Wednesday, August 13, 2025

August 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 

In today’s digest, keeping cool in FiDi, AI upskilling in the workforce, and new greenways around town. 🍏

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

  • New York City office visits are now higher than pre-pandemic levels for the first time since COVID hit, according to a new report from Placer AI. This coincides with the continued efforts to get workers back to the office four to five days a week. (Axios)

    • These numbers are for July not August. 🏖️

  • Dozens of miles of greenways are on the horizon in a new plan by the NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, and the NYC Economic Development Corporation. The ‘Greater Greenways’ vision aims to connect the city’s 500 miles of existing greenways to create a unified path for pedestrians and bike riders. 🌳 (Gothamist)

  • In a very relatable move, an office building in the Financial District is looking to keep cool, donning sunglasses. 😎 The 32-story tower is installing a giant set of shades (solar film) that will block light and heat, a first-of-its-kind application of this film in NYC. (Crain’s New York Business)

    • The project will cost $1.4 million after a $650,000 rebate from Con Edison, lower the building’s annual electric bill by $200,000, and will pay for itself in about six years.


In other reading:

  • Where to eat the best tacos in New York (Financial Times)

  • How to compost in New York City (Curbed)

  • NYC landmarks five Garment District buildings amid Midtown South rezoning (Gothamist)

New York City is setting the pace in the AI race. 🚀

The latest report from Tech:NYC and Accenture shows that NYC is leading the charge in applied AI. And it’s doing it the New York way: fast, collaborative, and with people at the center.

*Record scratch* You’re probably wondering how we got here.

⏪ Rewind for a second: Our report last year with Accenture — a cross-industry survey of 500 C-level executives in NYC across 20 industries — showed that the economic benefit of generative AI adoption involves harnessing opportunities across three key areas:

  • Accelerating economic growth and productivity.

  • Attracting AI talent.

  • Scaling AI responsibly in New York City.

What progress does the new report show?

🤖 AI adoption is soaring: In just one year, AI adoption by NYC companies jumped from 55% to 78%, with AI-related job postings up 120%. 

  • Nearly every executive surveyed (99%) plans to hire more AI talent in the next 12 months.

💼 It’s all about the workforce: Over the last 12 months, 84% of execs have already upskilled employees into AI roles, and 91% say doing so improves retention. 

  • NYC’s AI blueprint is people-first, with strong public-private coordination, AI fluency in K-12 classrooms, and new programs from companies and orgs like OpenAI, Per Scholas, and New York Public Library to integrate gen AI into learning platforms.

🌐 The ecosystem is compounding: From Empire AI’s expanded research network to OpenAI opening shop in SoHo, New York’s tech infrastructure is humming. 

  • The city’s blend of industry diversity, university firepower, and relentless startup energy is proving to be the winning formula.

🤖 AI in the wild: Agentic and physical AI are already reshaping daily life, from drones supporting first responders to real-time threat detection at Dataminr and smart infrastructure monitoring across the MTA. 

  • The city’s AI future is about trust. 87% of executives believe the benefits outweigh the risks, but 61% cite data privacy as a top concern.

The takeaway: NYC is scaling AI with purpose, equity, and speed. As other cities try to catch up, New York is writing the playbook. 

Read the full report here.

In other reading:

  • Companies embrace in-person interviews to dodge the chatbots (Axios)

  • How to make fractional leadership work (Harvard Business Review)

  • Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2025 (Forbes)

  • Gameto, an NYC-based cell engineering company addressing women’s reproductive health, raised $44 million in Series C funding. Overwater Ventures led the round and was joined by Insight Partners, RA Capital, Two Sigma Ventures, and others.

  • Infinity Loop, an NYC-based AI-powered deal analysis platform, raised $5 million in seed funding. Glasswing Ventures and TIAA Ventures led the round and were joined by Plug and Play, Restive Ventures, and angel investors.

  • Kustomer, an NYC-based AI-powered CX platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Norwest led the round and was joined by Battery, Redpoint, and Boldstart.


  • Thread, an AI service desk platform for managed service providers, raised $8 million led by Integr8d Capital.

  • Titan, a New York-based IT services company, raised $74 million led by General Catalyst.

  • The Bridge at Cornell Tech, a new workspace on the Cornell Tech campus, is officially open. Sign up for tour invites, events, and updates here.

  • Fierce Foundry is hosting a five-week Investment Readiness Bootcamp designed to help early-stage female founders prepare for their first institutional raise in the next 6-18 months. Work closely with fundraising experts, financial strategists, brand builders, and active investors to sharpen your pitch, financials, and growth plan. Apply by August 22 here.

  • Precursor Ventures’ How to Raise a Pre-Seed Bootcamp, for founders new to raising venture capital looking to learn the tools and strategies to navigate a pre-seed fundraising journey. Apply by August 22 here.

  • EY’s Entrepreneurs Access Network, which helps businesses bridge gaps in coaching, connections, curriculum, and capital, empowering them to achieve greater growth through tailored support in these areas. Apply by August 29 here.

  • Yale’s Computer Science Fair on September 19, featuring hundreds of students and tech companies. Companies can apply to attend by August 30 here.

  • See NYC is gathering 150 New Yorkers for a three-day summer camp-style experience to share ideas to build a better New York City. Apply here.

  • Company Ventures is hosting AI Review events, a year-long conversation series on the current and future state of AI. Submit your AI-related event for consideration here.

  • Union Square Ventures’ “usvwork” — a casual coworking day once a month for founders and builders in NYC. Apply here.

  • Forum Ventures is accepting pitches to its Forum for Founders program. The firm is investing in 30+ companies over the next three months, offering $100K and admission to its pre-seed accelerator to provide personalized GTM and sales support. Apply here.

Daily Digest Rewards 🎁 

Treat yourself: Send subscribers our way, and we’ll send swag your way.

1 Referral: Shoutout in the Digest
5 Referrals: Obviously NYC Hat
10 Referrals: Obviously NYC Tote Bag
25 Referrals: Obviously NYC Sweatshirt

You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving a Shoutout in the Tech:NYC Digest.

Or share your personal link with others: https://technycdigest.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here.
Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.