Monday, September 29, 2025

September 29, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Monday, September 29, 2025 

In today's digest, Eric Adams drops out of the race for mayor, a smaller hike to the MTA fare, and wealthtech is in the air. 💸

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  • In case you (somehow) missed it over the weekend: Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the New York City mayor’s race, announcing the end of his reelection campaign in a video set to the soundtrack of Frank Sinatra’s My Way 🗳️ (amNY)

    • Mayor Adams’ name will still appear on the November ballot though. Here’s why.

    • The Mayor notably didn’t endorse anyone in his announcement — keep track of all mayoral endorsements here.

  • Check your mailbox, New York! Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state started mailing inflation refund checks Friday worth up to $400 to 8.2 million families. 💵 (News 10)

  • The MTA has revised its planned January fare hikes following more than 1,300 public comments from riders. That’s four times the number of comments the agency received during the last fare hike in 2023. 🚇 (Gothamist)

    • Weekly unlimited MetroCards will rise by $1 (instead of the originally planned $2), and a proposed 4.4% fare increase for the Metro-North’s West of Hudson service was canceled.

    • The cost of a single subway or bus ride is still expected to increase to $3 from $2.90.

👑 Referral royalty: Big thanks to Andrea Martinez, Keenan Turner, Line Poulin Larivière, and Tom Ogletree 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:

  • Swaggering, scandalous, strange: There will never be another Eric Adams (New York Times)

  • The East Village outpost of Corner Bistro opens today (Eater NY)

  • Scaffolding has encased my building for years. What can I do? (New York Times)

NYC Is Now America’s Wealthtech Capital

Wealthtech, AKA tech tools for financial advisors and wealth management firms, is having its New York moment. That’s right, Gotham has cemented its status as the wealthtech capital (and it’s not particularly close). 🏦 

📊 What’s new: A fresh report from FinTech Global shows New York firms captured more than a quarter of all U.S. wealthtech deals in Q2 — the highest share of any state.

  • U.S. wealthtech deal activity rose by 38% QoQ.

  • In New York, deal activity surged 47% YoY, with NY firms completing 25 deals (27% share) compared to California’s 19.

💡 It’s not just wealthtech: NYC is the fintech world’s new hotspot too, with over 4,000 fintech startups. So what’s driving NYC’s dominance?

  • The city’s deep pool of engineers, Wall Street capital, and diverse industries, says Tech:NYC President and CEO Julie Samuels.

  • Proximity to regulators, financial institutions, and VC firms all within a few subway stops doesn’t hurt either. 

  • Paytech is especially booming here, with innovations spanning from fraud prevention to contactless transit payments.

🌍 Zoom out: The wider fintech sector is rebounding too, per CB Insights’ State of Fintech report.

  • Global fintech funding hit $10.5 billion in Q2, the second straight quarter above $10 billion — a milestone not seen since early 2023.

  • U.S. fintechs dominated, capturing a record 65% of mega-rounds, led by Plaid’s $575 million raise and (Tech:NYC member) Ramp’s $200 million Series D at a $16 billion valuation.

In other reading:

  • Trump plans H-1B lottery overhaul to prioritize higher earners (Bloomberg)

  • 14 mistakes leaders make when giving feedback (Fast Company)

  • Introducing parental controls: New tools and resources to support families (OpenAI)

  • Valence, an NYC-based enterprise AI coach, raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

  • Axon Therapies, an NYC-based medical device maker focused on heart failure, raised $32 million. Earlybird Venture Capital and Santé Ventures led the round, joined by Deerfield Management, CD Capital, and KOFA Healthcare.

  • Prelude Security, an NYC-based endpoint protection platform, raised $16 million. Brightmind Partners led the round, joined by Sequoia Capital and Insight Partners.

  • Stickerbox, an NYC-based developer of a voice-activated box that creates and prints stickers, raised $7 million in seed funding. Maveron led the round and was joined by AI2, Matthew Brezina, and Serena Ventures.

  • Synthesized, an NYC- and London-based startup that uses AI to automate software testing, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Redalpine Venture Partners led the round with participation from IQ Capital, Mercia Ventures, UBS, Seedcamp, and Deutsche Bank.

  • Flox, an NYC-based platform designed to simplify software development life cycles, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Addition led the round and was joined by NEA, the D. E. Shaw group, Hetz Ventures, and Illuminate Financial.

  • Maximor, an NYC-based developer of agentic AI technology for CFOs, raised $9 million in seed funding. Foundation Capital led the round and was joined by Gaia Ventures, Boldcap, and angel investors.

  • Modal Labs, an NYC-based serverless cloud platform, raised $87 million at $1.1 billion valuation. Lux Capital led the round, joined by Amplify Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Dimension Capital, and Definition.

  • October 1: October Tech Rooftop Mixer, an evening of sunset views, conversations, and connections for tech founders, operators, and investors. 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: The Executive AI Cocktail Hour, for ​CEOs, directors, VPs, and other senior leaders running a SaaS company, agency, publishing house, or any organization that's seriously exploring what AI can do for your business. 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 7: Fall Fintech Hour, a happy hour for leaders across fintech, banking, embedded finance, and financial services. Register 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 9: NYC Tech Poker Tournament, where up to $500 in tech prizes and the chance to meet some of NYC’s best engineers are at stake. Register here.

  • October 13: How AI is Changing the Playbook for Consumer Subscription with Phil Carter, who will share his playbook for growing consumer subscriptions and how AI is reshaping the game. Register 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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