When COVID-19 hit New York, every industry, tech not excepted, was thrown into a whirlwind of uncertainty. But looking at the city’s tech sector today, it is bigger, faster, and more valuable than before. Tech’s inherent innovation and adaptability, combined with New York’s hard-earned resiliency, lifted the sector through the pandemic and to new levels. It’s why our city remains home to the #2 tech hub in the world.

We built Tech:NYC to represent every company that makes up our incredible tech sector, regardless of where they are in their growth cycle. So while our membership roster includes many big name companies, we believe what makes our community unique is the 700+ startups that are committed to New York as the place to build and grow.

The Companies to Watch series is a way to celebrate those startups, and since we launched it in 2017, CTW now counts more than 170 alumni companies — some which were founded even more recently than the pandemic began.

To mark another successful — albeit very different — year of CTW, we’ve compiled key insights into how New York founders navigated the pandemic. Together, they illustrate why the NYC tech ecosystem is as strong, if not stronger, than ever — and how it will lead our city’s recovery and future.

MANY OF OF OUR COMPANIES TO WAtch continued to have big wins, despite the challenges of the past year.

Here are some exciting updates that have happened in the time since:

• Thirty Madison (CTW January 2020) raised both a $47MM Series B and a $140MM  Series C round, cementing its status as a unicorn.

• Other healthtech startups also experienced notable growth: Norbert Health (CTW October 2020) raised its $5MM seed round; Juno Medical (CTW December 2020) raised its $5.5MM seed round; Elektra Health (CTW January 2020) raised its $3.7MM seed round; and Aidoc (CTW December 2020) raised its $66MM Series C.

• BlocPower (CTW February 2020) raised a $63MM Series A to expand its city energy projects nationwide.

• Realm (CTW March 2021), just five months after closing their seed round, raised a $12MM Series A. The term sheet came just 48 hours after meeting with what became its investor.

Outside of raising new capital, they’ve also announced creative partnerships to grow their impact:

• Oonee (CTW February 2021), a bike and micromobility infrastructure startup, announced new partnerships with NYC and Jersey City to create 1,500 new secure bicycle parking spaces.

• Goalsetter (CTW February 2021), a financial wellness app, is working with NBA star Chris Paul to open one million savings accounts for Black and brown kids.

• Praxis Labs (CTW March 2021) has expanded its virtual reality-based DEI training platform and is now being used by Google, Amazon, Target, and other major employers.

• Lunchbox (CTW August 2020) launched Help Main Street, a new tool developed over a weekend to connect hundreds of thousands of restaurants and other small businesses to cash supporting throughout the pandemic.

It’s no secret that launching a startup in New York City takes real guts. Here’s some of our favorite Companies to Watch founders on how they did it, in their own words:

Are you a New York founder that would like to be included in future Companies to Watch features? We’d love to hear your story.

Attributions: Health by Alzam from the Noun Project; trees by Design Circle from the Noun Project; Money by Guilherme Furtado from the Noun Project