“ The international community is vital to the growth of the city’ s tech ecosystem”
I-4
INTERNATIONAL DAY
Tech and the City
An interview with Gianluca Galletto, Director of International Affairs, NYCEDC
Why does tech matter in the city?
Technology is disrupting every traditional sector across the world---from manufacturing to media, fashion, and education. In New York City, we’ re working to make sure that every part of our economy can benefit from that disruption.
After the recession, we asked what we can do to diversify the city’ s economy away from its reliance on the finance and insurance industries.
So we developed the Applied Sciences Initiative, a series of university partnerships that will encourage business ecosystems related to urban innovation, data sciences, integrated media, bio-technology, and digital technology. The Applied Sciences Initiative will double the number of engineering grads in the city and create more than 48,000 jobs, with an economic impact of $ 33 billion in less than a generation.
What’ s the outlook for tech in the city?
The Applied Sciences Initiative, or AppSci, served as an anchor institution to New York’ s tech scene and demonstrated the City’ s commitment to the industry. The talent and innovation have followed. We have become the fastest growing tech ecosystem in the entire world. Nearly 300,000 New Yorkers work in the tech economy, with employment growing faster---7.6 % per year---than any other sector. We’ ve seen over 4 billion dollars of venture capital flowing into the New York City area over the last year alone, contributing to what’ s already a $ 156 billion tech economy.
Where are the gaps in the NYC tech industry?
There are two major challenges we face in New York’ s tech ecosystem.
The first challenge is to make sure that all sectors of the economy are strengthened by technology---to make New York City the capital of“ hyphen-tech”: media-tech, health-tech, finance-tech, and so forth. One example is manufacturing. Throughout Europe and North America, manufacturing jobs have seen a major decline because of technology. But with growing public sector support, New York City is seeing a renaissance of advanced manufacturing techniques, bolstered by a new generation of technologies like 3D printing and the use of networks and sensors for production. As one European entrepreneur said, New York City is becoming the“ hardware capital of the world.” But we need to make sure that tech de-
“ The international community is vital to the growth of the city’ s tech ecosystem”
livers on its full promise in every sector.
The second, and maybe more important piece is to make sure that tech is reaching all New Yorkers in all five boroughs, regardless of their background or skill level. Tech is particularly promising in this space, since anyone with an internet connection can theoretically teach themselves to code and innovate. But we are working to make sure that all New Yorkers, particularly those from underserved communities, are prepared for 21st century jobs and have access to the resources and career pipelines that get them there.
How can international companies fill these gaps, and what do they have to offer NYC?
The international community is vital to the growth of the city’ s tech ecosystem. First off, the Applied Sciences Initiative is anchored by the Cornell-Technion Campus at Roosevelt Island, which is itself a global partnership between Cornell University and Tel Aviv’ s Technion Institute of Technology.
But as we look to diversify into new areas of tech-enabled innovation, business partnerships with international companies will be how New York City’ s tech ecosystem---and tech innovation worldwide---will
9 / 15 @ 1:45 pm: Cities and Investment
Gianluca Galletto joins other city leaders in a panel discussion on“ Promoting Innovation and Ensuring an Equal Playing Field: The Search for the Right Balance in the Sharing Economy.”
grow. We have advanced manufacturing companies from Holland setting up shop in Brooklyn, Danish companies developing resiliency tech in the Urban Future Lab. And the more of those collaborations that we nurture, where international companies set up shop throughout the five boroughs, cross-pollinate their ideas in one of the most innovative markets in the world, and hire talented New Yorkers of all backgrounds in career-building jobs, the closer we come to filling those gaps.
How does NYC position itself internationally within the global tech ecosystem?
There are many reasons that New York City is called the capital of the world, and tech is one more.
First, NYC is international friendly: New York is truly a city of immigrants, expats, and internationals, with 43 % of our workforce having been born outside of the United States and almost 800 languages spoken on our streets.
Second, we’ ve got large markets: The city provides a ready market of 8 million customers in the city limits, and more than 25 million in the metro area. Industries such as advertising, fashion, financial services, and media are centered in NYC, which come with other new opportunities for business expansion. And from here, we’ re a gateway to the world, serving as a launching pad to make your business truly global.
Third, the vast amount of City resources available: New York City has a whole suite of programs and resources to help you to grow and thrive here – we encourage you to reach out to us if there’ s any way for us to be helpful to you as your companies plan their expansion into the city.
But the most important thing about being here in NYC is that, at the end of the day, when you’ re done coding and tinkering, you’ re in New York City, the most hip and happening part of the world. With access to people in different fields from all over the globe that can challenge you to think in new ways, New York City comfortably facilitates the kind of interactions that are at the heart of innovation.
Gianluca Galletto is Director of International Affairs at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. @ ggalletto
The Tep Times
Produced by: New York International 460 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10016 @ NY _ Intl
Editor | Samantha Anthony Program Director | Frank Hauser Designers | Oscar Polanco, Mindy Witte Copy-editor | Ashley Clark
I-4