Wednesday, September 10, 2025

September 10, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Wednesday, September 10, 2025 

In today’s digest, UNGA gets underway, David Prize winners, and fashion tech founders keeping NYC in style. 😎

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  • ’Tis the season for the United Nations General Assembly, which means you can expect to see lots of elected officials, diplomats, and… traffic. The conference runs from Sept. 9-30, so be sure to check out the road closures ahead of your trip through Manhattan. 🚦 (PIX 11)

  • Five New Yorkers have won $200,000 apiece through the David Prize, which awards funds to residents with bold visions for the city’s future. 🥇 (Gothamist)

    • This year’s winners include legal advocates, mental health innovators, community safety organizers, and arts leaders.

    • Read more about the winners here.

  • NYC’s first-ever Curbside Restaurant Dining Week is underway and runs through Friday. Score deals and dine out in the beautiful early September weather at these restaurants. 🍽️ (Patch)

    • In related news, four NYC spots have landed a spot on the New York Times’ best 50 restaurants in America list. 

    • Check out the full list here.

👑 Referral royalty: Big thanks to Emily Yeager and Rachel Fiegler for referring subscribers to the Tech:NYC Digest this week! Join them and win swag by participating in our referral program — details at the end of this email.

In other reading:

  • Let me tell you — cemeteries are hosting the coolest events in NYC right now (TimeOut New York)

  • Miss New York crowned Miss America 2026 (New York Post)

  • 8 best hiking trails near NYC to see beautiful fall foliage (6sqft)

➕ One more thing: Today was the Primary NYC Summit! New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke with Tech:NYC President and CEO Julie Samuels on stage about New York’s tech and AI momentum. Watch their conversation here.

Fashion tech in NYC is so this season. 👕👗 

And it’s no wonder why: 

  • There are over 1,300 fashion tech companies in the Big Apple.

  • Each year the city plays host to New York Fashion Week, bringing together the world's biggest designers and brands to show off their latest looks. 

  • The event brings the city around $1 billion annually, and this year’s second installment runs from Sept. 11-16. 

  • Add in NYC’s fashion schools (in 2022, over 2,000 students graduated with degrees in the industry), and you have the recipe for a fashion capital of the world.

As we kick off New York Fashion Week, we spoke with four founders of NYC-based fashion tech startups who are innovating to spruce up the city’s looks and keep us ahead of the next fashion trend. 🕶️

🗽 Check out their reasons and advice for building in New York below!

Sophie Friedfeld-Gebaide, founder of Atelier Society, the first end-to-end alterations logistics platform for retailers:

  • “What makes New York City so unique is the people. The best advice I was given is don’t forget to utilize the best resource New York City offers — its people.”

Lisa Yamner Green, founder of Daydream, the first chat-based shopping agent built exclusively for fashion:

  • “New York is full of people. Meet them, learn from them, and share what you know.”

Carly Bigi, founder of Laws of Motion, which solves the $1 trillion return crisis and powers e-commerce profitability in the apparel industry:

  • “The combination of the apparel industry, top talent, and electric energy puts NYC in a category of one.”

Emilie Ho, founder of Make the Dot, an AI-powered design platform built for fashion teams:

  • “NY is the fashion capital — home to top design schools, brand HQs, and generations of product experts. But more than that, it’s great to do business in New York. You can get a meeting with anyone here. No pedigree needed. Hustle gets you in the door. That energy is so valuable for early-stage builders.”

In other reading:

  • OpenAI plans jobs platform, certification program for AI roles (Bloomberg)

  • Is the future of work waiting down the block? (Fast Company)

  • Introducing “The Keys: A Guide to Digital Safety” (Snap)

  • Adaptive Security, an NYC-based cybersecurity startup focused on deepfake and phishing attacks, raised $12 million in Series A extension funding from OpenAI Startup Fund.

  • Metal, an NYC-based AI-powered research platform for private market investors, raised $5 million in funding from Base10 Partners.

  • Sphinx, an NYC-based developer of AI software designed for data scientists, raised $9.5 million in seed funding. Lightspeed led the round and was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Box Group, K5, Impatient VC, and others.

  • Google’s 2026 U.S. Apprenticeship Program, offering structured learning and development opportunities that provide on-the-job training, related technical instruction, and career development workshops in five different tracks. Apply by September 11 here.

  • Downtown Brooklyn Partnership’s Make It in Brooklyn Climate Tech Pitch Contest, aiming to spotlight and support early-stage companies working on solutions to combat climate change. Apply by September 16 here.

  • nextNYC’s Always Be Closing, for startups to connect with and pitch top NYC companies and organizations who can serve as potential customers. Apply to pitch at the September 30 event here.

  • The second annual Buildings Tech Lab, a collaboration with the Department of Buildings to advance the application of new technology to transform the delivery of public services. Apply by October 24 here.

  • Entrepreneurship Assistance Center’s LaunchLab, a 10-week, hands-on business program for startups and prestartups looking to launch their business. Apply here.

  • Company Ventures’ Grand Central Tech Residency’s spring 2026 cohort, a 12-month residency program for founders and teams looking to build in-person in NYC. Apply here.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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