10 Top New York Startups to Watch in 2025

New York City continues to cement its position as a global tech hub and startup powerhouse in 2025, with data revealing the first quarter of 2025 alone has seen an impressive $2.79 billion invested in 118 NYC-based startups, demonstrating the city’s enduring appeal to venture capitalists and angel investors. This vibrant ecosystem, built in NYC, showcases the city’s ability to nurture and support a diverse range of tech startups and startup companies.

This analysis identifies the most promising New York tech companies positioned for substantial growth in 2025, based on comprehensive funding data spanning from 2024 through early 2025. From climate tech and artificial intelligence to healthtech innovation and fintech, these companies represent the cutting edge of New York’s diverse startup ecosystem, solidifying the city’s status as a premier tech hub.

Top New York Startups

1. Chestnut Carbon

• Total Funding: $360 million
• Focus: Carbon Capture, CleanTech, Environmental Engineering, Forestry

Securing the largest NYC funding round of early 2025, Chestnut Carbon is revolutionizing carbon capture technology through innovative forestry management and environmental engineering. Their approach combines cutting-edge carbon sequestration techniques with sustainable forestry practices to effectively combat climate change.

As global carbon markets continue expanding (projected to reach $250 billion by 2030), Chestnut Carbon is well-positioned to capitalize on increasing corporate and governmental commitments to carbon neutrality. Their February 2025 funding round signals strong investor confidence in their solution’s scalability and impact potential.

2. ElevenLabs

• Total Funding: $281 million
• Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Content Creators, Developer APIs, Generative AI

ElevenLabs has emerged as a frontrunner in AI-powered voice synthesis, securing $281 million in funding. The company’s cutting-edge technology enables ultra-realistic voice cloning and text-to-speech capabilities that are revolutionizing content creation, accessibility solutions, and entertainment.

With the global speech and voice recognition market projected to reach $50 billion by 2029, ElevenLabs’ developer-friendly API approach has positioned them as the go-to solution for integrating advanced voice technology. Their platform is being adopted across industries from media production and gaming to accessibility services and customer experience applications.

3. Hidden Level

• Total Funding: $130.9 million
• Focus: Aerospace, National Security, Remote Sensing, Software

Hidden Level secured $130.9 million in funding to advance their airspace monitoring and security technology. The company develops sophisticated remote sensing systems that provide unprecedented awareness of low-altitude airspace, addressing critical security challenges in an era of increasing drone activity.

Their technology has significant applications in national security, critical infrastructure protection, and smart cities development. With the commercial drone market expected to reach $54.6 billion by 2030, Hidden Level’s solutions address the growing need for airspace security and management systems that can detect, track, and identify small unmanned aircraft.

4. Viam

• Total Funding: $117 million
• Focus: Machine Learning, Robotics, Software, Software Development

Securing $117 million in funding, Viam is simplifying robot development through their comprehensive software platform. Their solution enables developers to build and deploy sophisticated robotic applications without the traditional complexity associated with hardware integration and control systems.

As the global robotics market continues its rapid expansion (projected to reach $189 billion by 2027), Viam addresses a critical need for accessible robotics development tools. Their platform unifies control of diverse hardware components, accelerating innovation across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and consumer robotics.

5. Justpoint

• Total Funding: $103.6 million
• Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Health Care, Insurance, Legal Tech, Machine Learning

Justpoint raised $103.6 million in funding to expand their AI platform that bridges healthcare and legal services. Their technology uses machine learning to analyze medical malpractice cases, improving outcomes for patients while making the legal system more efficient and accessible.

Operating at the intersection of two massive industries—healthcare and legal services—Justpoint’s approach helps identify valid claims more accurately while reducing frivolous litigation. Their data-driven platform is transforming how medical negligence cases are evaluated, creating more equitable access to legal remedies while helping healthcare providers improve safety protocols.

6. Clay

• Total Funding: $102 million
• Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Developer Tools, Information Technology, Productivity Tools, Software

Clay secured $102 million in funding for their AI-enhanced relationship management platform. The company has developed sophisticated tools that help professionals maintain and leverage their networks more effectively, using artificial intelligence to surface relevant insights about contacts.

As business relationships increasingly determine professional success, Clay’s platform addresses the growing need for intelligent contact management beyond traditional CRMs. Their technology analyzes communication patterns, identifies relationship strengths, and provides contextual information that helps users maintain more meaningful professional connections.

7. Fundraise Up

• Total Funding: $82.1 million
• Focus: Artificial Intelligence, B2B, Enterprise Software, FinTech, Non Profit, Payments, Social Impact

Fundraise Up raised $82.1 million in funding to advance their AI-powered donation platform for nonprofits. Their technology optimizes the giving experience, helping charitable organizations significantly increase conversion rates and donation amounts through personalized donor journeys.

