NYC Seed
NYC Seed is a New York City-based seed venture capital firm founded in 2008 that invests up to $200,000 in early-stage software and web-technology startups headquartered in NYC, structured as a partnership between ITAC, the NYC Investment Fund, NYSTAR, and NYU Tandon.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NYC Seed does
NYC Seed is a New York City-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2008 that invests up to $200,000 in early-stage software and web-technology companies headquartered in New York City. The fund is structured not as a standalone corporation but as a partnership among four anchor institutions: ITAC (a nonprofit consulting and training organization), the Partnership for New York City Fund (also referenced as the New York City Investment Fund), NYSTAR (the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation), and the Polytechnic Institute of NYU (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering). Portfolio companies must be small teams with at least one technical founder and a majority of team members based in NYC; non-local founders must relocate upon selection.
The core offering consists of capital plus non-financial services: mentoring from a roster of operators and investors drawn from firms including Union Square Ventures, Firstmark Capital, Rho Capital, Softbank Capital, RRE Ventures, DFJ Gotham, and Hearst Interactive Media, alongside programmatic components such as SeedMatch (a founder/engineer matching service) and SeedStart (an annual demo day for portfolio companies). NYC Seed does not provide follow-on financing but connects funded companies to its broader investor and partner network. The application process is sales-led and direct: founders apply via email with an executive summary and pitch deck to [email protected] (also referenced as [email protected]), finalists are interviewed in detail, and decisions are made by an Investment Committee including Maria Gotsch (NYC Investment Fund), Joshua Grotstein (Silicon Alley Seed Investors), Richard Fishbein (Cortec Group), Sunil Hirani (Creditex) and others.
The disclosed portfolio includes 25+ companies spanning consumer marketplaces, advertising tech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise software — notably Magnetic, Datadog, SeatGeek, Ticketfly, HowAboutWe, Contently, Zeel, and Zipmark. The fund earns returns through equity stakes in portfolio companies rather than operating revenue; reported exits in the supplied data include PlaceVine's acquisition by AlphaBird and Visual Revenue's acquisition by Outbrain. The firm operates from Six MetroTech Center in Brooklyn, NY with meetings held at a secondary Manhattan office at 137 Varick Street.
NYC Seed firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NYC Seed
- Legal name
- NYC Seed
- Website
- https://nycseed.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NYC Seed is a New York City-based seed venture capital firm founded in 2008 that invests up to $200,000 in early-stage software and web-technology startups headquartered in NYC, structured as a partnership between ITAC, the NYC Investment Fund, NYSTAR, and NYU Tandon.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NYC Seed industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Seed-Stage Venture Capital
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Emerging Managers / Seeding Platforms (FSAHAKAI), Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF), Venture Capital Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAC)
Keywords
Where NYC Seed is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
NYC Seed business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Seed Investment Returns: NYC Seed generates returns by providing seed funding to early-stage technology startups. They invest up to $200,000 in exchange for equity, with the goal of helping companies reach their next funding round. They do not provide follow-on financing but help companies secure next round through their network of investors and partners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Seed funding up to $200,000 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
NYC Seed product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NYC Seed is a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests up to $200,000 in early-stage software and web technology companies headquartered in New York City. Beyond capital, it provides mentorship from notable entrepreneurs and technologists, introductions to follow-on investors and initial customers, and operates complementary programs (NYC SeedStart demo day and SeedMatch co-founder matching).
Product overview
NYC Seed is a seed-stage technology investment fund that provides funding, mentoring, and support to early-stage software and web technology entrepreneurs in New York City. The organization operates as a partnership between NYC's most innovative organizations including ITAC, Partnership for New York City Fund, NYSTAR, and Polytechnic Institute of NYU. NYC Seed's offering consists of its core investment program (providing up to $200,000 in seed funding), the NYC SeedStart accelerator program with demo day events, and the SeedMatch matching service for connecting entrepreneurs with engineers and co-founders. Funded companies gain access to guidance from notable entrepreneurs, technologists, and venture capitalists, as well as connections to potential initial customers and the broader NYC technology community.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- NYC SeedStart: Demo day program for NYC Seed portfolio companies
- SeedMatch
Products and services
- NYC Seed Investment Program Core seed funding program providing up to $200,000 in capital to early-stage software and web technology companies headquartered in NYC, combined with ongoing mentoring, guidance from notable entrepreneurs, and introductions to follow-on investors and initial customers.
- NYC SeedStart Accelerator program that culminates in an annual demo day event where NYC Seed portfolio companies present their products to investors and the NYC startup community.
- SeedMatch Online matching service connecting entrepreneurs, engineers, and the NYC startup community, enabling users to post profiles and anonymously contact others to form startup teams.
Companies that use NYC Seed
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
NYC Seed technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
NYC Seed partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Polytechnic Institute of NYU (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering)coreFounded in 1854, second oldest private engineering school in the US. Provides access to research, talent, and technology transfer from academic institutions.
- NYU Stern School of BusinessminorPaul Horn serves as Distinguished Scientist and Stern Executive in Residence, contributing academic expertise to investment decisions.
