New York: A Tech Giant for the East Coast
The story of New York City’s technology scene has, in some ways, been one of unfulfilled potential. The economic power of the US’ largest city is vast. Its gross metro product represents 8.6% of the country’s GDP and 6.4% of its jobs, with Wall Street driving what is a financial and cultural powerhouse. Yet it has historically lagged well behind Silicon Valley in terms of the number of tech startups that sprout from the city’s high rises offices.
When Spotify announced the opening of a 100-strong office in the city in 2013, many expected New York to quickly become a tech capital. Six years on and New York is on track, with Executive Director of Tech:NYC, Julie Samuels, telling CNN Business that New York is fulfilling its potential and becoming “an international hub for technology.”
Both Amazon and Google are reportedly planning huge expansions into the city, bringing with them thousands of employees and a commitment to New York as a tech hub. Planning to launch in Queens and Manhattan respectively, Amazon and Google represent the trickle of tech companies targeting New York becoming a river. Success stories are abundant, with the number of tech jobs in the city rising above the dot com boom peak in 2014 and hitting new records year on year, hitting 120,000 in 2015.
Blockchain to the Forefront
New York has a proud history of invention and innovation. The ATM and the pacemaker were invented in the city and Thomas Edison built the world’s first power plant in Manhattan — New York has embraced the future across its history. If it is going to kick on and further cement its place as an international tech leader, the city will need to embrace blockchain technology, with 84% of respondents to a PwC survey saying their businesses planned to invest $1 million or more into the technology in the coming years.
There are clear signs that New York is awake to the potential held by blockchain, with a number of different organisations championing blockchain as a core pillar of the next wave in tech development. One of them is the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), a non-profit with the stated mission of promoting economic growth in all areas of New York City. In a Medium post from last year, the organisation explained the potential it saw in blockchain’s rise, along with its partnership with CoinDesk to sponsor ‘Blockchain Week New York City’. The event ran in May last year (and will run again this year), featuring the first-ever Blockchain Job Fair, as well as taking an opportunity to demonstrate how fertile the city is to become a hub through presentations from leaders.
As with any city vying to become a key location for the development of tech, hype has to be backed up with investment capital. New York has this in abundance. Of the nine top venture capital firms investing in blockchain- and cryptocurrency-related projects, New York is home to three. In 2018, New York saw $500 million invested into blockchain startups, more than even that of the Bay Area. If blockchain is lining up to play a key role in the future of technology, New York is positioning itself to be a major influence in that.
Building the Infrastructure
Another project led by the NYCEDC is its Blockchain Center in Manhattan. The institution, which was built in partnership with Future/Perfect Ventures venture-capital fund and the Global Blockchain Business Council, opened in January, not long after digital coin prices tumbled and the industry had to face some difficult questions about the future of blockchain and its longevity. The chief strategy officer at the NYCEDC described the opening as part of a “long game”, ensuring that the organisation has a “seat at the table” in blockchain’s long-term development.
The huge, 4000-square-foot center is in the heart of New York’s Silicon Alley, its very own Silicon Valley equivalent which has become metonymic for its growing tech scene. The 12-story building, which features data aggregator Quavo Inc. and startup investor Palm Drive Capital LLC, will play host to all things blockchain development, from coding classes to public lectures for software developers. It’s not the first of its kind in New York, either. Bitcoin Center NYC — which, clearly, focuses more specifically on cryptocurrency — has been operational since 2013. It is self-funded, but is open daily and hosts regular events. Blockchain Center is far more ambitious a project, though, and could provide a central hub around which New York’s blockchain scene can orbit.
Big Name Buy-In
The entry of Google and Amazon into New York’s tech scene is part of a wider movement in the city. Companies like IBM, R3 and Coinbase Inc. — three of the largest blockchain employers in the world — are also expanding their positions in New York. Blockchain-related job postings, as reported by Bloomberg, totalled over 2,200 in 2017, up 80% from the year before. Where at a lot of cities will see community growth before confident, big name buy-in takes place, New York is being given an adrenaline shot of interest from major organisations because all the ingredients are there for the city to boom.
It’s also important not to overlook the importance of culture and vibrancy in creating new hubs for any kind of technology or business. Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to live in New York? The city will be attractive to the wave of young developers set to graduate in the coming years, so long as a thriving scene can develop. People will often flock to technology hubs because they offer opportunities some cities don’t — people will flock to New York because it is New York.
Just one look at the number of blockchain events happening in New York in any given week — often more than one a day — and the interest in the city becomes clear. Just how many blockchain-related jobs the likes of Google and Amazon create remains to be seen, but the trajectory has been one of vast growth in a short space of time. New York has the magical combination of wealth, cultural power, commitment to invention and population size that will ultimately see it become a key blockchain power within the near future. Europe has the credentials to claim it is a leader in blockchain-related developments at present, but New York will put that claim to the test.
Primalbase NYC is the latest addition to New York’s tech scene. Nestled into lower Manhattan, this space will bring our unique brand of coworking to the city — tokenised to provide cost-effective and flexible hot desks and private office to technology startups of all sizes. For updates about opening dates and future locations, follow the Primalbase Medium page.
