NYCEDC Unveils Selection of 75 Early-Stage Startups to Participate in Fourth Cohort of the Founder Fellowship

Five Program Operators Will Run Accelerator Program, With Nearly $1 Million in Funding and $375,000 in OpenAI Credits Committed Across Tech Startup Participants

Since Launching in 2022, the Program Has Supported More Than 250 New York City-Based Entrepreneurs Across 168 Startups Raising Over $22 Million During the Program to Scale Their Impact

NEW YORK, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced the selection of 75 early-stage startups, comprising of 119 founders and co-founders from across New York City, to participate in the fourth installment of the Founder Fellowship program. Since its launch in 2022, the program has empowered entrepreneurs and accelerated their business growth in New York City and beyond, by expanding their access to industry connections, venture capital and grant funding, mentorship, business development, and other opportunities necessary to build and scale their innovative enterprises.

Following three successful cohorts in  2022, 2023, and 2024, this year NYCEDC's investment in the Founder Fellowship is resulting in nearly $1 million in capital commitments from its private sector partners, which will be invested across select startups in the 2025 program.

“Since its launch in 2022, the Founder Fellowship program has been instrumental in driving the equitable growth of NYC's tech startup ecosystem, while generating enormous economic impact throughout the five boroughs,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “NYCEDC is proud to continue this important work with a new class of 75 exceptional early-stage startups, working with our cohort partners to help this diverse community of founders access funding opportunities, industry networks, and other resources to scale their enterprises across New York City and beyond.”

“The Founder Fellowship is a powerful catalyst for New York City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, equipping early-stage startups—especially those led by women, BIPOC, and underrepresented founders—with the resources, mentorship, and funding needed to scale their innovations,” said New York City Councilmember and Majority Leader Amanda Farías. “By investing in programs like this, we’re driving groundbreaking advancements in AI, healthcare, and climate tech and ensuring that diverse communities have a seat at the table in shaping the future of our economy. I commend NYCEDC and its partners for their unwavering commitment to empowering the next generation of visionary entrepreneurs.”

“The Founder Fellowship continues to demonstrate the power of investing in our own people to tackle the critical challenges facing our city,” said Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, Chair of the Committee on Technology. “From water reuse systems that push the boundaries of sustainability to advancements in maternal health, these are the kinds of solutions we need to be supporting. Consistency in investment is key—programs like this ensure that innovation stays rooted in NYC and directly benefits New Yorkers. I am excited we are continuing to back the local entrepreneurs solving our city’s most pressing problems.”

View the full list of the 2025 Founder Fellows.

NYCEDC is partnering with five program operators to serve the 75 startups selected to this year’s Founder Fellowship, each providing unique value and offerings to their respective cohorts of 15 founder teams:

• Chloe Capital, a venture capital firm investing with a gender and diversity lens in climate, health, and workforce innovations.
• Company Ventures, a NYC-based seed-stage venture firm offering a zero equity, mentor-led program designed to help founders fundraise more successfully.
• Gold House Ventures, which equips entrepreneurs with critical capital, tools, and connections through its venture fund, accelerator, and global membership of creative and business leaders.
• Newlab, a global venture platform for critical technology startups that are building our sustainable future, focused on lowering barriers for startups to commercialize faster.
• Visible Hands, a venture capital firm that holistically supports early-stage, underrepresented founders in building high-growth startups.

Fellow teams will also have access to benefits from NYCEDC’s startup ecosystem partners, including OpenAI, which will provide $5,000 in Application Programming Interface (API) credits to each participating team, and the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, which will offer transactional legal support to select teams with social impact solutions.

Founder Fellowship participants bolster New York City’s innovation industries, including tech and artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare and life sciences, and the climate and green economy. Among the 2025 Fellow teams, nearly 75 percent are using AI and machine learning technology to advance their innovations, 35 percent are in the green economy and climate industries, 32 percent are in the healthcare and life sciences industries, and 21 percent are in the education and workforce development sectors.

The 2025 Founder Fellows will join a diverse alumni network of more than 250 founders and co-founders across 168 tech startups, selected from more than 1,400 applications. During their Fellowship cohorts, Fellow teams collectively hired more than 100 new employees, raised more than $22 million, and increased their combined company valuation by at least $161 million. Approximately 80 percent of teams have BIPOC founders, nearly two-thirds have female founders, and 15 percent have LGBT+ founders.

