton, Plug and Play, Gaingels, Wildcard Capital, FalconX, and DCG.

  • September 23: Founders Without Borders Mixer, a no-agenda, high-energy night where India’s and America’s sharpest founders, creators, PMs, operators, and VCs meet over drinks, beats, and bold ideas. Register here.

  • September 23: Deep Tech Forum + Startup Showcase in NYC, bringing together deep tech startups from across the globe alongside corporate innovation leaders, investors, and ecosystem partners. Register with promo code TECHNYC for a 20% discount here.

  • September 24: Power on: Climate & Circularity in Electronics, spotlighting real-world innovations, lessons from early adopters, and how to tackle the toughest challenges to scaling circularity. Register here.

  • September 24: Demo Night, an AI Review event featuring demos from some of the more compelling AI applications being built in New York today. Register here.

  • September 24: ​The First 10 Breakfast Series, bringing together founders, VCs, and operators for candid, unfiltered conversations about the first 10 hires, customers, decisions, and lessons that make or break a company. Register here.

  • September 25: NYC Climate Week — Scaling Solutions with Fortune 100, exploring how Fortune 500 companies are aligning climate goals with business strategy, leveraging data to drive accountability, and empowering next-gen solutions to scale through meaningful partnerships. Register here.

  • September 26: Women Leading Change: AI & The Wealth Shift, a panel and networking event on how artificial intelligence is transforming wealth and entrepreneurship. Register here.

  • September 29: From Demos to Durable AI: A Fireside Chat with Arize’s Aman Khan, who will share how to turn AI experiments into dependable products. Register here.

  • October 2: From Founder to CEO: Leading Through Growth, an evening for early-stage founders who are building fast-paced, ambitious companies — and want to lead them well. Register here.

  • October 7-9: The 12th Annual TechFutures Summit, featuring hands-on workshops, keynote speakers, live podcast recordings, and networking events. Register here.

  • October 7: Information Security Summit, for public sector leaders, cybersecurity pros, and tech experts committed to safeguarding New York’s state and local government operations. Register with promo code TECHNYC for a 25% discount here.

  • October 8: Speed Pitching: 1:1 Meetings With Investors, for AI-powered startups with market-ready MVP or revenue generating, preferably with one underrepresented founder, pre-seed to Series A. Register with promo code TechNYC20 for a 20% discount here.

  • October 23: Tech:NYC and Crain’s Tech Summit, a day of conversations that explore how AI is transforming key industries — from reshaping real estate tools and bedside care to revolutionizing financial strategies and raising urgent legal considerations. Register with promo code FRIENDSOFTECHNYC for a 15% discount here.

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