Thursday, July 9, 2026
In today’s digest, details on NYC Restaurant Week, Manhattanhenge returns, and H1 VC funding data. 💰
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Mark your calendars: NYC Restaurant Week returns this month and reservations open this Tuesday, July 14! 🍽️ (Secret NYC)
During the “week” (which actually runs from July 20 through August 16), restaurants across the city will offer exclusive, multi-course prix-fixe menus at lower pricing.
More details here.
The Upper East Side Legionnaires’ disease outbreak has grown to at least 36 cases, prompting the city to test nearly 160 cooling towers and order at least 19 buildings to drain, clean, and disinfect their systems. 🦠 (The Guardian)
City health officials say the risk to the average New Yorker remains very low, but anyone who develops symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, or muscle aches should seek medical care.
The city is still working to identify the source, a process that could take another month.
In the meantime, here’s a map of every UES cooling tower in the area affected by the outbreak.
Influencers, assemble! Manhattanhenge goes down this weekend, giving New Yorkers one of the city’s most photogenic astronomical moments as the sunset perfectly aligns with Manhattan’s street grid. 🌇 (Scientific American)
The full sun will be visible between the buildings on Saturday around 8:20pm, with a half-sun alignment following Sunday evening.
If you’re planning to snap a photo, 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th Streets are among the best viewing spots — just get there early because they fill up fast.
In other reading:
Op-ed: Poop Dreams: We must expand the SCOOP Act to set up dedicated dog waste dispensers with compostable bags (amNY)
The MTA is officially pouring new congestion pricing revenues into five Brooklyn transit hubs (Secret NYC)
Jalen Brunson’s jersey from Game 1 of Finals sells for more than $1 million at auction (NBC New York)
Together with Bilt 🤝
The points gap has always been weird: earn on your $6 coffee, earn nothing on your $3,500 rent check.
Bilt closes it — earn points on rent and mortgage payments no matter where you live, redeemable for flights, hotels, Lyft, Amazon purchases, student loan balances, or future housing payments. Leading publications have called them the most valuable points in the industry.
Venture Capital Is Surging, But the Recovery Is Highly Concentrated
U.S. venture activity has posted eye-popping totals in 2026, driven by enormous AI financings and a handful of record-setting exits. But beneath the headline numbers, the PitchBook-NVCA Q2 Venture Monitor describes a market where capital, liquidity, and fundraising remain concentrated among relatively few companies and firms. 💰
Here’s what to know:
The dollars are back: U.S. startups raised $412.7 billion in the first half of 2026, already nearly 30% more than the total invested during all of 2025.
Q2 was the second-highest quarter for deal value in the past decade, trailing only Q1.
First-time financings reached an estimated 5,674 deals, putting 2026 on pace for a record of more than 10,000 companies raising their first venture rounds.
Surprise, surprise: AI is driving the market. 🤖
AI companies captured $355.9 billion — or 86% — of all U.S. venture dollars invested during the first half of the year.
Five of Q2’s seven rounds worth at least $1 billion went to AI companies.
AI is also pushing valuations higher: Median AI valuations exceeded non-AI valuations at every measured stage from Series A through Series D+.
🗽 Go New York, go! New York City companies raised $11.7 billion in Q2 across 523 deals, both the second-highest in the nation.
The region also recorded 133 deals involving all-female founding teams over the trailing 12 months, second only to the Bay Area’s 144.
⚠️ Yes, but: The gains are top-heavy.
Megadeals of at least $100 million accounted for 87.5% of all capital invested in the first half, while deals below that threshold received just 12.5%.
“This year’s numbers will look like a recovery,” said Nizar Tarhuni, Executive Vice President of Research & Market Intelligence at PitchBook. “But for most of the industry, it likely won’t feel like one.”
The IPO window is opening — narrowly: SpaceX’s record IPO pushed first-half exit value to $2.19 trillion, but the broader liquidity market remains constrained and much of the value was concentrated in one company.
There are “early signs the IPO market is beginning to reopen,” noted NVCA President and CEO Bobby Franklin, but he later added that healthier IPO and acquisition markets will be essential to broadening access to capital.
🏦 Fundraising tells a similar story:
Venture firms raised $72.4 billion across 405 funds in H1, nearly matching 2025’s full-year total.
But just three firms captured 48.1% of that capital, while established managers received 89% of all dollars raised.
🚀 The big takeaway: Venture capital is growing again, and New York remains one of its busiest hubs, but the benefits are flowing disproportionately to AI companies, megadeals, and established investors.
In other reading:
Behind the curtain: Three big AI trends collide (Axios)
The cover letter is officially dead: AI has created a new job-hunting paradox (FastCompany)
Airbnb strikes $82 million deal to buy 281 Park Avenue South for NYC office (Commercial Observer)
Valence, an NYC-based AI-native wealth management firm built around the client’s experience rather than the advisor’s, recently came out of stealth after raising $7.725 million in seed funding from FinTech Collective, Millennium Technology Value Partners, Gilgamesh Ventures, Treasury, and Armyn Capital.
Vendelux, an NYC-based AI-powered business-to-business event marketing platform, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Tribeca Venture Partners led the round and was joined by S3, Pelion Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, and others.
July 10: Tech Pickleball NYC, a growing community of over 2,000 members who come together on Friday mornings for coffee, bagels, pickleball, and good vibes. Register here.
July 11: Founders Running Club, bringing founders, investors, tech, creative people and startup enthusiasts together for weekly easy runs and networking. Register here.
July 11: Founders Gathering for Manhattan Henge Watch. Register here.
July 14: Demo Night: Internal Design Tools, bringing together designers for an evening of lightning talks highlighting internal design tools built for real teams. Register here.
July 15: Brderless Founder Dinner, a private founder dinner for a curated group of Series A and B founders. Register here.
July 16: The Make It in Brooklyn Renewable Energy Pitch Contest, where selected founders compete before judges for prize money and market support, while attendees network and learn about the future of clean energy. Register here.
July 16: The Executive Night, a private founder dinner for a curated group of Series A founders or founders with $1M+ ARR. Register here.
July 16: Founders Basketball New York City, a growing community of startup founders and investors who love to connect over business and buckets. Register here.
July 21: AI for Small Business: Practical Ways to Compete in a Changing Market, a free virtual workshop from Fordham University’s AI Business Hub and Manhattan Chamber of Commerce designed for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to put AI to work safely and effectively. Register here.
July 21-22: DUMBO Office Open Houses, where you can tour new prebuilt workspaces designed for growing startups and teams in a neighborhood home to more than 500 tech, creative, and professional firms. Plus, rooftop views and refreshments. Register here.
July 22: Common Table NYC Book Club, a book club dinner just for founders (the first book will be Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo). Register here.
July 24: After Hours: NYC Tech Social at Maxwell Tribeca, where professionals across tech and fast-growing startups can step away from work, meet beyond their usual circles, and enjoy a great night out together IRL. Register here.
September 16: Primary’s NYC Tech Summit, an annual gathering for builders, backers, and operators shaping the future. Apply to attend 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.
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