In our work advising 600+ startups, the most-active NYC check writers cluster around Insight Partners, Union Square Ventures, BoxGroup, Betaworks, and Forum Ventures, with Thrive Capital, Lux Capital, and 645 Ventures close behind. Local firms deployed about $25B in venture capital over the past four quarters — AI takes 35% of that, fintech takes 30%, and healthtech is the third pillar.
Want to find your NYC investor and get funded fast? Won't lie — it's a grind. New York is the second-largest startup hub globally (only Silicon Valley is bigger), with 25,000+ tech startups and an ecosystem the NYC EDC values at $147B. The signal-to-noise ratio for cold outreach is rough.
We track active NYC VCs in our Waveup Copilot database — the cards on this page sync from there weekly, so you're always pitching active funds, not stale 2024 lists. Below is the working shortlist with focus, stage, check size, and live investment activity.
Best 5 NYC VCs at a glance
- Insight Partners — late-stage growth + private equity; SaaS, fintech, AI; $3M–$50M checks across Series A through pre-IPO.
- Union Square Ventures — iconic NYC fund; thesis-driven on networks, marketplaces, fintech; Series A leadership at $1M–$10M.
- BoxGroup — premier seed and pre-seed fund; generalist; $100K–$1M checks with strong intro network.
- Betaworks — innovation-studio-meets-fund; consumer + AI focus; pre-seed and seed.
- Forum Ventures — B2B SaaS specialist at pre-seed; accelerator-style program plus check writing.
Top venture capital firms in NYC
NYC funds split roughly into three camps: pre-seed and seed generalists ($100K–$2M), Series A leads ($2M–$10M with strong sector views), and growth-stage capital ($10M+ for fintech, AI, and biotech). The cards below sync with our database — focus areas, stage, and check sizes reflect each fund's current profile, not a snapshot from when this article first ran.
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +25
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +1
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +32
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +3
- $100K-$500K
- $500K-$1M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +19
- Seed
- Series A
- +3
- $100K-$500K
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +33
- Series A
- Series B
- +2
- $3M-$10M
- $10M-$50M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +27
- Seed
- Pre-Seed
- +2
- $1M-$3M
- $3M-$10M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +26
- Seed
- Series A
- +2
- $100K-$500K
- $500K-$1M
- +2
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +23
- Seed
- Series A
- +3
- $0-$100K
- $100K-$500K
- +3
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +15
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- $0-$100K
- $100K-$500K
- +3
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +31
- Seed
- Pre-Seed
- $0-$100K
- $100K-$500K
- +1
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +33
- Seed
- Series A
- +3
- $1M-$3M
- $3M-$10M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +20
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +1
- $100K-$500K
- $500K-$1M
- +1
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +24
- Seed
- Series A
- +4
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +30
- Seed
- Series A
- +3
- $100K-$500K
- $500K-$1M
- +1
- Agritech & Farming
- Biotech
- +19
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +2
- $100K-$500K
- $500K-$1M
- Software & Apps
- AI & Deep Tech
- +6
- Series A
- Series B
- Over $50M
- $10M-$50M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +29
- Seed
- Series A
- +2
- $100K-$500K
- $500K-$1M
- +3
- Software & Apps
- AI & Deep Tech
- +9
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +1
- $3M-$10M
- $10M-$50M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +26
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +4
- $500K-$1M
- $3M-$10M
- +2
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +27
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +3
- $1M-$3M
- $3M-$10M
- +2
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +31
- Pre-Seed
- Seed
- +1
- $1M-$3M
- $3M-$10M
- +1
- Software & Apps
- AI & Deep Tech
- +15
- Series A
- Series B
- +3
- Over $50M
- $10M-$50M
- AI & Deep Tech
- Advertising & Marketing
- +34
- Seed
- Series A
- +3
- $3M-$10M
- $10M-$50M
Methodology — how we keep this list current
We pulled this list from our Waveup Copilot fund database — VCs cross-checked against Crunchbase, TechCrunch, and the funds' own sites. To make the cut, a fund had to be NYC-headquartered (or NYC-active with significant local deployment), writing checks in 2024–2025, and covering multiple stages or sectors.
Because the cards sync with our database, the focus areas, stage ranges, and check sizes you see reflect each fund's current mandate — not what we wrote when the article first published.
Early-stage NYC VCs (2026)
BoxGroup, Betaworks, Forum Ventures, 645 Ventures, and Everywhere Ventures lead pre-seed and seed in NYC, with USV often jumping in at first institutional Series A. Most write $100K–$2M checks and require either a working product, $10K+ MRR, or a credible founder/market wedge — pure idea-stage capital is rare here.
Pre-seed and seed in NYC has matured fast since 2023. Generalist funds like BoxGroup ($100K–$1M) and Betaworks (consumer + AI) anchor the round, while specialists like Forum Ventures (B2B SaaS) and 645 Ventures (consumer) compete for thesis fit. Recent named rounds: Predoc raised a $30M Series A in early 2025 for AI-powered analytics, and Aiera closed a $25M Series B in June 2025 backed by Wall Street investment banks plus Microsoft as a strategic partner.
NYC biotech and healthtech VCs
Apple Tree Partners and HearstLab anchor NYC biotech and healthtech, with Insight Partners and 645 Ventures actively writing healthtech checks at Series A and beyond. NYC raised over $4B for healthtech in 2024 alone, and the cluster around Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell, and Cold Spring Harbor keeps deal flow steady — especially for AI-powered diagnostics and digital therapeutics.
