Wednesday, May 27, 2026
In today’s digest, a summer activity portal for kids, a plan to bring the Winter Olympics to NYC, and how New York leads in AI for impact. 🤖👏
Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
NYC just launched a new searchable summer activity hub that feels a bit like OpenTable meets summer camp, helping families find free and low-cost programs aimed at keeping kids engaged (and out of trouble). ☀️ (CBS New York)
The new “Summer in NYC” website lets users filter programs by age, ZIP code, interests, and travel distance, with options ranging from sports leagues and photography classes to summer jobs and mental health resources.
The site also includes practical extras like free meal locations, FIFA World Cup events, and watch parties across the five boroughs.
Coming soon to New York (possibly): The Winter Olympics! New York is exploring a future Winter Olympics bid that would pair NYC with Lake Placid, potentially bringing the games back to the state for the first time since the iconic 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympics. 🥇 (The Athletic)
Early proposals envision venues like Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, and UBS Arena hosting ice events, while Lake Placid would stage many of the outdoor competitions.
Supporters say a bid could also accelerate long-discussed infrastructure upgrades, including rail connection between New York City and upstate New York.
Important: The Bronx Zoo just added a new endangered Przewalski’s horse foal to its herd, giving New Yorkers another reason to hop on the Wild Asia Monorail this summer and see one of the world’s rarest horse species up close. 🐴 (PIX 11)
The stocky “Mongolian wild horse” was born last month as part of the zoo’s broader conservation and breeding efforts aimed at helping reintroduce the endangered species into the wild.
The new foal is already viewable to visitors at the zoo’s Wild Asia exhibit in the Bronx.
In other reading:
How much are Knicks NBA Finals tickets selling for? (NBC New York)
These six NYC bars were just voted the best in the nation (Time Out New York)
Two NYC students are vying to win National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. (Patch)
Your ad here
Tech:NYC is accepting Digest advertising inquiries! Get in front of the founders, builders, and operators shaping NYC.
If you or your company are a good fit for our audience of 13,000+ highly engaged NYC tech leaders, fill out our form here and we’ll be in touch. 🤝
AI for Impact: How NYC Leads the Way
For all the conversation about AI transforming startups and enterprise software, one of the most exciting AI stories in New York is happening inside the social and “AI for impact” sectors.
Through programs like Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures and consortiums like Empire AI, New York is rapidly emerging as a national leader in AI for impact, helping mission-driven organizations use cutting-edge technology as a force multiplier to better serve New Yorkers. 🤖
🚀 Decoded Futures is turning the social sector into AI builders:
Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures has already worked with 250 NYC nonprofits, helped develop 300+ AI prototypes, and supported more than 1,400 nonprofits nationally.
The program pairs the social sector with technologists from New York tech companies to help organizations identify “AI-shaped” problems and build practical tools during intensive eight-week cohorts and Build Days.
The results are sticking: 95% of alumni continue using the AI framework after completing the program.
New York institutions are building seriously ambitious AI tools:
Brooklyn Public Library built AI-powered multilingual discovery tools to help patrons better navigate programs and services across its 62 branches serving 2.7 million residents. 📚
Bronx Children’s Museum developed an AI storytelling kiosk that lets children create personalized bilingual storybooks while helping the museum better understand family engagement. 🧒
CUNY K16 Initiatives used AI workflows to improve communications and planning for programs serving tens of thousands of NYC students. 🧑🎓
🖥️ New York’s broader AI ecosystem is scaling up fast:
Empire AI’s consortium now includes 10 institutions, supports more than 500 researchers, and has already backed 130+ research projects spanning biotech, climate tech, and digital media.
The initiative launched with hundreds of millions in combined state, university, and philanthropic funding and is helping position New York as a national leader in public-interest AI research.
🌎 The bigger picture: NYC’s AI ecosystem is multi-pronged.
At Decoded Futures’ Demo Day this spring, nonprofits showcased AI systems for everything from student support to museum operations to social service navigation, proving AI can strengthen community institutions to help them scale their impact.
Meanwhile, Empire AI researchers are using shared compute infrastructure to accelerate climate forecasting, medical imaging analysis, drug discovery, and ethical AI research that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive or inaccessible to many institutions.
Be part of the convo: During New York Tech Week next week, we’re hosting two events to showcase this AI for impact work.
On June 3, get a peek behind the curtain of Empire AI. Register here.
On June 4, see how Decoded Futures is empowering the social sector with AI at our Build Day. Register here.
In other reading:
I gave my OpenClaw agent a physical body (WIRED)
Tech giants back new data center climate initiative (Axios)
The first class of AI natives is graduating. Offices are getting ready (Wall Street Journal)
Olyzon, an NYC- and Paris-based agentic decisioning layer for CTV advertising, raised $10 million in Series A funding. S4S Ventures led the round, joined by Eurazeo.
Pace, an NYC-based insurance ops automation startup, raised $46 million in Series B funding. Thrive Capital and Sequoia Capital led the round, joined by Emergence Capital and Pruven Capital.
Tech:NYC has partnered with Company Ventures, Blackstone LaunchPad, NYCEDC, and the Zahn Innovation Center to run the NYC Startup Internship Program, connecting NYC college students with paid summer internships at early-stage startups across the city.
We’re looking for volunteer mentors to support interns as they gain firsthand experience in startups and tech throughout the summer. Apply to be a mentor by May 31 here.
Pitchfest is a matchmaking program that pairs city and state agency staff with support from university faculty and Civic Fellows on short-term, high-impact projects. Civic Fellows typically have at least five years of work experience in tech, consulting, or an adjacent field. Apply to be a Civic Fellow by June 2 here.
The Social Science Research Council has opened applications for their Just Tech Fellowship, a one-year, unrestricted award of up to $60,000 for researchers, artists, and practitioners working to understand and shape how technology impacts society and public life. Apply here by June 28.
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.
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.
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 }}
Want to advertise in the Digest? Fill out our form here.
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.