Some recent achievements of alumni Founder Fellows include:

• Afterlife Ag won the $100k Grand Prize at the Earthshot Innovation Challenge recognizing sustainable innovations, and received an investment from Venture Access Alliance member firm Waterpoint Lane.
• Cycleau launched a groundbreaking pilot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, installing a potable water reuse system and marking the first time greywater is recycled to drinking water in a NYC building.
• Fram Energy won the $500k Solar Prize from the US Department of Energy, and was featured in Forbes’ list of five environmental startups leading the way in 2025.
• MyLÚA Health won a $300k prize in the National Institutes of Health's RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge.

“We’re thrilled to support the newly selected Founder Fellowship cohort—a dynamic group of leaders whose diverse perspectives and successes reflect the very best of New York City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Building on our multi-year Operator partnership with NYCEDC, we are confident that this year’s Fellows will drive meaningful economic growth, scale new opportunities, and further cement the city’s status as a hub for innovation,” said Myneco Ramirez, Partner at Chloe Capital.

“At Company Ventures, we believe that great founders emerge from all backgrounds and we’re proud to welcome the latest cohort of the (Boost) Founder Fellowship,” said Company Ventures CEO and Managing Partner Matt Harrigan. “Our continued partnership with NYCEDC allows us to provide the mentorship, resources, and community that help founders turn vision into reality. We look forward to supporting their journeys and the companies they’re building.”

“Gold House Ventures is thrilled to build on its accelerator track record since 2020 and debut its inaugural Founder Fellowship in New York City's vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’re excited to partner with our selected founders in an immersive 14-week program including masterclasses to turbocharge brand equity, product market fit, and human capital; 1:1 advising by multi-proven founders and operators; and strategic networking with Gold House’s roster of top multicultural creatives, executives, and venture capitalists,” said Head of Ventures Platform at Gold House Ventures Oscar Wong.

“Newlab is incredibly proud to host another year of the Founder Fellowship, alongside our partners NYCEDC and Bank of America. Since this program began as a pilot three years ago, we have had the privilege of welcoming more than 50 founder teams into the Fellowship, each of whom is applying their talent, creativity, and perseverance to build companies that deliver impact on a global scale. Now in year four, we are more excited than ever to support 15 new startups as they grow and scale their technologies. Their work is nothing short of inspiring. Newlab is honored to be their partner throughout this Fellowship program and beyond,” said Newlab Founder Fellowship Program Director Jack Fritzinger.

“New York City is home to some of the most innovative and ambitious individuals, yet many struggle to access the networks and resources needed to build and scale their companies,” said Justin Kang, Co-Founder and General Partner at Visible Hands.“That’s why we’re excited to partner once again with NYCEDC, an organization committed to driving inclusive economic growth across the city. Together, through VHNYC, we’re working to close these gaps and empower the next wave of diverse entrepreneurs building transformative companies that will shape the future of our economy.”

New York City is ranked as the second largest tech and venture capital ecosystem in the world and is home to over 25,000 tech-enabled startups and 1,200 active venture capital firms. The city’s tech ecosystem employs more than 360,000 people, having grown by over 30 percent in the last decade.

In January 2025, the City released “New York City’s Artificial Intelligence Advantage: Driving Economic Growth and Technological Transformation,” a first-of-its-kind report that outlines a roadmap series of findings, recommendations, and actions to secure New York City’s position as the premier Applied AI capital of the world.

A key commitment of the plan includes a $3 million investment from NYCEDC to establish a first-of-its-kind “NYC AI Nexus,” a transformative initiative designed to facilitate collaborations between New York City-based startups and founders with local businesses to identify, build, and ultimately adopt Applied AI solutions to ensure the continued competitiveness of the city’s diverse set of industries.

Additionally, NYCEDC announced a partnership with OpenAI, which recently established its first east coast office at the historic Puck Building in Manhattan. Through this partnership, OpenAI will support several programs, including the Founder Fellowship and the NYC AI Nexus, and serve on the AI Advisory Council.

About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.