- PeekminorAmol Sarva, CEO and founder, serves as mentor. Ph.D. from Stanford, former Virgin Mobile USA executive.
- Ogilvy EntertainmentminorDoug Scott, President, serves as mentor. 15+ years marketing experience with major brands.
- Mag Rack EntertainmentminorJoe Covey, CEO, serves as mentor. Former EIR at Milestone Venture Partners.
- Giant Realm, Inc.minorJames Green, CEO and serial entrepreneur, serves as mentor. Former VP Marketing at Pixar.
- AccentureminorKenneth Dircks co-leads NYC government practice, serves as mentor. Led NYC 3-1-1 implementation.
- Stratemerge Inc.minorLubna Dajani, founder & CEO, serves as mentor. Mobile and emerging technologies consultancy.
- Buddy Media, Inc.minorMichael Lazerow, Chairman and CEO, serves as mentor. Serial entrepreneur with multiple successful exits.
- LexisNexis GroupminorJoanna Stone Herman, former SVP Global Strategy, serves as mentor. Harvard MBA, MIT degrees.
- Merrill LynchminorSteve Jacobs leads High Performance Computing group, serves as mentor. Ph.D. from Columbia in EE.
- ThumbplayminorAre Traasdahl, founder and CEO, serves as mentor. Named Top Mobile Executive by Billboard magazine.
- Dow Jones & CompanyminorJennifer Stranzl, former VP Marketing, serves as mentor. MIT BS, Harvard MBA.
- Attendees.com / Teten AdvisorsminorDavid Teten, Acting CEO, serves as mentor. Author of The Virtual Handshake, Harvard MBA.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
NYC Seed competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lerer Hippeau: NYC-focused seed-stage venture capital firm investing in early-stage software and internet companies; directly comparable to NYC Seed in target market (NYC-headquartered startups), stage (seed), and sector focus (software/web).
- BoxGroup: NYC-based seed-stage venture fund investing in early-stage software and consumer internet startups; comparable to NYC Seed on geography (NYC), stage (seed), and check-size orientation, with a similarly lean partnership model.
- Techstars NYC: NYC-based seed accelerator providing early-stage funding, mentorship, and demo day programming; comparable to NYC Seed's NYC SeedStart program in providing accelerator-style support to early software/tech startups in NYC.
- Betaworks: NYC-based venture studio/seed investor focused on early-stage internet and software companies; shares NYC Seed's seed-stage, software/web sector focus and NYC geography, with a more concentrated studio approach.
- Dreamit Ventures: Seed-stage accelerator/venture firm running cohort-based programs with demo days for early-stage technology startups; structurally analogous to NYC Seed's accelerator-style model though historically more industry-vertical focused.
- Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA): NYC-based seed accelerator investing in early-stage software and tech startups with demo day programming; directly comparable to NYC Seed in geography, stage, and accelerator format, though with a more concentrated cohort approach.
Broad incumbents
- First Round Capital: Established seed-stage venture firm with a strong NYC presence and broad portfolio; overlaps with NYC Seed's seed-stage software mandate and NYC ecosystem focus but operates at meaningfully larger fund size and with follow-on capacity.
- Union Square Ventures: Established NYC-based venture capital firm with seed and early-stage activity in software and internet companies; overlaps with NYC Seed's geography and sector, but operates at significantly larger fund size and stages.
Regional players
- Contour Venture Partners: NYC-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology and technology-enabled services; overlaps with NYC Seed's NYC seed-stage software focus, with slightly larger check sizes and follow-on capacity.
Others
- NYC Investment Fund (Partnership for New York City Fund): Founding partner of NYC Seed and a civic-mission investment fund mobilizing NYC business leaders; comparable as an institutional NYC-focused capital allocator and ecosystem partner rather than as a direct seed investor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
NYC Seed social profiles
Digital presenceNYC Seed financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NYC Seed leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
NYC Seed funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NYC Seed M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments47 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NYC Seed
What does NYC Seed do?
NYC Seed is a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests up to $200,000 in early-stage software and web technology companies headquartered in New York City. Beyond capital, it provides mentorship from notable entrepreneurs and technologists, introductions to follow-on investors and initial customers, and operates complementary programs (NYC SeedStart demo day and SeedMatch co-founder matching).
Is NYC Seed a public or private company?
NYC Seed is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was NYC Seed founded?
NYC Seed was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NYC Seed based?
NYC Seed is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does NYC Seed make money?
One revenue line is on record: seed Investment Returns.
Who are NYC Seed's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lerer Hippeau, BoxGroup, Techstars NYC, Betaworks, Dreamit Ventures and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA). Broad incumbents are First Round Capital and Union Square Ventures. Contour Venture Partners is listed as a regional player. NYC Investment Fund (Partnership for New York City Fund) is listed as an others.
Does NYC Seed have an API?
No public API is recorded for NYC Seed.
What industry is NYC Seed in?
NYC Seed's product category is Seed-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSAHAKAI, Emerging Managers / Seeding Platforms. Its SIC code is 6282.