Tuesday, December 9, 2025
In today’s digest, congestion pricing is working, new language translation tech tools, and a solo founder deep dive that would make Han proud. ✨
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The latest in congestion pricing: It’s working. There’s less traffic and cleaner air citywide (and beyond), according to a new report. 🚗 (E&E News)
Traffic was down in parts of Manhattan between January and June of 2025, and “fine particulate matter,” a common and harmful form of air pollution, fell by 22% within the congestion relief zone.
There were pollution declines outside the relief zone in New York as well, quelling concerns from critics who have argued that congestion pricing may inadvertently redirect traffic patterns and increase pollution elsewhere.
City agencies are rolling out new language-translation tools to better communicate with non-English-speaking New Yorkers. 2.5 million New Yorkers have limited English proficiency. 🔊 (ABC New York)
Mayor Eric Adams ordered all agencies — covering more than 100,000 city-issued smartphones — to install language apps such as Google Translate and Apple’s built-in tools.
NYC Public Schools is also developing a new language app called “Hello,” which will provide real-time translation and interpretation in the top 12 languages spoken by school families; it’s set to launch in spring 2026.
The NYPD is also updating its policies: instead of being required to call the language line for translations, officers can now use smartphone apps like Google Translate when appropriate.
Newsflash: It’s almost 2026! 🤯 And with the new year comes a new Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar. Check out the calendar for next year and download the file to your personal cal here. (NYC DOT)
In other reading:
New York’s skyline has a bold new look (New York Times)
This busy NYC neighborhood just got way more walkable (Fast Company)
Billion-dollar makeover for Coney Island boardwalk (The CITY)
Solo Founders Go Mainstream
The “we met at a hackathon” founding story has competition.
A new report from Carta and Solo Founders shows that one-person startups are ticking upward. Let’s take a look. 👇
Solo is a strategy: Solo founders now start over one-third of new companies, up 53% since 2019.
🤖 AI as a helper: The report ties the solo surge to AI tools that let one person design, code, ship, and sell on their own.
Lower startup costs + better tooling = more founders confident starting alone.
Solo-founded companies typically hire their first employee earlier than multi-founder companies, and across both solo- and multi-founder companies, engineering is by far the most common first hire.
💸 Money, sectors, and who’s founding: Fundraising for solo vs. multi-founder teams looks surprisingly similar from seed through Series B.
Solo founders often hit their first priced round faster, sometimes skipping pre-seed.
Sector-wise, solo and multi-founder companies cluster in SaaS, consumer, and healthtech.
Women represent a slightly larger share of solo founders, often coming from nontraditional tech backgrounds and starting with a clear “problem to solve.”
Yes, but: Solo-founded companies raise billions every year, though their totals remain below those of companies with co-founders.
New York punches above its weight: The NYC metro is home to 13% of all solo-founded startups and 12.8% of all multi-founder startups created in the U.S. since 2018.
Bottom line: “Solo” is another path to building an iconic company, especially when that founder is plugged into community, mentorship, and support. Just ask Chewbacca.
In other reading:
This party season, embrace the ‘vulnerability hangover’ (Financial Times)
The hidden beliefs that hold leaders back (HBR)
Welcome to our new weekly jobs section, where we spotlight a selection of the NYC tech jobs from our Jobs Board — all recently posted. 🔥
NYC is a fintech hotspot, so this week we’re spotlighting finance opportunities. Here are three roles from fintech companies for job seekers to consider:
AML Operations Senior Program Manager — Ramp ($159k-$242k / year + equity): You’ll lead and uplevel the day-to-day execution of Ramp’s financial crime controls across Transaction Monitoring, AML Investigations, Sanctions and PEP Screening, Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), Partner Reporting, and KYC/B escalations. Apply here.
Head of Data Engineering, Financial Platform — Block ($239,600-$359,400 / year): You’ll manage the team responsible for the financial data backbone that powers reporting, monitoring, and analytics across Block payment and money movement flows. Apply here.
Head of Finance — Comun Banking ($250k / year + equity): You’ll ensure timely and accurate financial reporting, including monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, and develop and execute the company’s financial strategy in alignment with business objectives and long-term goals. Apply here.
Prime Security, an NYC-based agentic security platform for software development, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Scale Venture Partners led, joined by Foundation Capital, Flybridge, and PayPal Ventures.
Radial, an NYC-based mental health care startup, raised $50 million in Series A funding. General Catalyst led, joined by Solari Capital, JSL Health Capital, Founder Collective, BoxGroup, Scrub Capital, and Diede van Lamoen.
December 9-10: 2025 NYC Employment and Training Coalition Conference, bringing together the city’s premier policymakers, practitioners, and leaders — including Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels — to focus on career pathways, emerging industries, and the vital link between workforce and economic development. Register here.
December 10: HubSpot for Startups x BusinessOutside’s Connection Walk, featuring rotating discussions regarding the achievement of fulfilling work-life integration and more intentional business success. Register here.
December 10: AI Security Fireside Dinner, designed specifically for executive-level peers who are leading technical, security, or AI strategy in their organizations. Register here.
December 10: Pitch and Run – Williamsburg, for founders to connect with Angels and VCs without the pressure of a pitch meeting and to allow founders and startup employees to connect. Register here.
December 10: SaaS Supper Club: Chief of Staff Mixer, an intimate gathering of Venture Backed Chiefs of Staff over wine and small bites. 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.
December 11: The Future of Applied AI in Finance and Banking, an annual one-day, invite-only conference blending elements of TEDx, Foo Camp, and Summit to bring senior managers, C-suite executives, and top AI/ML researchers together for curated sessions on applying the latest technology to problems in finance, banking, and insurance. Register here.
December 16: Newlab’s “Do Less” Maker’s Fair, a celebration of creativity and community featuring around 50 makers, artists, and companies showcasing crafts, products, and projects that reflect the spirit of innovation and creation. Register here.
December 17: ICONS: Fashion & Founders Mixer, a curated mix of founders, designers, marketing pros, digital folks, directors, and CPG + retail experts, engineers and builders across fashion, design, and tech. Register here.
December 19: Founders & Investors Holiday Gala, an innovation-meets-culture holiday celebration at a speakeasy in Soho. Register here.
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