Wednesday, July 22, 2026
In today’s digest, new economic leadership, a second life for a forgotten airport, and a spotlight on nvp capital’s Dan Borok. 💡
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New York’s economy is doing even better than expected. The city added 40,000 jobs in the first half of 2026, thanks largely to a Wall Street boom that’s helping offset the effects of tariffs, inflation, and high rents. 📈 (The City Reporter)
Strong hiring in finance, professional services, and health care has also boosted business tax revenue, improving the city’s fiscal outlook.
Wall Street profits at New York’s five biggest banks jumped 36% in the first half of the year, fueling demand for lawyers, accountants, consultants, and other professional services.
Speaking of the economy, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has named Anthony Shorris president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and appointed former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan to chair the city’s Economic Development Board. 🗽 (The Guardian)
Shorris currently serves as a partner at McKinsey & Company and is a former first deputy to Bill de Blasio.
While the president handles the day-to-day operations, the board helps guide the agency’s strategic mission.
New York’s “forgotten airport” is getting a second lease on life — just not with airplanes. The city is moving ahead with a $3.2 billion plan to transform the long-abandoned Flushing Airport (we hadn’t heard of it either) into a neighborhood with 3,000 homes and 60 acres of parks and wetlands, plus walking trails and community space. ✈️ (Time Out New York)
Construction is slated to begin in 2028 and is expected to create 1,300 construction jobs and over 500 permanent positions.
The airport has been shuttered since 1984 after LaGuardia eclipsed it, so the site has been untouched for more than four decades.
In other reading:
Can it become easier for outdoor dining in NYC? (Eater)
Jalen Brunson injury: Knicks star presents timetable after surgery (amNY)
These public housing pathways are made from wine corks (New York Times)
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VC Spotlight: Dan Borok, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, nvp capital
Dan Borok believes the next generation of category-defining companies will be built by founders tackling some of the economy’s most stubborn — and important — problems.
As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of nvp capital, Dan backs early-stage companies transforming mission-critical industries where complex workflows still depend on manual processes or decades-old software.
“We believe that founders who are building companies to address these mission-critical opportunities have a different gear and motivation,” Dan told us. “Plus, these are important challenges with big rewards for getting solved.”
For this month’s VC Spotlight, we caught up with Dan to discuss his career, the corporate venture capital industry, the NYC tech scene, and much more.
Here’s a preview of what Dan told us:
🧑💻 On why founders choose New York City:
“New York’s advantage is that the customers are here. Vertical AI is won by founders who deeply understand an industry’s workflows, and in New York you can walk to your buyer.”
📈 On what makes a good pitch:
“The best pitches make me feel the industry’s pain first and present the technology as the inevitable answer.”
🤩 On recent investments he’s excited about:
“Physical AI has been a big focus for us over the past two years… That’s why we’re excited about our investments in Vulcan Elements, Reaxiomatic, Haptica Robotics, Outlast Power and Human Archive, among others: each attacks a different layer of the physical AI stack, from the materials foundation to defense aviation to the sensorimotor data that robots will be trained on.”
🧰 On resources he recommends for founders:
“Honestly, the best resource is other founders. Nothing replaces talking to people a year or two ahead of you who’ve just navigated what you're about to face.”
🍕 And, of course, on the best slice in the city:
“They don’t sell it by the slice, but I grew up going to John’s on Bleecker Street. Arturo’s on Houston is a close second.”
In other reading:
Responsible AI is becoming a growth strategy (HBR)
AI and the rise of the universal entertainment app (TechCrunch)
Substack is adding an AI detection feature (Engadget)
Assured Health, an NYC-based health provider network management company, raised $19 million in Series A funding. Insight Partners led the round and existing investors First Round Capital and Kindred Ventures joined.
Augustus, an NYC-based developer of an AI- and stablecoin-native clearing bank designed to enable global financial institutions to move money across major currencies in real time, raised $180 million in Series B funding. Tiger Global led the round and was joined by Hummingbird, QED, and others.
Cashboard, an NYC-based fintech focused on the CFO stack, raised $5 million in seed funding. Fintop led the round and existing investor TTV joined.
Cordant, an NYC-based fintech and banking platform, raised $8 million in seed funding co-led by Motive Partners and Oak HC/FT.
Genius AI, an NYC-based sales and management software maker for in-person businesses, raised $44 million in Series D funding at a $1.2 billion valuation. Lux Capital led the round, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Imaginary Ventures, L Catterton Growth, 2048 Ventures, and StepStone Private Ventures.
Decoded Futures at Tech:NYC has opened applications for our next capacity-building AI program for social sector leaders. Participants will spend four days over six weeks building AI skills to strengthen operations and scale their impact in serving your communities. Apply here by August 23.
Betaworks has opened applications for its Fall 2026 AI Camp, focused on “The New Agentic Economy.” The 12-week, in-person NYC program is designed for founders building AI-native companies and products shaped by autonomous agents, new marketplaces, and human-agent systems. Apply here by July 31.
Gutter Capital is accepting applications for their accelerator, Elbow Grease. They’ll embed with a small group of founders to recruit the team, deliver the product, close customers and otherwise do whatever it takes to build a company of consequence. Apply here by July 31.
Endless Frontier Labs has opened applications for its 9-month program which helps founders transform their science and tech based ideas into commercially scalable companies. Apply here by July 31.
Applications are now open for the New York Climate Exchange’s Climate Tech Fellowship, designed for early-stage innovators working on energy technologies with meaningful urban resilience potential. Apply here by August 1.
Applications for the NYC Game Design Future Lab’s second cohort are now open. The Brooklyn-based incubator for New York City’s digital games industry provides founders with personalized mentorship, industry workshops, investor introductions, access to emerging technologies, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and NYU faculty, all at no cost to participants. Apply here by August 7, or sign up for their info session on July 30 to learn more.
The Social Justice Fund is launching the Brooklyn Pitch Competition to help local businesses access the growth capital, strategic support, and connections they need to scale. The competition will award a total of $450,000 in unrestricted grant funding to selected Brooklyn-based businesses, including a $150,000 grand prize and additional finalist awards ranging from $25,000 to $75,000. Apply here by September 4.
CUNY 2x Tech’s NYC Tech Talent Pipeline Residency Program, connecting high-potential Computer Systems Technology students with NYC-based employers for 10-week, full-time internships focused on software engineering and data analytics. Employers can express interest here.
HubSpot’s How You Hustle, where you and your business could be featured and receive free press exposure to their 1.5 million subscribers. Apply here.
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