Julie Samuels, Executive Director

Tech:NYC and several of our members visited the New York State Capitol on Tuesday to talk to policymakers during our first edition of the Albany Policy Labs. Our members Warby Parker, Shutterstock, Simple Contacts, Carmera, Pliant Energy Systems, and NYU Tandon Future Labs all joined the event to better get to know their state representatives and amplify the voice of New York tech companies.

We started the Policy Labs series to help introduce policymakers to emerging technologies. Our first Policy Labs event featured our board member Serkan Piantino discussing the important topics of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the future, we’ll be holding Policy Labs to educate folks about VR/AR, health technology, and more.

Our Albany Policy Labs event had a different approach, with our members setting up shop for a day in the New York Capitol Building. This gave us the chance to showcase some of the most cutting-edge technologies our members have to lawmakers in the New York Assembly and Senate and their staffs. Our companies showed off demos and discussed issues around telehealth, transportation, energy, media, and advanced manufacturing.

We had fantastic conversations with more than 20 Assembly Members, Senators, and New York State officials. Leaders we met with included NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, NYS Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Kristen Titus, Deputy Transportation Secretary Ali Chaudhry, Assemblyman Michael Blake, Senator Kemp Hannon, Senator Jamaal Bailey, Secretary to the Speaker for Intergovernmental Relations Joseph Garba, and many others. We greatly appreciated their time to discuss the tech landscape that’s quickly redefining New York.

We had a great time in Albany and can’t wait to return with more member technologies to show off. If you’d like to be involved, please get in touch!

Check out additional photos from our trip below.