StrictlyVC returns to New York City September 10 to celebrate a huge year for the city’s startup community
StrictlyVC is returning to New York City on September 10 to celebrate the city's startup community, which has seen a huge year with over $16 billion in funding in the first half of 2026. The event will feature a speaker lineup including Craig Shapiro and Tristan Walker, a…
Intelligence analysis by Llama
StrictlyVC is returning to New York City on September 10 to celebrate the city's startup community, which has seen a huge year with over $16 billion in funding in the first half of 2026. The event will feature a speaker lineup including Craig Shapiro and Tristan Walker.
Imagine a big party where people who make new companies and people who give them money can talk to each other and learn from each other. That's what StrictlyVC is, and it's coming back to New York City on September 10.
Analysis
A $60B Vote of Confidence
The city's startup ecosystem has seen a huge year, with over $16 billion in funding raised in the first half of 2026. This is a significant increase from the $19.1 billion raised in all of 2025. The funding is spread across nearly every sector, from AI and healthcare to climate, fintech, robotics, and consumer tech. This momentum has made a return to New York an easy call for StrictlyVC.
Why NYC, Why Now
New York's startup engine isn't just moving along; it's accelerating. In H1 2026, more than 240 NYC startups raised a combined $1.13 billion in seed funding, according to a recent Tech:NYC report. That's up from $1.06 billion in H1 2025, with average seed rounds climbing from $5.4 million to $6.64 million. This increase in funding is a testament to the city's growing startup ecosystem and the increasing amount of capital being raised by startups in the city.
An Evening Built for the Room, Not Just the Stage
As always with StrictlyVC, the stage that hosts our programming is only part of the story. Conversations that start between TechCrunch reporters and the startup community continue long afterward in a setting built for access, focus, and proximity to the people actively shaping what comes next for NYC's venture, startup, and dealmaking scene. It's an environment where introductions turn into insight and insight turns into opportunity.
Key points
- StrictlyVC is returning to New York City on September 10 to celebrate the city's startup community.
- The event will feature a speaker lineup including Craig Shapiro and Tristan Walker.
- The city's startup ecosystem has seen a huge year, with over $16 billion in funding raised in the first half of 2026.
If the momentum of the city's startup ecosystem continues, we can expect to see even more funding raised by startups in the city, leading to the growth of new companies and the creation of new jobs.
However, the increasing amount of funding being raised by startups in the city also means that there is a risk of a bubble forming, which could lead to a downturn in the market.
