Thursday, March 12, 2026
In today’s digest, 30,000 runners take over city streets, one very sly fox, and a preview of the Runway AI Summit. 🤖
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More than 30,000 runners will take over city streets for the NYC Half Marathon this Sunday. 🏃 (FOX New York)
The 13.1-mile race starts in Prospect Park around 7am and finishes in Central Park after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and running through Times Square.
Street closures along the route will last through early afternoon — check out the list of closures here.
Construction on the long-planned Gateway rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey is moving forward again — at least for now. Phase one of repairs on the Portal Bridge is now complete, which means New Jersey Transit schedules will return to normal next week. 🚆 (ABC New York)
The $16 billion project would build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and repair the aging North River Tunnel, which has been in service since 1910.
Work resumed after a federal appeals court rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to halt payments, though officials warn construction could stop again in a few months if new funding isn’t approved.
In the most important news of the day, NYC has a new resident who just moved here from England: A red fox pulled a “Paddington” and stowed away on a cargo ship that traveled from Southampton, England, to New York. 🦊 (NBC New York)
The 11-pound male fox is now in the Bronx Zoo’s care, and appears healthy!
Yes, we’re also surprised this news was featured on NBC and not FOX.
In other reading:
Smorgasburg is back this April with 22 new vendors and its biggest lineup yet (Time Out New York)
A giant pigeon Is leaving the High Line (New York Times)
A new proposed bill could raise NYC’s minimum wage to $30 — here’s what to know (Secret NYC)
Want to Know Where NYC AI is Headed? Check the Runway.
Runway’s AI Summit arrives in Manhattan on March 31, with a heavy-hitting lineup that includes leaders from Paramount, Lucasfilm, EA, Block, NVIDIA, and Adobe. 🤖
On paper, that reads like a strong industry event.
In practice, it’s also a snapshot of where NYC’s AI scene is headed: less “look what the model can do,” more “look how this fits into real creative and business workflow.”
It’s also why Runway, which just raised $315 million at $5.3 billion valuation last month, is one of the fastest-growing AI companies in NYC.
The company also recently used general world models to evaluate eight robot manipulation policies, finding a 0.95 correlation between simulated and real-world performance.
Translation: That’s a step toward AI systems that can help test ideas before they hit the physical world.
A few numbers help explain why this Summit lands in New York:
NYC has more than 2,000 AI startups and 35 AI unicorns in the metro region. 🗽
The city has 40,000+ AI professionals, and NYC accounted for 9% of dedicated AI and machine learning job listings last month, the highest share among major metros. 👩💻
There are dozens of AI events hosted monthly across the city, including (but not limited to) Tech:NYC’s NYC AI Demos series run with Pensar and The Refinery at Domino. 🗓️
New York State’s $400 million+ Empire AI effort is adding real public infrastructure behind the private-market momentum. 🏛️
👉 Bottom line: Runway’s AI Summit shows how NYC keeps leaning into applied AI: tools for media, design, enterprise, and robotics, built in a city where those industries already live side by side.
Be part of the convo: Register here for the Runway AI Summit with promo code TECHNYC50 for 50% off your ticket.
In other reading:
The hottest job in tech isn’t very glamorous (Wall Street Journal)
Sending a perfectly written email? That’s so low-end (Business Insider)
Coefficient Capital, an NYC-based growth equity firm, raised $290 million for its second fund and $240 million for its Apex fund focused on consumer brands.
Ernesta, an NYC-based custom-sized rug retailer, raised $20 million in Series B funding. Addition led the round, joined by True Ventures and Platform Capital Management.
Featured events:
⭐ March 19: City & State’s Digital New York Summit, for New York’s technology and information leaders from government and industry to gather for candid discussions and thought-provoking presentations on innovative ideas that are making everyday life for all New Yorkers more livable, safer, and more convenient. Register here with promo code TECHNYC for 25% off.
⭐ March 26: Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures Demo Day, a showcase of creativity, collaboration, and innovation, featuring nonprofit leaders who have been exploring, over our 8-week program, how AI can scale the work and impact of the social sector. Register here.
⭐ March 31: Runway AI Summit, bringing together industry leaders across media, technology, consumer brands, robotics, and more to explore how AI is reshaping how work gets done — and what comes next for enterprise. Register here with promo code TECHNYC50 for 50% off.
⭐ April 6-9: HumanX’s conference for AI leaders in San Francisco, uniting 6,500+ leaders, builders, and investors driving real transformation. Discover cutting-edge innovations and accelerate your impact through networking opportunities. Register here with promo code HX26P_TECHNYC to get $$$ off your pass.
Other great events:
March 13: The AI Briefing by Startup Grind, a high-velocity roundtable for decision-makers diving into the 2026 Report on the State of the U.S. Legal Market Register here.
March 17: Towards Emissions-Free Microfreight, a multi-stakeholder discussion to investigate and assess the viability of BATWorks as a potential hub for emissions-free microfreight systems. Register here.
March 19: Human by Design: The Empathy Edge in an AI World, for women and allies who build — PMs, founders, designers, marketers, and engineers — to discuss how empathy, judgment, and collaborative AI tools can help you grow your influence and deliver meaningful impact in your work. Register here.
March 19: Own the Room: How to Speak and Present Effectively in Meeting, an interactive workshop designed for women who want to strengthen their voice at work. Register here.
March 19: Airtable Buildathon, a one-day, live builder competition where participants solve real business challenges using Airtable and AI-powered workflows. Register here.
March 20: Keeping It Urban Summit. A one-day conference featuring 10+ powerhouse panelists on media interfaces, robotics, and civic innovation, 5+ early-stage startups, and creative tech artist talks. Register here.
March 21: Anti-Slopathon, a hackathon where participants use AI to build tools, games, features, and experiences, but show how they’ve listened to their user and applied taste and design judgment. Register here.
March 25: Speed Pitch: Guaranteed 1:1 Meetings With Investors, for tech startups with market-ready MVP or revenue generating, preferably with one underrepresented founder, pre-seed to Series A. Register here with promo code TECHNYC20 for 20% off.
March 26: Founder Dinner, an intimate evening with a highly curated group of Series A+ founders that are scaling. Register here.
March 26: American Fintech Council’s inaugural Marketing and Communications Cocktails & Conversations, hosted in collaboration with Tech:NYC, CLYDE, and Current. Register here.
March 26: Make It in Brooklyn Ag Tech Pitch Contest, bringing together local Ag Tech startups, early-stage founders, seasoned investors, and industry leaders to spotlight solutions that will define agriculture’s next chapter. Register here.
Applications from startups to participate are open until Sunday, March 15. Apply here.
April 2: NYU Wagner’s 20th International Policy and Planning Summit, bringing together academics, practitioners, and students to explore cross-sectoral solutions to the interconnected global challenges of climate change, migration, and global urban resilience. Register here.
April 14: Govtech Happy Hour, for all govtech founders and operators, civil servants past and present, and policy enthusiasts. Register here.
April 16: Construction Robotics Summit: From Dirt to Data, bringing together the builders, technologists, and decision-makers advancing robotics across the built environment. Register here for early-bird pricing before March 31.
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