Thursday, November 6, 2025
In today’s digest, Mayor-elect Mamdani’s transition team takes shape, snow (might) be coming this weekend, and the latest crop of NYC Series A raises. 💰📈
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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s administration is beginning to take shape. Mamdani announced a transition team that includes Elana Leopold as executive director, along with former first deputy mayor Maria Torres-Springer, former federal trade commission chair Lina Khan, former deputy mayor for health and human services Melanie Hartzog, and United Way’s president and CEO Grace Bonilla. 🗽 (The Guardian)
You could be part of the team, too: Mamdani opened up a public application process for people interested in serving in his future administration.
Four New York City-area airports are expected to be affected by a 10% cut to air traffic set to be imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration amid the ongoing government shutdown. ✈️ (NBC New York)
Both LaGuardia and JFK Airport were on the list of 40 that could be impacted by the cuts, as were New Jersey's Newark International Airport and Teterboro Airport.
View the full list of airports impacted nationally here.
Brrr-ace yourself for cold weather New York. A blast of cold, dry Arctic air from Canada is set to sweep southward this weekend, sending temperatures across the central and Eastern United States plunging 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below normal. 🥶 (New York Times)
According to forecasters, “it is not out of the question that it might snow in New York this weekend.”
In other reading:
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be set up Saturday: How to see it (Gothamist)
Things to do with the kids this weekend in Manhattan (New York Family)
New York stores rank among luckiest for jackpot wins: study (PIX 11)
Fall Funding Frenzy: NYC’s October Series A Raises
Powered by Obviously NYC, presented by Gunderson Dettmer and PwC US.
It may be sweater weather, but NYC’s startup scene is still running hot. 🥵
This October, 22 new companies joined Series A: A Series, marking one of the most wide-ranging cohorts yet — and together, they’re hiring for over 110 NYC-based roles (!) across the map ranging from roles like engineering to marketing to operations and more.
From AI infrastructure and health innovation to sustainability and design tech, this month’s list shows just how wide (and deep) New York’s startup bench has become.
Here’s what stood out this month:
🤖 Applied AI goes infrastructure: NYC founders are moving past “AI for AI’s sake” and into the rails that make AI work.
Startups like Starbridge.ai, Crosby.ai, and Dash0 are building the platforms that power the public sector, law firms, and observability.
According to NYCEDC’s AI Advantage report, nearly one-third of all VC raised by NYC startups last year went to AI, and this month’s additions prove the momentum isn’t slowing.
🏥 Healthtech gets personal: From Marble Health and Counsel Health to Nilo Therapeutics, Volastra Therapeutics, and Arya Health, this month’s class reflects NYC’s continued strength in digital health, blending data, telemedicine, and behavioral science.
Many of these companies share a mission-driven throughline: better care, faster diagnosis, and more equitable access.
🏗️ Proptech and built-world innovation: Companies like Acelab (building-materials data) and Renew (property renewals) show how construction innovation continues to thrive in NYC’s next-gen economy.
💬 Finding the niche: Startups like Clerq.io (fintech for high-ticket transactions), Vermeer (computer vision for navigation in GPS-denied environments), and PodPlay (streamlining court reservations) reflect the range of “applied tech” being built in NYC.
🗽 Why it matters: New York’s tech economy is more resilient (and more creative) than ever.
With AI embedding itself across sectors, healthcare innovation booming, and green tech rising, this new Series A class embodies what makes NYC special: real customers, global ambition, and a commitment to build in the capital of everything.
All told, we’ve tracked 107 NYC-based startups who have raised a Series A round since June.
💼 Explore the full list, see who’s hiring, and zoom in on our map of the city’s newest Series A startups here.
Did we miss your Series A raise? Let us know — we want to spotlight every NYC founder turning vision into venture.
In other reading:
Leaders in AI share growth strategies, investments at WSJ Tech Live (Wall Street Journal)
NYC gets 12 minute helicopter for suburbanites avoiding gridlock (Bloomberg)
Three questions to ask about your strategy in the age of AI (HBR)
Flint, an NYC-based startup building AI tutors for schools, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Basis Set Ventures and Patron led the round, joined by USC Viterbi, AME Cloud Ventures, Blackboard founder Matt Pittinsky, Afore Capital, and YC.
Synchron, an NYC-based non-surgical brain-computer interface startup, raised $200 million in Series D funding. Double Point Ventures led the round, joined by Arch Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, NTI, METIS, Australian National Reconstruction Fund, T.Rx Capital, QIA, K5 Global, Protocol Labs, and IQT.
Upway, an NYC-based provider of refurbished e-bikes, raised $60 million in Series C funding. A.P. Moller led the round, joined by Galvanize, Ora Global, and insider Sequoia Capital.
November 7: AcceleratorCon, for top early-stage founders connect directly with investors, accelerators, and ecosystem partners. Register with promo code NYCDIGEST for a 30% discount here.
November 10: NYU Tandon Future Labs x Morrison Foerster Catalyst SS25 AI Startup Showcase: The Elevator Pitch, an evening of AI innovation and networking where NYC’s VCs, angels, and founders gather to watch nine pre-seed AI startup demos perform live elevator pitches (yes, in an actual elevator) and a competition to crown the Top New AI Startup of the Night. Register here.
November 11-12: Urban Tech Summit, offering insights and examples of how researchers, companies, governments, and communities can continue to drive innovation, and how urban tech can help cities do more with less as they prepare for the future. Register here.
November 12: From Lab to Launch: Female Founders Building in Deep Tech, a curated cocktail hour followed by an intimate panel discussion with female founders and leaders in the deep tech space. Register here.
November 13: Curated Founder Breakfast (Seed+), a private breakfast for a curated group of founders that have raised a Seed round. Register here.
November 13: AI Agents After Hours w/ Browserbase & Pensar, where you can meet the teams behind both companies over food and drinks. Register here.
November 17-18: Momentum AI Finance 2025, bringing together 300+ senior financial leaders to share real-world strategies for scaling intelligent automation, building trusted AI stacks, and driving responsible innovation across the industry. Register here.
November 19: Join Glean and The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson for Beyond Pilots: How Organizations Can Turn AI Into Real Results, a summit on AI produced by Glean. Apply to attend in person here.
November 19: Decoded Futures Build Day, a day of collaboration between technologists and nonprofit organizations to explore practical, hands-on ways to apply AI to real challenges. Register here. Want to volunteer? Apply here.
November 20: Insecure Agents: Live Panel & Podcast, a live conversation following day one of AIE Code exploring the cutting edge of AI agent development and security. Register here.
December 4: H-1Bs: Who Wins and Who Loses?, a lively, high-stakes debate between a Rutgers professor and the Executive Director of an immigration think-tank on whether H1Bs and other non-immigration visas help American innovation more than they hurt American labor. Register here.
December 10-11: The AI Summit New York, a platform for enterprise leaders and tech innovators to explore and apply commercial AI, featuring Flybidge’s Jesse Middleton, NYCEDC’s Jonathan Schulhof, and Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels discussing NYC’s startup ecosystem. Register here.
December 10: The AI Summit NY Healthcare Happy Hour, a mixer for healthcare and pharma professionals after day one of the AI Summit in New York. Register here.
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