Wednesday, September 3, 2025

September 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Wednesday, September 3, 2025 

In today’s digest, major crimes decline, things to do in NYC this month, and the state of tech exits. 👋

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  • The streets and subways of New York are a whole lot safer this year. 🦺 NYC’s major crimes continue to decline (down 6.7% in August 2025 compared to last year), with shootings reaching record lows this year through August as well. (New York Daily News)

    • Subway crimes are also at record lows (outside of pandemic years).

  • Coming soon to NYC shoppers: Erewhon. Sort of. The Los Angeles grocery chain is opening a NYC location in the West Village, but access will come with a price tag of $36,000 in initiation fees and $7,000 in annual dues... 🥦 (6sqft)

    • Yes, you read those numbers correctly — the market will open within a private padel club with access limited to members only.

  • There are plenty of fun things to do in the Big Apple this month, from Dua Lipa concerts to an Emma Stone look-alike contest to film festivals and Broadway shows. Check out this list of 29 things to do in NYC this September. 💃🕺 (New York Times)

In other reading:

The first half of 2025 wasn’t a blockbuster for traditional IPOs (just 122 tech companies went public globally), but according to a new report from CB Insights, deeper trends are pointing to a much bigger shift in how liquidity happens: 

  • Flat M&A volume.

  • Muted IPO activity.

  • A wave of new exit models gaining traction.

🤖 AI leads the way in M&A: This year is shaping up to be a record for tech M&A deal value, even as deal volume stays flat. The standout? Do we need to spell it out? AI!

  • In Q2, AI M&A activity surged to a record 192 deals. 📈 

  • This pushed AI's share of tech M&A to 7.5% year-to-date, nearly double its 2021 share. 🆙

  • Private companies led some of the largest AI acquisitions in the first half of the year, with OpenAI (a Tech:NYC member!) acquiring Io for $6.5 billion. 💰

  • Meta (also a Tech:NYC member!) scooped up voice AI startups PlayAI and WaveForms this summer to lead the race for the future of human-machine interactions. 🗣️

🔔 IPO is ready to go: The tech IPO market was muted during H1 2025, but there are signs it may accelerate.

  • Recent big IPO announcements from Figma and Bullish have led several tech companies to announce plans to go public, renewing hopes that 2025 will be a rebound year.

Forget full takeovers: As the AI talent war rages on, new exit models have emerged. 

  • This includes a shift away from full takeovers toward deals structures that access technology and, more importantly, talent, without triggering antitrust alarms. 

  • Larger tech companies are scooping up teams (and licensing tech) from startups like Windsurf, Character.AI, and Covariant — without full acquisitions (aka reverse “aqui-hires”).

🔮 Why it matters: For NYC founders and VCs, the message is clear: Exit paths are evolving. IPOs are no longer the only game in town. 

In other reading:

  • The large gender gap in who uses AI (Wall Street Journal)

  • Research roundup: CEO start dates, online reviews, AI’s impact on morale, and more (HBR)

  • Hybrid work in retreat? Barely (Gallup)

  • Meroka, an NYC-based platform to help independent physicians transition ownership of their practices to their employees, raised $6 million in seed funding. Better Tomorrow Ventures and Slow Ventures led the round and were joined by 8VC and others.

  • Utila, an NYC-based digital asset ops platform for stablecoins, raised $22 million in Series A extension funding. Red Dot Capital Partners led, joined by Nyca, Wing VC, DCG, Cerca Partners, Funfair Ventures, and SilverCircle.

  • 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.

  • 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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