My throat is sore from touting New York’s tech prowess, which I realize has been for naught. Almost as quickly as the balloons from the Mayor’s celebration lost their air did Amazon announce it was leaving the Big Apple. The blow to our local venture community is like a sucker punch to the gut. While […]
UrbanTech
Machines That Smell Trouble
Abruptly, I enter the cab escaping the arctic weather to confront something worse than freezing rain – body odor. Luckily, another taxi pulled to the curb and I continued my journey to last Tuesday’s RobotLab forum on Cybersecurity & Machines. Moderating a panel at the new Global Cyber Center, with John Frankel of ffVC and Guy Franklin of SOSA, I […]
This App Fixes One of the Worst Issues That NYC Taxi Drivers Face Every Day
There are more than 100K taxis and black cars in NYC, but despite this huge number, professional drivers have to wait up to an hour before they can get out on the road and to begin their shifts. But technological platform Lacus fixes this through its mobile app that gives drivers access to nearby taxis […]
The End Of Parking As We Know It
A day before snow decapacitated New York commuters, researchers at the University of Iowa and Princeton demurred the growth of urbanization as the leading cause for catastrophic storm damage. Wednesday’s report stated that the $128 billion wake of Hurricane Harvey was 21 times greater due to the population density of Houston, one of America’s fastest growing cities. […]
This Airport Car Service Just Launched in NYC to Make Sure a Child’s Safety is Never Compromised
Millions of people use car services, taxis, and ride-sharing apps to get to the airport, and many of these people are parents traveling with kids who need to be in car seats by law. Unless the parent is lugging around a car seat, this poses a specific problem when hopping into the usual car service. […]
This NYC Startup Just Raised $2.4M to Bring a Grading System to NYC Apartments
People finding rodents and insects in their apartments – especially their first apartment in NYC- is not uncommon or shocking. But what is shocking is that a service like Rentlogic does not already exist. This startup was built on a simple idea: grade apartment buildings the same way that the city grades restaurants based on […]
Motivate, the Company Behind Citi Bike, Acquired by Lyft for a Rumored $250M
The urban mobility space is absolutely on fire with recent transactions like Uber’s acquisition of JUMP Bikes, Bird’s $300M recent funding, and Lime’s recent $250M funding. Lyft is now making its foray into the market with its acquisition of Motivate, the company that operates Citi Bike in NYC and bike-sharing services in 7 other markets […]
Inside the Mind of a NYC VC: Zak Schwarzman of MetaProp
Welcome back to Inside the Mind of an NYC VC, a highly acclaimed series at AlleyWatch in which we speak with New York City-based Venture Capitalists. In the hot seat this time is Zak Schwarzman, Partner at MetaProp, the visionary investment firm that has been instrumental in making PropTech a viable investment vertical. MetaProp currently invests out its […]
FairFare is the Last Ride Sharing App You Will Ever Download
Lyft or Uber? You’ve asked yourself this question hundreds of times and you know how annoying it is to open up both apps to compare prices and ETAs. Well now there is an app that does the legwork for you. FairFare, the app comparing available ridesharing apps and recommending the best route for you, takes […]
This NYC Startup Was Just Acquired by Uber for ~$200M
The Softbank-fueled buying spree continues for NYC companies… JUMP Bikes, the electronic bike sharing company that provides dockless bikes, has been acquired by Uber. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but it has been reported that the transaction valued JUMP Bikes at approximately $200M. “We’re excited to begin our next chapter and to […]
This NYC Startup Finds Your Child a Carpool
For 10 months out of the year millions of parents reluctantly drive their children to school causing one third of the traffic in your daily commute. With so many parents driving in the same direction, every parent wishes they had a carpool, but don’t necessarily have the tools to make this a reality. Thankfully, GoKid, […]