AI in NYC

NYC: The Applied AI Capital of the World

New York City is a clear leader when it comes to the opportunities and applications for artificial intelligence (AI). Its unparalleled diversity of industries presents NYC with a clear path to realize the promise and opportunities of AI. With a $2 trillion gross metropolitan product, the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation, and global leadership across finance, healthcare, real estate, media, fashion, and more, NYC offers unrivaled opportunities for AI application and innovation. Coupled with NYC’s thriving startup ecosystem of over 25,000 tech-enabled startups, including over 2,000 AI startups; NYC’s roots as a financial capital with over 1,200 active venture capital (“VC”) firms; and the nation’s largest academic ecosystem serving as an epicenter for AI talent, NYC’s thriving tech ecosystem is set apart from most.

As AI catalyzes innovations across all industries, NYC will lead in Applied AI—the application of AI to solve problems in various domains, from media to retail, professional services, digital health and healthcare, real estate, finance, and everything in between. Applied AI enables organizations to address specific problems by leveraging AI tools and techniques directly within their operations, creating industry-specific solutions that enhance products, services, and customer experiences.

AI Priorities for NYCEDC and the City

In January 2025, NYCEDC published NYC’s Artificial Intelligence Advantage: Driving Economic Growth and Technological Transformation. The report is a first-of-its-kind study and action plan that outlines the City of New York’s and NYCEDC’s strategy to secure and expand the city’s position as the global leader for Applied AI. The report highlights three strategic goals:

1. Advance New York City’s position as the global leader in Applied AI
2. Foster new business creation and partnerships to build a dynamic and prosperous AI ecosystem
3. Develop a diverse AI-ready workforce to power the future of the economy

AI’s Home in NYC

Academia + Research

Established in 2012 with support from NYCEDC, the Data Science Institute at Columbia University has been advancing state-of-the-art data science and the responsible use of data to benefit society. Over 1,290 students have graduated with an MS in Data Science from the program with a 95 percent job or internship placement rate within three months of graduation. Additionally, NYCEDC facilitated the creation of Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, where additional STEM talent has been developed in NYC while also housing award-winning researchers who are driving discoveries in new AI theories, methods, and applications. Cornell Tech has since spun out over 100 startups with a combined total valuation of $695 million; 94 percent of the spinouts are headquartered in New York City.

In May 2024, NYU announced the Global AI Frontier Lab in partnership with the Republic of Korea and KAIST to establish a major AI research center. NYU has also been home to the Center for Responsible AI since 2020 focused on accelerating responsible AI practices.

Announced in January 2024 and commencing research in fall 2024, Empire AI is a first-in-the-nation consortium to advance AI research for the public good. This $400 million public-private initiative will make New York a national artificial intelligence leader through the creation of a groundbreaking computational facility, where university researchers from CUNY, SUNY, NYU, Columbia, Cornell Tech, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute can collaborate—bringing together AI researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and others to allow for greater efficiencies of scale through shared compute power.

Community

On the ecosystem front, Data Driven NYC, founded in 2011 and run by FirstMark Capital, is the world’s largest Big Data & AI community at over 20,000 members strong. Additionally, having completed its ninth year, the AI Summit has served as a hub for both the industry and practitioners showcasing tech leaders and the application of AI for commercialization use cases.

Government

NYC is a place where AI can also be put to work. The City of New York issued the first-of-its-kind AI Action Plan in October 2023. Released by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (NYC OTI), this plan creates a blueprint for responsible AI use and identifies the opportunity for AI to improve services and processes across government. In the first year of the AI Action Plan being released, NYC OTI initiated and/or completed 30 of the plan’s proposed actions, and laid out the steps they will take in the second year to initiate and/or complete the remaining actions.

In addition, NYC Media Lab, built in partnership with NYCEDC and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), is dedicated to driving innovation and job growth in media and technology. Their programs and events have long supported AI innovation from running an AI and the Business of Music Challenge with ASCAP Lab exploring AI solutions transforming the music industry, to events and challenges around the creative industries and AI.

Tech in NYC

Over the last decade, a revolution in NYC’s tech sector has turned the city into the number two tech ecosystem in the world. Tech companies want to be in NYC for the access to diverse and highly educated talent, to capital, and to consumers and customers.