A Year in Review
Tech:NYC 2021 Annual Report
A Note from the Executive Director
“Five years ago, we knew tech in New York was on the rise.”
Five years ago, we knew tech in New York was on the rise.
A small group of leaders formed Tech:NYC in 2016 because we realized two things: we knew that tech would be the economic engine of the future, and we were committed to NYC as the place that delivers that opportunity.
We were right on both counts. Today, NYC is home to some 10,000 tech companies and startups and remains the second strongest tech hub in the world. Another year of the pandemic has highlighted just how important the sector is to all New Yorkers — the tools it builds have allowed us to stay connected and to jumpstart the city’s broader recovery.
In the new year, I’m making way for new leadership to expand on our mission: I shared my thoughts about some of the priorities a new director — and the sector at large — will need to sustain its success. The one thing I know for sure is that the people who make up the industry here are New Yorkers first, tech workers second. And that is good for New York and for tech. It’s been a dream job to stand alongside the founders, entrepreneurs, elected officials, and advocates that care about the city’s success as deeply as I do.
None of Tech:NYC’s work would be possible without our member companies. So this isn’t your standard annual report: it’s a year-end celebration of their milestones — and a testament to the community we’ve built here. And what a year it’s been. Thanks for all of it.
-Julie
Tech becomes NYC’s most in-demand economic driver
Tech companies led hiring and job growth in NYC. There were more openings for tech positions during the pandemic than for any other jobs. Software engineers and developers took the top spot as the most in-demand job.
Our survey with Accenture found that half of companies surveyed sought to increase the number of tech hires by as much as 20 percent this year.
Outside of the tech workforce, our polling also found that everyday New Yorkers support the local tech industry, with 57 percent saying tech companies have a positive impact on the city.
Tech:NYC’s 2021 research with Startup Genome ranked the NYC tech ecosystem second globally among its peers in talent levels and performance, only behind Silicon Valley.
Homegrown founders have a banner year
A few city superlatives:
Squarespace became the first New York tech company to go public with a direct listing, and Warby Parker became the first public benefit corporation (B corp) to go public through a direct listing.
With a $190 million Series C at a $2 billion valuation, Spring Health co-founder and CEO April Koh became the youngest woman CEO of a unicorn startup.
Articulate founder and CEO Adam Schwartz raised an eye-popping $1.5 billion Series A, a deal thought to be the largest Series A of all time.
With $110 million in Series D funding, Maven founder and CEO Kate Ryder became the first founder to take a women and family’s health startup to unicorn status.
Alloy, Capsule, Misfits Market, and BlockFi were among the long list of startups that also achieved unicorn status this year.
The backbone of NYC’s tech ecosystem are the founders that choose to build their companies here. Tech:NYC, with Cornell Tech@Bloomberg, sat down with many of those leaders to share their surprising wins and unexpected challenges in growing a company through a pandemic.
Venture-backed startups (and their investors) are all in on New York tech
New York investors also enjoyed a banner year of growth, raising new funds to support the next big ideas in healthcare ($100 million AlleyCorp fund); proptech ($100 million MetaProp fund); DeFi ($250 million FinTech Collective fund); and enterprise tech ($100 Work-Bench fund).
Other notable funds:
By our count, 30 New York-founded tech companies went public this year, up from just three the previous year. Among them are Tech:NYC members Oscar Health, Olo, Squarespace, Vimeo, 1stdibs, Sprinklr, CLEAR, Warby Parker, and WeWork.
NYC startups topped their own records every quarter, raising $49.5 billion overall in 2021. Startups are earning bigger rounds more quickly, with more than 150 megaldeals closing at more than $100 million each.
New York tech is setting the example on pandemic response
Since the very first days of the pandemic, Tech:NYC’s Daily Digest has been a hub of information and insights for tech leaders navigating the city’s vaccination and testing efforts, flexible work and office trends, and ways to support ongoing economic recovery efforts.
With more than 400 editions published to date, the digest consistently logs an average 44 percent open rate, more than double the industry average. Thousands of readers rely on it as their go-to source of daily COVID and workplace developments in New York.
Tech is accelerating NYC's economic recovery
In another year of uncertainty, not only did many of NYC’s startups grow their core businesses, but they adapted their tools to give back. Throughout the year, Tech:NYC continued to check in with some of the city’s most exciting Companies to Watch.
