Tech:NYC founder says city is in a ‘golden era' of innovation — and Covid is partly to thank
NY: Tech Week has become one of, if not, the most important event for startups and VCs in New York with investors like a16z and Union Square all hosting events next week.
Ahead of the convention, I spoke with Julie Samuels, the President and CEO of Tech:NYC and a driving force behind Tech Week.
She founded Tech:NYC — which aims to foster the growth of the industry through advocacy, events, and policy work — in 2016 when Gotham was still emerging as a potential hub.
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3 Julie Samuels has become a de facto liaison between the tech community in New York and government officials.
Olga Ginzburg for NY Post
'We were still talking about which city, which region of the US would be number two behind the Valley, which sounds, I mean, which sounds crazy,' Samuels recalled.
Today, New York City is a dominant tech center in its own right, with over 25,000 tech-enabled startups and major players like Google and Amazon. Samuels thinks the fact that New Yorkers have interests beyond AI and APIs is a huge advantage over Silicon Valley's insular tech culture.
This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be).
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The fact that New York City is home to industries like fashion, media, and finance not only attracts a more diverse kind of person but also encourages them to think about broader applications of technology.
'I think it's much healthier and much more dynamic than what's happening in the Valley — it's so much more integrated into other industries… it's much healthier for the economy' she explained. 'You're not just in this little bubble where you're only learning about AI and talking with other people in AI… and I think that's reflected in a lot of the companies in New York.'
She notes that the pandemic freed up Silicon Valley talent to live wherever and many decided to relocate to NYC.
3 Samuels believes that tech giants are helping revitalize NYC real estate.
Photo by Hollis Johnson / Amazon
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'That stronghold really broke during Covid,' she said. 'New York saw more new tech employees moving here.'
That's created a rich environment.
'You uniquely have an industry of people who love New York. That's amazing,' she said. 'We're in this golden era of tech in New York where people are choosing to be here. And that's awesome.'
It's also been a boon for NYC real estate.
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3 Amazon's newest NYC office is in the old Lord & Taylor building.
Photo by Hollis Johnson / Amazon
While the failed Amazon HQ2 project in Queens was 'terrible for New York,' Samuels noted that the company has since poured a fortune into their physical presence. 'Since that happened, Amazon bought the old Lord & Taylor Building on Fifth Avenue which… now is completely full.'
Similarly, Google's renovation of St. John's Terminal on the West Side exemplifies how tech companies are breathing new life into historic spaces.
'We see other tech companies doing that too, by the way. It really speaks to how New York evolves as a city, that new industries come into these older spaces,' Samuels observes. 'So we have to figure out how to revive our infrastructure, how to revive our buildings. And tech is driving that. It's really, really important for the future of the city.'
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