Presented by NYCEDC, Supermomos, Everywhere Ventures, and CUNY IAR
New York City’s venture capital industry has experienced significant growth in recent years. From 2011 to 2023, VC firms invested nearly $210 billion into NYC startups, equal to the combined amounts of London, Singapore, and Hong Kong during the same period.
Despite this immense growth, the deployment of capital has not been equitable. Only 2.1 percent of VC dollars go to all‑women founding teams, under two percent to startups with Latinx founders, and less than one percent to startups with Black founders.
Additionally, opportunities in the VC world remain out of reach for many New Yorkers. National Pitchbook and Crunchbase data estimates that less than 18 percent of VC investment professionals are women, five percent are Latinx, and 1.2 percent are Black.
As part of our efforts to address such inequities in the venture capital ecosystem, NYCEDC launched the NYC Venture Capital Internship Program, which aims to create a more equitable and representative talent pipeline into the venture capital industry.
Program Overview
The NYC VC Internship Program connects NYC-based venture capital firms with pre-screened and pre-trained students from CUNY and other NYC schools for paid 10-week summer work experiences. After interns complete a paid, pre-internship training week that provides a primer on the VC and tech-investing world, participating NYC firms host students for nine paid weeks and can extend the internship or hire students for contract, part-time, or full-time work at the conclusion of the program.
VC firms hosting interns gain:
- Additional operational capacity in core areas like market research, deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio support, and fundraising
- Access to the next generation of talented and diverse VC leaders
VC hosts must be headquartered in NYC or have partner-level presence in NYC, with one or more investments in tech or tech-enabled startups in the past year and can range in fund size and investment verticals.
Participating students receive:
- Full-time paid internships that are relevant to their fields of study and career goals (finance, business administration, entrepreneurship, and STEM)
- Professional development, mentorship, and networking experiences
Apply to Host Interns: Foster equitable opportunity while adding operational capacity for your firm.
Apply to Mentor Interns: Guide and inspire students breaking into VC.
Apply to Be an Intern: Be part of the next generation of venture capital leaders.
Year One (2025) Results
NYC students received paid internships
NYC VC firms hosted paid interns
CUNY student representation within 2025 cohort
Students continued work w/ host startup beyond conclusion of program
NYC students received paid internships
Students continued work w/ host startup beyond conclusion of program
NYC VC firms hosted paid interns
CUNY student representation within 2025 cohort
Driving Equity in Tech and VC
The NYC VC Internship Program is part of NYCEDC’s Venture for NYC (formerly known as Venture Access NYC) initiative, a suite of bold programs designed to make NYC the world’s leading and most inclusive innovation ecosystem. The initiative connects diverse founders and funders with the capital, networks, and resources they need to launch, grow, and thrive in NYC.
Opportunity for Equity
Degrees awarded by CUNY each year
Household income for 50 percent of CUNY students
Number of active NYC-based investment firms
Capital invested by VC firms in NYC startups in 2023, up from $1 billion in 2009
Number of active NYC-based investment firms
Degrees awarded by CUNY each year
Household income for 50 percent of CUNY students
Capital invested by VC firms in NYC startups in 2023, up from $1 billion in 2009
Video Transcript
00:02 [Music.] [A view of the New York City skyline with the Manhattan Bridge over the river. Text reads: “NYC Venture Capital Internship Program Powered by NYCEDC.”]
00:03 [Music.] [A view of the New York City skyline with the Manhattan Bridge over the river. Text reads: “Meet the Alumni: Gabriel Badillo.”]
00:05 [Gabriel Badillo / John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Computer Science / Interned at Everyday Ventures.] My name is Gabriel Badillo. I go to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and I study computer science. And I interned at Everywhere Ventures this summer as an automation intern. I was extremely surprised to see how organized and structured everything was. And on top of that, I didn't really have the VC experience until now. And I would say I'm very happy and content with my experience. A specific project that I worked on was updating portfolio company updates, and automating it. So, we got the inbound emails, and I created a process that basically updated the record in Airtable. So there was no manual work, and that made me feel very accomplished. You know, I'm helping the team save time and use that time to work on other things that matter.
00:53 [Music.] [A blurred audience faces a speaker in a modern room. Onscreen text reads: “Meet the Alumni: Nazin Rahman.” Two presentation slides are visible in the background.]
00:56 [Nazin Rahman / Baruch College, UX Design / Interned at Divergent Capital.] My name is Nazin Rahman. I went to Baruch College. I graduated in May 2025. I interned at Divergent Capital as their venture analyst intern. Being at Divergent really taught me that I love working at VC firms. I think the number one thing that was really impactful was being on first calls with different companies. I used to be on first calls maybe three, four times a day with like three different types of companies. One could be an AI company, one could be a clothing company, and one could be a company that has to do with agriculture. So, we're Divergent, so we actually invest in like all different types of companies. Being at an early stage VC helped me to understand that I have to wear multiple hats, whether it's client-facing roles like being on founders calls, market research, investment analysis, or managing portfolio on an Airtable, or even like making a one-pager. It helps you kind of understand where you belong in terms of like align with your job. I would highly recommend the VC internship to any college students, because they'll help you develop multiple skill sets that will prepare you for the real world.
Alumni Profiles
Contact Our Team
Learn more about NYCEDC’s initiatives to enrich New York City’s tech ecosystem.
Learn more about NYCEDC’s initiatives to build an inclusive tech workforce.
Want to host interns, provide mentorship, or offer other professional development?
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