Biotech and healthtech is a real sub-niche in NYC, not just a side bet. Apple Tree Partners writes large Series A–B checks ($10M–$50M+) for therapeutics. HearstLab funds women-led biotech and healthtech at seed. ExaCare's $30M Series A in 2025 for healthcare B2B software is a typical local deal — backed by NYC-tied capital and tied to the East Coast academic medical-center ecosystem.
NYC VCs by neighborhood
Most NYC VCs cluster in three Manhattan neighborhoods: Flatiron and Chelsea (USV, BoxGroup, Forum Ventures), Midtown around Bryant Park (Insight Partners, Thrive Capital, Lux Capital), and SoHo / Hudson Square (Betaworks, Compound). A smaller wave has moved to DUMBO and downtown Brooklyn since 2022 — with Etsy, Vimeo, and other anchor companies driving the migration.
The neighborhood matters more than you'd think — proximity drives deal flow in NYC. Flatiron is the historic startup core (Foursquare, USV, BoxGroup); Midtown houses the growth-stage and crossover funds (Insight, Thrive, Tiger). SoHo leans consumer and design-led. DUMBO has emerged as a Brooklyn alternative with cheaper rent and an active angel scene. Plan your in-person coffee chats accordingly: most NYC VCs prefer face-to-face for first meetings, especially at seed.
Why are founders raising in NYC in 2026?
NYC startups raised about $16.6B across 460+ deals in 2024 — a 74% YoY jump — and local firms have deployed roughly $25B over the last four quarters per Tech:NYC. Manhattan briefly passed San Francisco in early-stage deal volume in 2023, and the city now leads US fintech (30% share) and AI applications. Add Wall Street capital depth, deep CFO talent, and ecosystem density, and the math works.
NYC is having a real moment. Tech:NYC reports local firms raised about $25.3B in venture capital over the last four quarters, and the EDC values the city's startup ecosystem at over $147B. AI is now the largest sector at 35% of NYC venture capital raised in 2025 — Q1 alone closed 81 AI deals worth about $1.5B. Fintech, the city's traditional anchor, takes a separate 30% share and consistently captures the largest single category of US fintech investment.
The mega-rounds tell the story. Reflection.AI closed a $2B Series B in 2025 for AI infrastructure. Kalshi raised $300M Series D for prediction markets. Hebbia AI closed $130M Series B led by a16z at a $700M post-money valuation. Chestnut Carbon pulled in $160M Series B for climate tech. And Qodo raised $70M Series B for AI code review and testing.
Two structural advantages keep founders moving here in 2026. First, capital depth — proximity to Wall Street means crossover hedge funds, family offices, and corporate venture (American Express Ventures, Point72 Ventures) sit alongside traditional VCs. Second, talent — NYC has the densest concentration of CFO and CRO talent on the East Coast, plus the academic engine of NYU, Columbia, Cornell Tech, and Mount Sinai feeding healthtech and biotech.
Related read:
- Top 13 Venture Capital Firms in Chicago
- Top Venture Capital Firms in Boston
- Top Venture Capital Firms in Los Angeles
- Top VC Firms in San Francisco Bay Area & Silicon Valley
- Top Venture Capital Firms in Miami
- Top Venture Capital Firms in Atlanta
- Top Venture Capital Firms in Seattle
- Top Venture Capital Firms in Dallas
Are NYC VCs the right fit for your raise?
Yes — start with NYC funds
- Fintech, AI, healthtech, or media/consumer — these dominate NYC deal flow
- You can be in person for first meetings — NYC investors prefer face-to-face
- You have product traction or signed enterprise pilots — pure idea-stage is rare
- Wall Street, healthcare, or media is your buyer — proximity matters
- You're targeting a Series A or beyond — late-stage capital is deepest here
Not the best fit yet
- Pre-traction with no product — most NYC seed funds want $10K+ MRR or LOIs
- Hardware or deep-tech with 24-month timelines — SF/Boston are stronger
- B2B SaaS targeting West Coast buyers — easier to raise where customers are
- First-time international founder with no US presence — relocate first
- Consumer category that needs SF distribution networks (DTC, ride-share, etc.)
How should you pitch NYC VCs in 2026?
We've seen founders close 70% faster when they target NYC VCs whose check size and stage actually match their raise — not by mass-DMing 200 partners. Build a tight 12–14-slide pitch deck, anchor every metric to a sector benchmark (NYC investors will spot off-base numbers in seconds), and route your first intro through a portfolio founder, accelerator, or warm operator-angel.
NYC is one of the major hubs for innovation and entrepreneurial activity. But it's also one of the most competitive — every partner you'd want to pitch is already deluged with intros from other founders. To stand out you need three things: deliberate target selection (the cards above tell you who actually writes checks for your stage and sector), a pitch deck that survives a Wall Street partner's pattern-match, and a warm-intro path that bypasses the cold-pile.
If you're not sure how to position your numbers for NYC investors — or whether your deck reads as VC-ready — our team has helped 600+ startups raise across NYC, SF, Boston, and Miami. We'll tell you straight whether you're ready or what to fix first.
Related read: Top 30 VC Firms in the US