Tuesday, November 11, 2025
In today’s digest, a new first deputy mayor, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade lineup drops, and a special Veterans Day VC Spotlight with Venrock’s Morgan Hitzig. 🇺🇸
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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has announced that Dean Fuleihan, a former first deputy mayor for Mayor Bill de Blasio, will be first deputy mayor, while Elle Bisgaard-Church, Mamdani's longtime chief of staff, will hold the same title when he becomes mayor. 🏢 (ABC New York)
New York has enacted first-in-the-nation safeguards for AI companion technologies, requiring companies to implement safety features that protect users (especially minors) from potential digital harm. 🤖 (CBS Albany)
Under the new law, digital systems designed to simulate human-like relationships must now meet specific safety and transparency standards to operate in New York.
Polar vortex 🤝 NYC. It was a cold one today in New York, featuring the city’s first snow of the season! (PIX 11)
Fear not if you don’t run hot: Highs for the rest of the week will stay between the mid-40s to just over 50 degrees.
Here’s what you need to know about apartment heat season, including what to do if it’s cold in your apartment.
In other reading:
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2025: Which stars are joining this year's lineup? (ABC New York)
Best dishes New York editors ate this week (Eater)
The best Christmas markets in NYC (Time Out New York)
VC Spotlight: Venrock’s Morgan Hitzig
When Morgan Hitzig, Vice President at Venrock, evaluates risk, it’s informed by more than term sheets and market reports.
It’s shaped by years in the U.S. Navy Reserves, the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau, and Special Operations before she ever stepped into Venrock. 🇺🇸
In fact, Morgan didn’t envision becoming a VC.
That all changed in 2023 after a breakfast meeting with Venrock’s Nick Beim, who laid out “how powerful the venture ecosystem can be when you build generational companies alongside founders you love and meaningfully shape policy.”
Morgan’s background gives her a unique perspective on investing in tech that touches national security or public safety. “Serving on both sides, public and private, forces you to think about risk and trust in more than just financial terms,” she says.
In honor of Veterans Day, we caught up with Morgan to discuss her career, the pace of adoption of new technologies by government agencies, and much more.
Here’s a preview of what Morgan had to say:
🪖 On what inspired her career in national security:
“I trace the roots of my career back to 9/11. I’m a native New Yorker so my memories from that day are so vivid…National security became the through-line of my career ever since: NYPD Counterterrorism to Navy intelligence to two startups focused on public safety and national security, and now to national-security investing.”
💡 On what defines her investment focus at Venrock:
“I describe my focus at Venrock as investing in the public interest because so much of the defense tech conversation is really about the enablers: supply chain, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, energy, microelectronics, etc.”
⚙️ On how founders can work with government:
“The best GTM is a pincer strategy — two coordinated advances, bottoms up with operators and top-down with buyers, that meet in the middle to close on a decision and a budget.”
⚡️ On the most common mistake founders make when pitching to investors:
“Picking the wrong investment partner. Full stop.”
📊 On one of her recent investments:
“GenLogs is run by three founders with deep government background and expertise. They are applying intel tradecraft from the Global War on Terror to track the $1T+ freight industry as it moves across the U.S. interstate system. Making freight flows queryable in near-real time.”
🍕 And, of course, on the best slice in the city:
“One of the great things about law enforcement is that cops know where to eat. I’ll go with an OG favorite from my NYPD Counterterrorism days: L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. It’s a classic.”
In other reading:
How the U.S. can win the global AI race (U.S. News and World Report)
A better way of thinking about the AI bubble (TechCrunch)
Conducting an effective executive team meeting (HBR)
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 18: Gen Next: Real Talk with the Founders Redefining What’s Next, for founders, creators, and early-career professionals shaping what’s next, and corporate innovators and investors eager to understand Gen Z’s mindset. 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 19: Tech and Business Networking — Long Island City, where you can meet consultants, analysts of all types, bankers, software engineers, entrepreneurs, and more. Register 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.
November 20: Smart Fundraising Strategies — Say No to Cold Outreach for Revenue-Generating, where you can learn how to connect with the right investors without a strong network, and to create a credible financial model that passes due diligence. Register here.
December 2: Builders and Disrupters in the AI Era, featuring presentations from Cornell Tech graduate students, startups, and researchers tackling real-world challenges through technology and collaboration. Register here.
December 4: The SEEN Summit, the ultimate gathering for NYC-based founders, investors, and advocates of diverse-led teams, designed to foster networking, collaboration, and growth. 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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