With global charitable giving exceeding $2.3 trillion annually, Fundraise Up’s platform addresses critical efficiency gaps in nonprofit fundraising. Their machine learning algorithms dynamically adjust donation forms, suggest appropriate giving levels, and streamline the payment process—innovations that have demonstrably increased donation conversion rates for their nonprofit clients.

8. Taktile

• Total Funding: $78.7 million
• Focus: Financial Services, FinTech, Insurance, Lending, Software

Taktile secured $78.7 million in funding for their no-code decision-making platform for financial services. Their technology enables financial institutions to build, test, and deploy complex decision flows without extensive engineering resources, accelerating innovation in lending, insurance, and payment processing.

As financial institutions face increasing pressure to modernize their technology stacks, Taktile addresses the critical need for agility without compromising compliance. Their platform allows risk and product teams to implement sophisticated decision logics and quickly adapt to changing market conditions or regulatory requirements.

9. Slingshot AI

• Total Funding: $70 million
• Focus: Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Data Services, Software, Web Development

Slingshot AI raised $70 million in funding to expand their enterprise AI infrastructure solutions. The company provides the underlying technology stack that helps organizations deploy and scale artificial intelligence applications more efficiently and cost-effectively.

With enterprise AI adoption accelerating (market projected to reach $309 billion by 2026), Slingshot addresses the critical infrastructure challenges that often slow implementation. Their platform simplifies AI deployment across cloud environments, reducing the technical expertise required while optimizing performance and resource utilization.

10. SeeQC

• Total Funding: $68.6 million
• Focus: Electronics, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Quantum Computing, Semiconductor

SeeQC secured $68.6 million in funding to advance their quantum computing hardware development. The company is creating digital quantum computing systems that aim to overcome the scalability and error correction challenges facing current quantum computing approaches.

As investment in quantum technologies intensifies (expected to reach $16.4 billion by 2027), SeeQC’s innovative approach to quantum hardware architecture addresses fundamental limitations in existing systems. Their technology combines classical and quantum computing elements in ways that could make practical quantum computing accessible for commercial applications much sooner than competing approaches.

Emerging Trends in New York’s Startup Ecosystem

Analysis of the complete dataset reveals several key trends shaping New York’s innovation landscape in 2025:

1. Climate Tech Acceleration

The significant funding for Chestnut Carbon ($360 million) highlights growing investor confidence in climate solutions. New York is emerging as a clean energy and climate tech hub, with startups focusing on carbon capture, renewable energy, and sustainable infrastructure attracting substantial capital.

2. AI Dominance Continues

Artificial intelligence remains a dominant force, with 245 NYC startups (24.5% of all tracked companies) developing AI solutions. The sector has attracted over $1 billion in funding, with particular strength in generative AI, voice technology, and enterprise applications.

3. Healthcare Innovation Expansion

Healthcare startups in New York have secured $1.21 billion in funding, with notable strengths in mental health (Grow Therapy, Talkiatry), biotech, and AI-powered diagnostics. The sector represents 14.3% of all NYC startups in the dataset, showcasing the city’s growing prominence in healthtech and digital health innovation.

4. FinTech Evolution

New York’s traditional strength in financial services continues with 100 fintech startups securing $638 million in funding. Recent innovations focus on embedded finance, specialized lending platforms, and technologies that democratize access to financial services.

5. Enterprise Software Focus

The prominence of B2B and enterprise software solutions reflects New York’s position as a global business hub. Companies like Taktile, Clay, and Fundraise Up are creating sophisticated SaaS platforms that address specific industry pain points rather than pursuing broad consumer applications.

New York’s Position in the Global Startup Landscape

New York City maintains its position as a top-tier global startup ecosystem:

• Global ranking: 2nd worldwide in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index of 2024
• National standing: 2nd among U.S. startup hubs, behind only the San Francisco Bay Area
• Funding density: Highest concentration of VC funding per capita outside of Silicon Valley
• Sector diversity: More balanced distribution across industries than other major hubs
• Talent advantage: Access to financial expertise, creative professionals, and technical talent
• International connections: Strongest international founder community in the U.S.

With Q1 2025 already showing robust investment activity ($2.79 billion across 118 deals), New York’s startup ecosystem continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth potential. The city’s unique combination of industry diversity, capital access, and talent attraction positions it for continued leadership in the global innovation economy.

Built in New York, this thriving ecosystem of tech startups and startup companies is supported by a network of accelerators, incubators, and co-working spaces that foster entrepreneurship and innovation. From SaaS and B2B solutions to cutting-edge developments in cybersecurity, e-commerce, and blockchain, NYC tech companies are at the forefront of disruptive technology across various sectors.

As remote work continues to reshape the business landscape, New York’s tech hub remains attractive to both established firms and emerging startups. The city’s vibrant tech scene, coupled with its strong financial sector and diverse talent pool, creates an ideal environment for innovation in areas such as data analytics, cloud computing, and mobile apps.

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This analysis is based on funding data spanning from 2024 through early 2025 for 1,000 New York-based startups. Company rankings and funding amounts are subject to change as additional investment rounds are completed.