Mayor de Blasio Unveils Digital.NYC, First Ever All-Inclusive Online Hub for the City’s Tech Ecosystem

SOURCE: Digital.NYC

October 1, 2014, NEW YORK—New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio today unveiled Digital.NYC, a first-of-its-kind online platform that will serve as a centralized hub for the City’s tech ecosystem, providing information and resources to help turn ideas into businesses, deliver valuable tools for digital startups, and connect New Yorkers to opportunities in the City’s tech ecosystem. Digital.NYC offers a pioneering search portal and database with profiles of virtually every city-based tech company and investor; a continuously updated list of tech and digital job openings, a citywide tech event and class calendar; an interactive map of tech companies, startup resources across the boroughs; and additional features that combine to create a comprehensive one-stop shop for everything startup-related in New York City.

From venture capitalists looking for new start-ups in which they can invest to newly graduated students seeking job opportunities in the City’s digital economy, Digital.NYC will make New York’s tech ecosystem more accessible to all New Yorkers and will provide a platform for all players – investors, startups, community-based organizations and job seekers – to engage. More than a dozen New York City-based tech and civic organizations joined with the City, led by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), to create Digital.NYC. Built by New York-based Gust on Bluemix, IBM’s new cloud development technology, it is one of the first web platforms to take advantage of the new dot-NYC top-level Internet domain, exclusively reserved for New York City residents and businesses.

“Technology is driving innovation across New York City’s industries – from fashion to finance to manufacturing, making it more necessary than ever for the City’s digital community to have a central platform,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are proud to launch Digital.NYC, a ground-breaking resource that will seamlessly connect members of the City’s tech hub to training, jobs, and funding and make our city’s digital economy accessible to all New Yorkers.”

“Digital.NYC will have a tangible impact on the City’s economic growth, connecting companies to resources and introducing more New Yorkers than ever to opportunity in the tech ecosystem,” said Kyle Kimball, President of NYCEDC. “By bringing together the latest news and information about the companies, jobs, classes, events, financing, and workspaces that power New York’s burgeoning startup community, we are showcasing the diverse elements of the fastest growing digital and tech center in the world. We’re proud that engagement between the public and private sectors has resulted in this remarkable innovation.”

“IBM is proud to have a strong partnership with the City of New York, and we are especially honored to help NYC power its digital economy with IBM Cloud and Bluemix,” said Robert LeBlanc, Senior Vice President, Software and Cloud Solutions at IBM. “Adding to New York’s status as the media and financial center of the world, Digital.NYC is designed to bring the city’s dynamic and creative business culture into the cloud, and will help to unleash new innovations which will solidify New York’s status as one of the world’s greatest technology hubs.”

“Digital.NYC is a remarkable example of the power of public-private partnerships. It was inspired and directed by the City, sponsored and hosted by IBM, designed and built by Gust utilizing data and technologies from a dozen innovative New York companies,” said David S. Rose, CEO of Gust. “It is an unprecedented resource for an early-stage ecosystem, empowering every member of the community to explore and engage with the wealth of startup resources and information that have made New York City the world’s fastest growing digital hub.”

Digital.NYC will bring together detailed information about more than 6,000 New York City-based tech and digital companies by providing immediate access to:

• A unified search portal and database with profiles of virtually every New York City tech company and investor;
• Continuous updates of early-stage tech and digital job openings and classes in New York City;
• A directory of tools, services and support needed to transform an idea into a business in New York City, including workspaces, startup funding sources, venture accelerators, connections to developers and business professionals, and guidance from investors and tech leaders;
• A comprehensive, interactive, event calendar for the New York City startup community;
• Up-to-the-minute news stories, videos and blogs about New York City’s tech and digital economy.

Digital.NYC builds on the City’s original Made in New York Digital Map, created in 2012 by Internet Week New York, and the City’s We Are Made in NY™ campaign, launched in 2013. Earlier this year, NYCEDC convened a series of roundtables with key tech companies, community-based organizations, business improvement districts and other stakeholders to solicit feedback on how the site can best serve its users and New Yorkers in general. The site’s development, which was led by Gust, integrates data, applications and content from leading New York high-tech firms including CourseHorse, WayWire.com, The Muse, Uncubed, AlleyWatch, General Assembly, Flatiron School, Meetup.com and the New York Daily News. The site will be maintained on an ongoing basis by Gust, and optimized for mobile use within 60 days.

“Brooklyn has been revitalized and reinvigorated by the entrepreneurs of the digital age. Companies like Etsy, Huge, Kickstarter and MakerBot, which have generated thousands of quality jobs and millions of dollars in economic impact, are but a snapshot of the success stories our borough has helped to write. Just as the tech world is helping to spur innovation in the public sector, exploring solutions to a range of our civic challenges, Digital.NYC promises to be a powerful tool for our City to spur continued growth and opportunity for startups, developers and other tech players. I applaud Mayor de Blasio for his commitment to our digital economy, and I look forward to seeing the expansion of this sector’s growth, with increased investments in education and infrastructure, throughout our borough,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

“New York City tech has a new address, and that address is Digital.nyc, a one-stop shop for civic hackers, businesses and big data. As Silicon Alley goes head to head with Silicon Valley, one advantage is a tech-savvy city that respects and promotes business and open data,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “I applaud Mayor Bill de Blasio for making technology a central priority and for promoting innovation through this one-of-a-kind platform.”

“In 2012, Internet Week partnered with the City to launch the Made In NY Digital Map to track the growth of the industry. Today, we are delighted to take that map to the next level, joining with the City, IBM and our many partners in the New York digital ecosystem to unveil Digital.NYC,” said Allison Arden, Managing Director, Internet Week New York.

“One of New York City’s great strengths is the diversity of its economy – finance, real estate, media & entertainment, retail, fashion, health care, education, and now tech. And the reason tech is growing so fast in the City is that it is embedding itself in all of these other industries,” said Fred Wilson, Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures. “If you want to work in tech, build a new company using tech, and be part of a vibrant tech community, New York City is one of the best places in the world to do all of those things, and Digital.NYC will be the central access point to the entire New York City tech ecosystem.”

“New York City is home to some of the greatest makers in the world,” said Bre Pettis, Founder, MakerBot. “They are here to get stuff done, creating new businesses, products, and communities in the process. The Mayor’s support of Digital.NYC and the resources it provides only facilitates our culture of creation.”

“New York City has proven to be a great place to start and build technology companies. Digital.NYC will be a valuable resource for venture capital and other early stage investors to learn about innovative new startups in New York’s vibrant startup community,” said Bob Greene, co-managing partner of Contour Venture Partners and President of the New York Venture Capital Association. “NYVCA is proud to have contributed to the development of this unique platform—a perfect showcase for the innovation that makes New York City such an exciting place to invest.”

For more information, visit http://www.digital.nyc/pages/mediaroom.