September Newsletter: Making Drones Work for NYC
This is the September 2018 edition of the Tech:NYC newsletter. If you're not already getting this in your inbox, sign up now.
Later this week, we, along with member DJI, are hosting our next Policy Labs, focused on drones. Policy Labs are some of the most important programming we do; they allow us to take a new and rapidly changing technology and introduce it to policymakers and their staffs, before the inevitably tough questions about regulation arise.
The reason is simple: there is no doubt that technology and its rapid deployment have proven challenging for government, a system that was, in fact, designed to be slow and deliberative. So how do we ensure that policymakers aren’t regulating only out of fear? That they aren’t just reacting, but are looking at a situation before it erupts? We believe the way to do that is to introduce companies—especially those here in NYC—and the technologies they build to the policymakers up front. At our Policy Lab events, we have a industry leader talk about the state of the technology, and then we showcase demos from NYC startups. They are always fun and, we hope, lay the groundwork for technology companies and government to work better together.
This Thursday, we look forward to a keynote from DJI Vice President Mario Rebello followed by demos from M2 Aerials, a NY-based aerial photography company, and Reign Maker, a data collection firm that uses drones to support civic engineering, telecommunications, and utility sector industries. Plus we’ll have drones onsite, and every event is better with drones, right?
Julie
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
With our partners Cornell Tech and Bloomberg, we kicked off the new season of Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg speaker series with Shan-Lyn Ma, founder and CEO of member company Zola.
Heads of legal and policy at our member companies met with State Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for a great conversation on how the tech community can better support innovation across New York State.
Tech:NYC, in partnership with Ace Hotel, Daata Editions, Monegraph, and Even Magazine, hosted a symposium on blockchain and the arts with artists, entrepreneurs, and established players in the art market and tech communities. Catch Part 1 and Part 2 of the conversation in the newest episodes of the podcast Hidden Noise.
GET INVOLVED
On October 18, Tech:NYC is partnering with member company Silicon Valley Bank for their annual Tech Gives Back initiative! Every year, SVB organizes hundreds of volunteers across the tech ecosystem and connects them to fun service projects that make it easy for our community to give back time and energy to our city. To find more details and register to participate, click here.
Last year, more than 45 companies participated in the WiTNY Winternship program, helping to inspire, educate, and train more than 150 young women across New York City and beyond. Winternship programs often include meetings with executives, job shadowing opportunities, brown bag lunch sessions, and site visits. This year, the program’s goal is to double its number of participants! You can help get them there by signing up to sponsor a paid, three-week, mini-internship for first and second-year women at CUNY during their January academic recess here: More information about the program here.
Our friends at the Rudin Center for Transportation have released a new survey aiming to measure New Yorkers' experiences with safety and caretaker trips on various modes of transportation—subway, the bus, car services, and more. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Add your voice here.
The application for the SAP.iO Foundry NY Winter 2019 cohort is launching in January! The Foundry is are looking for women and diverse entrepreneurs focusing on enterprise social impact, including sustainability, business beyond bias and employee wellness. If you represent or know a Seed to Series A startup that may be interested, apply here by November 5.
NYC TECH COMMUNITY EVENTS
October 2: Join PRIME’s first TechMeeting in NYC, hosted by Company (formerly Grand Central Tech), to hear from research labs, startups, and corporations on how they’re using urban tech to address challenges for cities. Get tickets here.
October 3: Join Cornell Tech for a conversation with Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures and former president of Google China, on his new book, AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order. Register here.
October 11: Save the date for the next installment of Tech:NYC’s Policy Labs series, Drones 101. In partnership with DJI, the event will feature a keynote, demos from local drone firms, and the chance to fly a drone yourself! Register here.
October 11: AppNexus presents The Women’s Leadership Forum, its annual gathering for current and aspiring leaders creating lasting change for women in the workplace and society. Featured speakers include ACLU president Susan Herman, Pinterest Head of Inclusion Candice Morgan, and Secretary to Governor Andrew Cuomo Melissa DeRosa. Beginning at 11am ET, tune in to the livestream here.
October 13: Join New Lab for their Annual Open House Party. For one evening each year, they open their doors to the public with member open studios, art and tech installations, food trucks, open bar, and live music. Register here.
October 16: Bloomberg hosts Sooner Than You Think, a premier tech summit on how artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrency are reshaping how we spend, save, and invest. Register now using code TECHNYC to unlock a special partner rate.
October 16: This month, ScriptEd is becoming Code Nation. Join them for drinks, project demos, and a dance party to launch the new brand name and celebrate their growing community of students, alumni, and volunteers. All proceeds benefit Code Nation programs in NYC. Get tickets here.
October 18: Join us, in partnership with Civic Hall and NY Tech Alliance, for a conversation between our own Julie Samuels and former IBM Foundation president Stanley Litow on how technology is changing business and society at large. Register here.
October 18: Join SoulCycle for the next installment of its Front Row Talks series, featuring Fluent City founder and CEO James Rohrbach, who will discuss building team culture at a startup. Register here.
October 20: Join All Tech is Human for its Ethical Tech Summit, a day of lightning talks, panels, workshops, and networking aimed at co-creating a more thoughtful future towards technology. Get tickets here.
October 22: Join us, in partnership with Cornell Tech and Bloomberg, for the next event in Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg series, featuring Anthony Casalena, founder and CEO of Squarespace. Register here.
October 24: Our own Julie Samuels will kick off NYU’s Transportation Startup Showcase in collaboration with the NYC Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Summit. The event is open to the public. More information here.
October 31: Tech:NYC is partnering with Crain’s New York Business for the 2018 Future of NYC Tech Summit, featuring keynotes from Oscar co-founder and CEO Mario Schlosser and NYC Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. More speakers to be announced. Register here with promo code “technyc18” for a discounted rate.
November 6: Our own Julie Samuels will be the keynote speaker for the 2018 MIPIM PropTech NYC, the leading conference on the future of PropTech and the real estate industry. Get tickets here.
WELCOME TO TECH:NYC
A warm welcome to our newest members:
Biotia: a health tech company providing hospitals with tailored sequencing-based solutions to reduce hospital-acquired infections.
Cabinet, Inc.: connects executive assistants, administrative assistants, and office managers around the world and enables them to receive top quality recommendations.
Crater: local TV led by creators, made for mobile, and powered by AI.
Gwynnie Bee: a subscription service of unlimited styles for women.
MAP Digital, Inc.: a platform that transforms conferences into rich attendee experiences
PropertyClub: a global real estate platform that leverages blockchain technology to create a dynamic marketplace.
Tatch: develops state-of-the-art smart patches for accurate and comprehensive sleep tests at home.
Vetcove Inc.: a platform that enables veterinary hospitals to research products, compare prices and what's in stock among vendors, and buy from one central location.
Yurchef: a community for authentic food experiences with locals.
JOIN US
Tech:NYC is looking for a Communications and Marketing Director to join our team. Apply now or share the listing with someone you know!
We want your company to be a member of Tech:NYC! Sign up at our membership page, and let us know if you have any questions.
Shake Shack X Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
drone quad copter by SizeSquare's/Shutterstock.com