Wednesday, March 25, 2026
In today’s digest, a “super sidewalk,” the MTA doubles down on tech, and how New York is scaling the AI economy. 🤖
Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
NYC’s tourism industry held strong in 2025, thanks to a surge in domestic travelers. 📈 (New York Times)
The city welcomed 65 million visitors last year, a 0.7% increase from 2024, with travelers spending $55.6 billion (+4%) and generating $7.5 billion in tax revenue (+4.9%).
Officials expect 66 million visitors in 2026, with the World Cup projected to bring 1.2 million visitors and $1.8 billion in spending.
MTA 🤝 tech. The transit agency launched a new app today that maps your commute down to the train car and includes chat support from customer service agents, accessibility maps, and even a way to avoid that one smelly car (JK about that last one). (amNY)
In other transit app news: The Mets and MTA are rolling out a new perk — fans who buy game tickets can unlock $5 off LIRR day passes directly through the TrainTime app.
Ninth Avenue is getting a major upgrade and a lot more breathing room.🚶(Time Out New York)
A new “super sidewalk” will add 9 feet of extra pedestrian space, alongside a wider bike lane and a dedicated bus corridor to keep traffic moving.
The redesign is being fast-tracked ahead of the World Cup, with the goal of making one of Manhattan’s busiest corridors safer, faster, and easier to navigate.
In other reading:
The New Map of AI Work: New York Scales It
A new analysis by CoworkingCafe of more than 300 metro areas shows how AI jobs are clustering in a handful of cities with the right mix of talent, infrastructure, and demand.
Silicon Valley still leads in deep technical development, but New York stands out for how widely AI is being adopted across industries (obviously). Let’s take a look. 🤖
Hiring volume is surging in NYC: New York added 15,018 new AI roles from November 2024 to November 2025, the highest total of any metro in the country. 📈
AI jobs appear across a wide range of industries locally, reflecting broad adoption rather than concentration in a single sector.
✋ Did someone say AI jobs? A shameless plug for Tech:NYC’s Jobs Board, which features 4,750+ NYC tech jobs from 400+ companies.
A simple search for “AI” on the Jobs Board brings up over 1,600 roles alone.
Strong pay, with a different mix of roles: Average AI salaries in NYC are $151,000, competitive with other major metros. 💰
The city’s job mix spans finance, media, and enterprise use cases, creating opportunities beyond core engineering roles.
Infrastructure gives NYC an edge: The metro has 737 coworking spaces, the largest footprint in the U.S., supporting hybrid teams and startup growth. 🏙️
AI jobs are also 14% more concentrated than the national average, and that density helps companies scale quickly and gives workers flexibility across industries.
About 49% of the region has high-speed fiber coverage, supporting data-heavy AI workloads and distributed teams.
🗽 The New York takeaway: New York’s strength is turning AI into practical, industry-wide applications at scale.
The hiring data shows that companies here in New York are using AI across multiple sectors and multiple departments.
In other reading:
This is the most misunderstood graph in AI (MIT Technology Review)
These companies foster careers better than others. Here’s how (Wall Street Journal)
Eight new emojis arrive in Apple update for iPhone users (USA Today)
Airbase, an NYC-based developer of software for radiofrequency spectrum coordination infrastructure, raised $5 million in funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round and was joined by Squadra Ventures and Founders You Should Know.
Dash0, a NYC-based observability startup, raised $110 million at a $1 billion valuation. Balderton Capital led the round, joined by DTCP, Accel, Cherry Ventures, and Dig Ventures.
Glimpse, an NYC-based AI platform for CPG and retail operations, raised $35 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, joined by insiders 8VC and YC.
Mirage, an NYC-based maker of the Captions video editing app, raised $75 million in growth funding from General Catalyst.
Normal Computing, an NYC-based maker of software for chip design and thermodynamic computing chips, raised $50 million. Samsung Catalyst Fund led the round, joined by Galvanize, Brevan Howard Macro Venture Fund, ArcTern Ventures, Celesta Capital, Drive Capital, First Spark Ventures, and Micron Ventures.
Stedi, an NYC-based healthcare transactions clearinghouse, raised $50 million in Series C funding. Addition led the round, joined by Stripe, Ribbit Capital, USV, First Round Capital, and Bloomberg Beta.
Trayd, an NYC-based provider of a construction payroll and compliance platform designed for specialty contractors (and a Tech:NYC Company to Watch), raised $10 million in Series A funding. The round was led by White Star Capital with participation from Suffolk Technologies and Y Combinator, and a new strategic investment from RXR.
Lifelong Skills and Opportunity Center is hosting a Tech Day on March 27 designed to help older adults feel more confident using every day technology. To volunteer, reach out to [email protected].
Applications are now open for C10 Labs’ inaugural cohort of the NYC AI Nexus — NYC’s applied AI venture studio and accelerator, in partnership with NYCEDC. Early-stage AI-first startups in healthcare, biotech, energy, climate, robotics, and manufacturing can apply here by March 27.
Governor Hochul has launched EXPRESS NY, a statewide effort to tackle outdated or onerous regulations that stand in the way of delivering for New Yorkers. The state is soliciting ideas from stakeholders across New York on opportunities to cut red tape and improve government delivery. Submit proposals and recommendations here by April 3.
Fierce Foundry Female Founder Investment Readiness Bootcamp, a five-week program designed for founders gearing up to fundraise and go-to-market. Apply here by April 3.
Welcome to Chinatown, (a Tech:NYC Decoded Futures alum!) is hosting its first-ever small business AI hackathon on April 23-24, bringing together problem-solvers to build automation tools that free up time for NYC’s small business owners. Apply here by April 13.
Blue Ridge Labs’ Founder Fellowship helps early-stage founders move from idea to MVP through mentorship, research, and hands-on support. Apply here by May 3.
The Tech Week team has a list of companies open to co-hosting events in their offices/venues for NY and Boston Tech Week, a great way to reach customers, find co-hosts for Tech Week events, and increase your footprint at Tech Week. Apply to be a venue partner here.
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, 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.
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership’s Living Lab is seeking innovative technologies that address operational and quality-of-life challenges in urban parks and public spaces. Participants will use DBP-operated streets and plazas as real-world testing grounds for their technologies. 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
{{rp_personalized_text}}
Or share your personal link with others: {{ rp_refer_url }}
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.
