Primary's early bets on the New York startup scene are now paying off with an 11x return on its first fund. Here's how the VC firm did it.
United States
New York City
MEMBERS:
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Tech:NYC
“New York continues to attract startups in many of the fastest-growing segments of the sector — AI, Life Sciences, and Cleantech, to name a few. Thanks to the city’s unmatched talent pool and funding opportunities, New York remains a top destination for startups to thrive.”
Highlights
The largest city in the U.S. by population, New York City has the nation’s biggest consumer base. The city’s thriving startup ecosystem is valued at around $147 billion, with more than 25,000 tech-enabled startups supported by over 200 coworking spaces and 100 accelerators and incubators. The city also ranks #3 among U.S. states in foreign direct investment jobs.
VC firms continue to flock to NYC. In May 2022, Index Ventures, a European firm with headquarters in San Francisco and London, announced the opening of an office here, and in July 2022, Sequoia Capital announced a New York office, its first U.S. location outside of Silicon Valley. New York State has devoted $100 million, with an additional $35 million in Small Business Credit Initiative funding, to a direct investment VC fund. New York Ventures also manages three VC legacy funds that invest in seed- and early-stage companies across the state.
The City’s $80 million CS4All initiative (Computer Science for All) has trained 100,000 students since 2015, and the CUNY 2X tech program has doubled the number of CUNY graduates with tech-related bachelor‘s degrees since 2017. The Founder Fellowship program, which supports entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented backgrounds, expanded to include 100 tech founders in its second cohort. At the end of 2022, the mayor and governor jointly released a set of 40 proposals intended to make NYC the best place to work and serve. As a part of it, Initiative 31 is dedicated to making NYC the global hub for urban innovation.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
NUMBER OF UNICORNS
(H2 2020 - 2022)
Sub-Sector Strengths
AI, Big Data & Analytics
In 2022, generative AI companies in New York raised a whopping $483.6 million over 28 funding rounds. Alphasense, an AI-powered market intelligence search engine, reached unicorn status with $100 million in additional Series D funding in April 2023. Canoe, makers of an AI-powered solution that captures data from documents for institutional investors, raised a $25 million Series B in February 2023. Massive Bio, which uses AI to match cancer patients to clinical trials, made the New York City Digital Health 100 for the second consecutive year.
Life Sciences
New York sits in the middle of a corridor of Life Sciences innovation stretching from Boston to Raleigh-Durham. The metro area is home to nearly 5,100 Life Sciences companies, has received the most National Institute of Health funding in the U.S., and raised $3.1 billion in VC deals in 2021. New York ranked #2 in the best states for Life Sciences incentive programs in CBRE’s 2023 U.S. Life Sciences Outlook. Ten early-stage Life Sciences incubators have been launched across the five boroughs.
Cleantech
NYC announced two startup programs as part of its sustainability focused PlaNYC agenda: one to help early-stage companies incubate solutions for urban environments and another to attract international companies. Governors Island is being transformed into a $700 million “living laboratory” for climate solutions, and a $20 million biotech hub will open for startups using sustainability focused biotechnology. In 2022, Fifth Wall closed a $500 million commitment for its inaugural climate fund and Union Square Ventures announced a $200 million fund dedicated to investments in startups mitigating or adapting to climate change.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to New York City
High-Quality Talent
New York offers a diverse and skilled talent pool fed by a pipeline of graduates from more than two dozen world-class academic and healthcare institutions. The city ranks #1 in the Northeast in total number of STEM grads and #2 in the nation for the highest number of residents who are scientists and engineers. The number of tech jobs in New York has grown 143% over the last decade.
Tax Benefits
The START-UP NY program provides tax benefits to businesses that are based in approved locations near colleges and universities. Approved businesses operate tax-free for 10 years and gain access to advanced research laboratories, development resources, and experts in key industries. Employees hired for new jobs in a tax-free area pay no state or local income taxes for the first five years and a reduced rate for a further five years.
Dedicated Support
The $75 million NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund is a public-private loan fund for small businesses. The Global NY Fund Grant program is a $35 million fund for SMEs. Empire State Development, together with the US Small Business Administration, provides grants to help increase exports, along with trade education. NYCEDC supports businesses in expanding or relocating through site selection guidance, workforce development consultation, financial incentive analysis, and more.
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