Tuesday, February 17, 2026

But first: Our next NYC AI Demos event is back on March 5! For Women’s History Month, we’re hosting an all-female lineup of technical leaders from Anthropic, Datadog, and more to be announced soon. Register here.

As he looks to fill a roughly $5 billion budget gap, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed his preliminary budget today, calling for a raise on New York City’s property taxes by 9.5% on an estimated 3 million residential units and more than 100,000 commercial buildings. 💰 (Crain’s New York Business)

Speaking of property — looking to buy a home in NYC? You’re not alone, but here’s a pro tip: A new report from StreetEasy (a Tech:NYC member!) notes the best month for New York City buyers to find the most homes for sale and with price cuts is May. 🏠 (Time Out New York)

The Lunar New Year begins today, ushering in the Year of the Horse along with weeks of dragon dances and citywide celebrations. 🐴 (FOX 5 NY)

JFK’s new two-second ‘glance and go’ trick will let U.S. citizens skip the 40-minute passport line (Secret NYC)

NYC ferry service is back to normal after icy conditions (PIX 11) 

Perplexity signs new lease spanning 22,000 square feet (New York YIMBY)

Tech industry employment fell by 20,155 jobs in January, with telecom accounting for 15,000 of those losses. 

Tech occupation employment (AKA tech professionals working in all industries) declined by about 2,000, and the tech unemployment rate rose to 3.6% (still below the 4.3% national rate). 

New tech job postings reached 220,420 in January, with more than 465,000 active postings — nearly 4% higher than December. 

In other words: companies are being cautious on payrolls, but still recruiting. 

New York State recorded 10,010 tech job postings in January (+653 month-over-month), keeping it among the top hiring states.

The NYC metro area (which includes parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) logged 12,057 postings, second best in the nation.

New York accounts for 7% of hiring for dedicated AI job titles, the highest share of any metro. 

IBM (a Tech:NYC member!) announced last week that it will triple entry-level U.S. hiring.

Explore the Jobs Board here.

AI could help judge Olympic figure skating (Axios) 

They are in love but don’t speak the same language. The secret to their happy marriage: Microsoft Translator (New York Times)

Thomas Edison on powering the future: A 1929 Forbes interview (Forbes)

Senior Product Analyst — Maven Clinic ($166k-$195k / year + equity): You’ll partner closely with Maven’s Product Management, Engineering, and Operations teams to lead technical vision and strategy for analytics efforts that drive product improvements and efficiency. Apply here.

Chief of Staff — Oscar Health ($180,504-$236,911 / year + equity): You’ll drive the economic flywheel for the Insurance and Operations business across strategic planning, operational execution and talent strategy to ensure business achieves its objectives. Apply here.

Senior Manager, Advertising and Promotion – Regulatory Affairs — Ro ($154,300-$192,500 / year + equity): You’ll participate in Ro’s cross-functional advertising review process, evaluating creative assets for FDA advertising and promotion compliance, including social media ads, website content, TV and audio spots, and out-of-home advertising. Apply here.

Anterior, an NYC-based AI platform designed for health plans, raised $40 million in funding from NEA, Sequoia Capital, FPV, and Kinnevik.

Birch Hill Holdings, an NYC-based institutional onchain credit infrastructure company, raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round co-led by ParaFi Capital and Castle Island Ventures.

Complyance, an NYC-based app that uses AI agents to help companies manage governance, risk, and data compliance, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by GV.

Didero, an NYC-based builder of procurement agents, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Chemistry and Headline led the round, joined by M12.

Onshore, an NYC-based corporate tax incentives startup, raised $31 million in Series B funding. FPV Ventures led the round, joined by Vertex Ventures, ADP Ventures, YC, and Restive Ventures.

February 18: AI Agents Happy Hour, for leaders from top startups, enterprises, and research organizations to talk about what actually works when it comes to AI agents. Register here.

February 18: Founder Bowling, a private bowling night for a curated group of founders in health tech and life sciences. Register here.

February 19: Founder Dinner, a private founder dinner for a curated group of founders from Seed+. Register here.

February 19: VC Community Happy Hour, a relaxed setting to catch up with peers and reconnect with familiar faces. Register here.

February 19: Vertical AI Founders & Investors Dinner, bringing the best vertical AI startups of NYC together for a seated dinner. Register here. 

February 19: Towards Emissions-Free Microfreight, a multi-stakeholder discussion presents an opportunity to explore whether BATWorks, the new $100 million climate innovation hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, can become a center of expertise in decarbonized microfreight solutions. Register here.

February 20: IPPA Networking & Conference Kick-Off, an informal networking event bringing together NYU Wagner alumni, knowledge partners, speakers, organizations, and students to kick off the International Policy and Planning Summit. Register here.

February 23: Build & Deploy Voice Agent Workshop + Hackathon, a series of short, practical workshop sessions followed by a building session that will help you build voice AI for your company's needs. Register here.

February 24: Element 46 Tech Accelerator informational session, for Westchester County-based founders interested in applying for the accelerator program before the application closes on March 6. Register here.

February 25: The New York Official Cybersecurity Summit, a full day of expert insights, interactive sessions, and high-value networking with leaders across the cybersecurity community. Register here with promo code CSS26-TECHNYC for a free pass.

February 25: Hiring Beyond the 5 Boroughs, a roundtable for Heads of HR/People Ops and Talent to have an honest, off-the-record conversation about what’s working, what’s broken, and what no one really talks about when it comes to non-local hiring. Register here.

February 26: Climate Tech Fellowship Showcase, an inside look at the New York Climate Exchange Fellows’ six-month journey and the solutions they’re advancing across urban and coastal resilience, climate data, and energy and decarbonization. Register here.

February 26: Her Tech Community Launch Gathering, the launch of a new women in tech community designed to create meaningful connection, shared learning, and a space where your voice directly shapes what we build together. Register here.

March 5: NYC AI Demos, featuring an all-female lineup of technical leaders from Anthropic, Datadog (and more to be announced soon) building real AI products across infrastructure, dev tools, healthcare, fintech, and more. Register here.

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 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 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.