A look at NYC's growing VC scene as West Coast firms expand their presence, attracted by the congregation of fintech, crypto, and Web3 founders in the city
Covering venture capital, software and startups — In the 1980s, venture capital firm Sequoia set a tone for the tech investing industry … Tweets: @alexrkonrad , @caro , @iammegankelly , @shaig , @hitendrarpatil , @sethgrosenberg , @jrichlive , @davidu , @chiraag_deora , @aashaysanghvi_ , @turnernovak , and @mattturck . Thanks: @alexrkonrad Tweets: Alex Konrad / @alexrkonrad : They want to be a part of it: VCs are flocking to New York like never before. Here's what's driving a great migration in startup capital to the city that never sleeps (on dealflow). https://www.forbes.com/... Caroline Mccarthy / @caro : If you haven't been around tech in NYC for long you might not realize what a change this is. 15 years ago many VCs would make a big performative stink about refusing to even look at NYC-based companies and some insisted the founders commit upfront to relocating to SF. https://twitter.com/... Megan Kelly / @iammegankelly : Lucky enough to call NYC home for the past 10 yrs. For all the newbies, here are a few spots to check out while you settle in👇 🍸: Dante 🍳🥪: Merriweather 🍝 w/ a side of 🤩📸: Bar Pitti 🍽: Joseph Leonard's 🖼: Fotografiska 👂🏼: Studs 🚶♂️: Pier 26 https://twitter.com/... Shaig Eth / @shaig : the capital of capital is still nyc https://twitter.com/... Hitendra R. Patil / @hitendrarpatil : Pandemic work flexibility and red-hot deal flow in sectors like fintech, crypto and digital health have West Coast firms from Andreessen Horowitz to Lightspeed, Threshold and many others hiring New York-based investors like never before. https://www.forbes.com/... Seth Rosenberg / @sethgrosenberg : Come for the bagels, stay for the returns https://twitter.com/... Jeff Richards / @jrichlive : Can you name the firm with 44 investments in NY (37 seed/A/B) that have collectively raised $3.6B? Hint: first was @lazerow + Buddy Media in 2010... https://www.forbes.com/... @davidu : As Jay-Z says: NYC is the concrete jungle where dreams are made of and there's nothing you can't do here. The founder vibe is 🔥🔥🔥 and feels like SF ~2005-10. I'm thrilled to be spending more time with founders in NY. Also, finally, some good bagels. https://www.forbes.com/... Chiraag / @chiraag_deora : yeah nyc is cool but have you tried sleeping at 8pm and getting 10 hours of sleep because there's nothing else to do https://twitter.com/... Aashay Sanghvi / @aashaysanghvi_ : I ended up moving to NYC a few months ago and have really enjoyed it so far. NYC and SF felt like very distinct tech hubs pre-2020, but it feels a lot more blurred today with Zoom-first seed investing and the fluidity of talent / ideas. https://twitter.com/... Turner Novak.🍌🧢 / @turnernovak : I'm not cool enough to live in NYC, but this is why we added @olivia_deng_ to the team 🍌🗽 https://www.forbes.com/... Matt Turck / @mattturck : Oh yeah it's totally great that more VCs are moving to NYC, we really hated having so little competition https://twitter.com/... Thanks: @alexrkonrad
Context & Ripple Effects
New York's VC moment has been building for years: startups there closed ~1,500 deals worth $12B in a single year, nearly double the $6.3B invested four years earlier at a similar deal count, and by 2020 the city was already a bona fide East Coast rival to Silicon Valley hosting 22K big-tech staff. What changed now is who is moving: West Coast firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, and Threshold are hiring New York-based investors rather than flying in for deals.
The pull is founder density in fintech, crypto, and Web3 — sectors riding the same wave as crypto's $28B+ fundraising year, up 4x YoY. The migration also echoes an old Bay Area lesson from angel investing for social status: capital follows where the community of founders and check-writers physically congregates.
First-order effects
- Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, and Threshold gain local sourcing power in NYC's fintech and Web3 dealflow, competing on proximity with incumbents like FirstMark who built the ecosystem over a decade.
- NYC founders in crypto and fintech get access to West Coast brand-name term sheets without relocating, tightening competition for the city's hottest rounds.
Second-order effects
- Established New York funds face pricing pressure as coastal firms bid up local deals, pushing them toward earlier stages or sector niches where the newcomers lack coverage.
- Talent flows follow the money: engineers and execs weighing startup roles see more funded options in New York, reinforcing the founder density that attracted the VCs in the first place.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, venture capital consolidates into multi-hub firms with permanent offices wherever founder clusters form — but the 2024 reversal, when investors flocked back to San Francisco for the AI boom, shows these hub allegiances can shift with each technology cycle.
- A maturing New York ecosystem reduces Silicon Valley's structural monopoly on top-tier dealflow, splitting late-stage capital allocation across two coasts.
The trend: Venture capital is becoming a multi-hub business where firms station investors in whichever city currently concentrates the hottest founder cohort — New York for fintech and Web3 today, with each cycle capable of redrawing the map.