Entirely new companies have been founded since the pandemic began, joining a broad ecosystem forced to respond to the impacts of the pandemic. We need their ideas to accelerate the city’s recovery efforts, and the inaugural NYC Recovery Challenge — a new initiative from Tech:NYC, Cornell Tech, and Google — is bringing those ideas to scale.
Tech-forward public policy solutions benefit all New Yorkers
NYC’s next leaders know we need tech-forward ideas for solving public problems. Alongside several member companies, we hosted a forum with the leading candidates for Mayor for more than 1,500 tech workers looking for ways to make a difference.
Our members also spoke to the candidates in a follow-up pitch night, where each laid out their visions for closing the digital divide.
Our podcast, Talk:NYC, tracked the state of the race throughout the year with leading local journalists and industry leaders.
In a year when voting rights across the country were under threat, 100+ NYC tech leaders stepped up to call for common-sense measures to make voting more accessible for our own neighbors.
The pandemic saw a surge in the use of e-bikes and e-scooters, and new pilots from Bird, Lime, and VeoRide within the five boroughs promise they’ll be a lasting feature.
Waymo brought its self-driving vehicles to NYC this year, in a new effort to map the city’s complex streetscape and identify new ways to make our road infrastructure safer and more efficient.
This summer in Bed-Stuy, Revel unveiled the largest universal charging station in North America to power the city’s growing fleet of electric vehicles.
The next generation of talent will shape the industry’s future
NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is the nation’s largest youth employment program, and for the second year, tech companies stepped up to provide paid, project-based summer learning opportunities for thousands of NYC students.
Making sure everyone has access to jobs in the growing industry will be one of the biggest challenges in the years ahead. But "we're on the right track," Julie Samuels wrote in a recent op-ed.
From Crain’s New York: “[Samuels] cites as evidence a big-hearted effort during the summer by 100 Tech:NYC member companies. City officials announced the pandemic-related cancellation of the Summer Youth Employment Program, which provided career exploration and paid work for people ages 14 to 24. … Well done, Tech:NYC. As teachers well know, however, there's a new batch of learners arriving every year. Programs such as Tech:NYC's summer enterprise need to be formalized. And computing education should be incorporated into classrooms at all levels, from kindergarten through college and beyond.”
Tech is putting down deeper roots in NYC
Even in an era of remote work, New York tech is expanding its office footprint in NYC. It’s a vote of confidence for the long-term success of the city.
With the purchase of St. John’s Terminal, Google announced the single largest real estate transaction of the pandemic anywhere, adding 1.3 million square feet to make room for thousands more employees.
After already signing a massive lease at the Farley Building, Facebook has added enough new space to nearly triple its current workforce.
Amazon’s purchase of the iconic Lord & Taylor building means another 2,000 employees will increase its current corporate workforce in the city by 50 percent, and it’s also expanding with space on the Brooklyn waterfront and other outer boroughs.
And it’s not just Big Tech: Cockroach Labs, Chainalysis, and CLEAR are among those that have also expanded their offices here.
Investing in a more inclusive industry will be key
A diverse pool of peers and talent is at the top of founders’ lists for why they choose to grow their careers here. Tech:NYC was proud to host the launch event to welcome the 2021 cohort of Google’s Black Founders Fund, with special guest Mayor-elect Eric Adams. Initiatives like these are critical to ensuring the makeup of the tech workforce reflects that of the city.
Partnerships with our next elected leaders will drive the industry forward
New York tech leaders remain committed to partnering with government leaders to ensure the city’s economy thrives. As we look ahead to 2022, Tech:NYC and its members will welcome the incoming administration and next cohort of public leaders.
OUR TOP TECH STORIES OF 2021
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There were more openings for tech positions during the pandemic than for any other job in the city, a new study says… Read more
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In the 1980s, venture capital firm Sequoia set a tone for the tech investing industry with a Silicon Valley-first mantra: if we can’t ride a bicycle to it, we won’t invest. Today, that motto’s playing out a bit differently: on the streets of New York City, over Citi Bike. Read more
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For the startup Catch, a desired change of scenery came down to San Francisco, Miami or New York.
New York won. Read more
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More low wage workers want opportunities to grow. Big companies are making more promises to help them.
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JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other major companies are launching an initiative called the New York Jobs CEO Council, which also will include other nonprofits and New York schools to prep students for jobs that will lead to careers, according to a statement. Read more
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Google, Amazon, Facebook and more are investing in the city. But challenges remain — including whether remote work will mean much fewer tech workers in office buildings and whether the sector can diversify. Read more
Photo: Buck Ennis