Thursday, August 20, 2026
In today’s digest, new sidewalk sheds, fall foliage season gets a date, and the unicorn boom is back. 🦄
Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
NYC unveiled six new sidewalk shed designs meant to bring more light, visibility, and walking space to the streets, while also making it harder for property owners to leave the structures up indefinitely. 🏗️ (Patch)
Owners will now have to renew shed permits and report progress on repairs every 90 days, with escalating monthly penalties possible after 180 days without sufficient work.
There were 7,427 permitted sidewalk sheds citywide as of August 17, nearly 10% fewer than when Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office in January.
Time to break out the bug spray, New York. NYC has recorded its first human case of West Nile virus this year, after the virus was detected in mosquitoes across all five boroughs beginning in June. 🦟 (NY1)
More than 1,000 mosquito pools have tested positive citywide this year, and health officials are recommending repellent, long sleeves, and limiting time outdoors around dawn and dusk.
Most infected people don’t develop symptoms, but about 1 in 150 develop a serious illness affecting the brain and spinal cord.
Humpty Dumpty isn’t the only one who can have a great fall. The Farmers’ Almanac fall foliage forecast has arrived, with the Adirondacks expected to hit peak color around late October. 🍁 (Outside)
By early to mid-November, leaves are expected to have fallen across much of the northern half of the country, so procrastinating leaf peepers have been warned.
In other reading:
New York needs 700,000 homes. Can it build them? (New York Times)
Is it safe to eat salad? How New Yorkers are coping with the threat of cyclosporiasis (Gothamist)
NYC's iconic Carnegie Deli set to reopen in Midtown (CBS New York)
Together with The Atlantic 🤝
Join The Atlantic Festival on Thursday, September 17, to hear from thought-provoking voices on tech, AI, and society including: Malcolm Gladwell; actor-turned-investigative-journalist, Ben McKenzie on cryptocurrency; Whitney Wolfe Herd; and The Atlantic’s CEO and AI expert, Nicholas Thompson.
One-day Thursday passes are on sale now! Register here and get $100 off with code TECHNYC.
The Unicorn Boom Is Back and NYC Is Riding High
The unicorn boom is back in a big way. One hundred ninety-five companies reached a $1 billion valuation in the first half of 2026, already topping the 193 new unicorns created during all of 2025, and New York is getting a healthy slice of that growth.
Let’s break it down. 🦄
🥊 New York lands heavy punches: Eighteen New York City companies became unicorns in the first half of the year.
That’s roughly 9% of all new unicorns globally and 16% of the 110 new U.S. unicorns minted during H1.
Together, those 18 NYC companies have raised more than $5 billion in total equity funding over their lifetimes.
Surprise, surprise: AI is leading the herd.
11 of NYC’s 18 new unicorns — about 61% — are AI companies, including General Intuition, Rogo, Standard Bots, OpenRouter, Basis, and Avoca. 🤖
That mirrors the global picture: According to Crunchbase, robotics and AI labs were the leading sectors for new unicorn creation, alongside industries including financial services, healthcare, biotech and AI infrastructure.
🚀 Some New York companies are growing especially fast: NYC-based Garner Health and Rogo both made Crunchbase’s list of new unicorns that quickly doubled their valuations to at least $2 billion.
Garner reached a $2.7 billion valuation, up 103% in three months, while Rogo reached $2 billion, up 167% in three months.
And familiar investors keep showing up: BoxGroup has backed seven of NYC’s 18 new unicorns, followed by Khosla Ventures with six and General Catalyst with five. 💰
The big picture: The U.S. remains the center of the unicorn boom, producing 110 of H1’s 195 new unicorns, or 56%.
In other reading:
AI is becoming a financial engineering business (Fortune)
We still don’t know how people are really using AI (MIT Technology Review)
The generation that is most comfortable with AI might surprise you (Fast Company)
Multiplier, an NYC-based AI software for investment firms, raised $6 million in seed funding. Lux Capital led the round and was joined by Y Combinator, GoAhead Ventures, Rebel Fund, General Advance, and others.
Rillet, an NYC, San Francisco, and Barcelona-based AI-powered accounting software for finance teams, raised $100 million in Series C funding. ICONIQ led the round and was joined by Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.
Featured event:
⭐ September 17-19: The Atlantic Festival returns to New York for three days of newsmaking conversations, exclusive screenings, book talks, and performances you won’t find anywhere else. Register here and get $100 off your one-day or two-day pass with code TECHNYC.
Other great events:
August 21: Tech Pickleball NYC, a growing community of over 2000 members who come together on Friday mornings for coffee, bagels, pickleball, and good vibes. Register here.
August 26: Founder Dinner (Series A), a private founder dinner for a curated group of Series A+ founders or founders with $1M+ ARR. Register here.
September 1: Volunteer at Comp Sci High’s Engineering Expo, an opportunity for tech, AI, and community development professionals to mentor student teams as they build community-focused AI app prototypes for Comp Sci High’s Fall 2026 Design Competition. Register here.
September 4: Volunteer as a Competition Judge at AI for the People, Comp Sci High’s Fall 2026 Design Competition where tech leaders will evaluate student AI presentations and help select winners based on impact, creativity, and technical execution. Register here.
September 4: New Climate Futures, the largest event of New York Climate Week, where entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders from around the world come together with the shared mission to commercialize the critical technologies required for real-world climate outcomes. Register here.
September 8: This founder dinner is so exclusive that no human can get an invite. Flybridge’s Dorothy Chang is hosting a dinner discussion on the future of all things agent-to-agent. Send your AI agent to register on your behalf; if they can get through, you belong there. Register here.
September 9: Founder Dinner (Series A & B+), a private founder dinner for a curated group of Series A & B founders. Register here.
September 10: StrictlyVC, delivering an insider perspective on New York City’s bustling VC scene and wider trends in the community. Register here.
September 15: Private Dinner: Navigating International Business, an evening at Raines Law Room bringing together a select group of senior retail and brand leaders for an open conversation around the future of international commerce. Register here.
September 16: Primary’s NYC Tech Summit, an annual gathering for builders, backers, and operators shaping the future. Apply to attend here.
September 17: Regal Rise, bringing together customer experience leaders to share real-world strategies, case studies, and practical insights for successfully implementing AI agents and Voice AI technology across customer touchpoints. Register here.
September 20: Fostering State and City Level Support for Climate Innovation, bringing together leading advanced energy incubators and government to share best practices and lessons learned. Register here.
September 22: Beyond the Pilot: Securing Corporate Adoption, a Climate Scaling Summits hosted by LACI at BATWork with the theme of accelerating commercialization of clean energy innovation in New York. Register here.
October 10: Civic Tech’ish: Island Edition, a happy hour on Governors Island for people working across civic and urban tech, with optional volunteering with the Billion Oyster Project. Register here.
October 13-15: EdTech Week, where the brightest minds and the boldest innovators gather in a technological playground dedicated to transforming education. Register before August 31 for early bird tickets here.
Daily Digest Rewards 🎁
Treat yourself: Send subscribers our way, and we’ll send swag your way.
1 Referral: Shoutout in the Digest
5 Referrals: Obviously NYC Hat
10 Referrals: Obviously NYC Tote Bag
25 Referrals: Obviously NYC Sweatshirt
{{rp_personalized_text}}
Or share your personal link with others: {{ rp_refer_url }}
Want to advertise in the Digest? Fill out our form here.
Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here.
Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.
