Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Let’s March Fourth today!
In today’s digest, Daylight Saving Time approaches, AI in NYC schools, and February’s Series A raises. 💰
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Albany 🤝 City Hall 🤝 childcare. Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled the first phase of a universal childcare plan, starting with 2,000 new 2-K seats in four high-need NYC neighborhoods this fall. (Crain’s New York Business)
The rollout will launch this fall in Washington Heights/Inwood, Fordham/Kingsbridge, East Brooklyn, and Ozone Park/Rockaways where childcare demand is highest.
The program is part of a broader $1.2 billion state childcare commitment.
New York City is expanding a home-visiting nurse program that connects new parents with registered nurses for prenatal care, mental health support, and early childhood guidance. 👶 (The Imprint)
The $20 million expansion of the Nurse-Family Partnership will now allow parents with more than one child to participate.
Over 25,000 parents have used the program in the past two decades, which city officials say improves maternal mental health and early childhood outcomes.
Goodbye winter darkness and hello spring sunshine. 😎 After nearly 110 days, NYC will finally get a sunset after 6:55pm this weekend, thanks to the start of Daylight Saving Time. 🌇 (Secret NYC)
This Sunday, March 8, at 2am, we’ll go back to the future as the clocks spring forward one hour.
➕ One more thing: Proud Decoded Futures moment: We love this spotlight on Welcome To Chinatown’s Victoria Lee, who, as part of Decoded Futures Cohort 3, developed an app to decrease admin work and increase mission-driven work. (The CITY)
This is the heart of Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures — unlocking an exponential increase in impact for the social sector and orgs that serve New Yorkers.
In other reading:
AI in New York schools: What lies ahead? (New York Times)
NY lawmaker wants to ease liquor laws during World Cup (Gothamist)
Series A: A Series — February’s Fresh Flock
Powered by Obviously NYC, presented by Gunderson Dettmer and PwC US.
Winter might still have the city bundled up, but NYC founders are heating up. 🔥
February’s Series A: A Series adds 20 new companies that just raised their Series A rounds — and together they’re already hiring for 50+ NYC-based roles.
From agentic AI infrastructure to climate-conscious operations and creative tools, February’s cohort reflects a city building across industries where technology meets real-world complexity.
Here’s what we’re seeing this month:
🤖 Agentic AI goes to work: February’s cohort is full of companies running AI workflows.
🔐 Security becomes a platform layer: As AI systems scale, security and resilience are moving front and center.
Gambit Security, ORION Security, Astelia, and Lema AI are all tackling different dimensions of cybersecurity — from vulnerability testing and network modeling to third-party vendor risk and resilience engineering.
Together they highlight a growing theme: protecting the expanding digital infrastructure that modern companies depend on.
🏥 Health and human support tech grows: NYC’s healthcare innovation remains strong.
Coral Care is expanding access to in-home pediatric therapy services, while Synthpop uses AI to streamline administrative tasks for healthcare providers.
Somethings focuses on mental wellness for young people by connecting them with trained mentors.
🌎 Climate and real-world infrastructure innovation: Beyond software, founders are tackling physical-world systems.
Ubees promotes sustainable agriculture through beekeeping and pollination services that boost food productivity, while Hauler Hero modernizes operations for waste and recycling haulers.
🎨 Creative and developer ecosystems expand: NYC’s creative roots also shine through this month.
Hook enables licensed AI-assisted remixes and mashups for music creators, while VillageSQL and Kombo help developers integrate and manage critical data and HR systems more efficiently.
🗽 Why it matters: From AI agents running enterprise operations to climate-conscious infrastructure and human-centered health platforms, February’s Series A class highlights NYC’s unique mix: deep technical innovation paired with real-world impact.
It’s a reminder that the city’s next generation of startups is building the systems that industries will run on.
Explore the full February list, see who’s hiring, and zoom in on our map of NYC’s newest Series A companies here.
Did we miss your Series A raise? Let us know — we want to spotlight every NYC founder turning vision into venture.
In other reading:
‘Leverage.’ ‘Reach out.’ ‘Circle back.’ The corporate jargon we hate the most (Wall Street Journal)
The lesson of AI literacy class: Don’t let the chatbot think for you (New York Times)
The 10 brutally honest questions all good leaders should ask themselves (Fast Company)
Eight Sleep, an NYC-based maker of smart sleep products, raised $50 million in Series D funding led by Tether Investments at a $1.5 billion post-money valuation.
Fig Security, an NYC-based platform that finds and fixes broken security flows across SecOps infrastructure, raised $38 million in seed and Series A rounds. Team8 and Ten Eleven Ventures, led the round and were joined by Doug Merritt, Rene Bonvanie, and the founders of Demisto and Siemplify.
Prolium Bioscience, an NYC-based autoimmune biotech, raised $50 million in Series A funding from founding investor RTW Investments.
Decoded Futures, Tech:NYC’s initiative to empower the social sector with AI to scale their impact, is headed west, with a pilot in Colorado, and accepting applications from Denver-based technologists to work with the nonprofits. Apply to volunteer here (or tell your Denver friends!).
Reminder: You can help orgs build tools!
Tech:NYC is proud to partner with Company Ventures to deliver the NYC Startup Internship Program for Summer 2026. This 10-week program connects high-potential NYC students with early-stage tech companies for paid, meaningful work experience while building equitable pathways into our industry. Apply to host an intern here by March 6.
Element 46 Tech Accelerator, a Westchester County program for tech startups, is accepting applications for its spring 2026 cohort. Applications are viewed on a rolling basis until March 6. Apply here.
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership’s Make It in Brooklyn Ag Tech Pitch Contest, seeking innovative startups that develop cutting-edge technologies to address critical challenges in modern agriculture — from precision farming and crop monitoring to sustainable irrigation, soil health management, and farm automation. Apply here by March 15.
Headstream Accelerator, supporting early-stage digital health and edtech products that address the mental well-being of young people. Benefits include 16 weeks of virtual-first programming, funded in-person kickoff and conference attendance, access to a supportive network of advisors, funders, industry experts, and a $30k non-dilutive stipend. Apply here by March 15.
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.
The Tech Week team is building a list of companies open to co-hosting events in their offices/venues for NY and Boston Tech Week, a great way to reach your target customers, find great co-hosts for Tech Week events, and increase your footprint at Tech Week with minimal cost. 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. Selected participants will use DBP-operated streets and plazas as real-world testing grounds for their technologies. Apply here.
Zero Irving — the Union Square tech hub home to Civic Hall — is relaunching its Workforce Development Project Fund, which awards $200,000 annually for programs that expand tech access and economic mobility for underrepresented New Yorkers, especially those in Manhattan Community District 3 (Lower East Side, East Village, Chinatown). Submit your proposal here.
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