July 5, 2012
Silicon Alley Runs Through NoMad
Forget Silicon Valley in California, the hottest up and coming area for tech startups in the country is Silicon Alley!
Where is Silicon Alley?
For those who have not heard of it, Silicon Alley refers to the area of New York City where the R train runs through which contains the bulk of the city’s tech startups. From Midtown, through NoMad New York and down the Broadway corridor, Silicon Alley contains many of the city’s brightest, creative and technological minds.
What is Silicon Alley?
Silicon Alley has been creating more and more of a presence in NYC in recent years. Companies like Google, ZocDoc, Yelp, LinkedIn, all have been taking offices in New York.
The R subway line serves as a spine that connects the offices of pretty much all of these companies with the investors that are supplying their capital! NoMad New York is right at the center of this subway line and the increasing presence of Silicon Alley, with more and more startups getting space near Broadway. This creates an easy commute for the creative class of NYC that is increasingly taking residence in Brooklyn.
Who works in Silicon Alley?
In the years between 2005 and 2010, employment within the tech industry in NYC has soared. There was a rise of approximately 30% in tech jobs in NYC in those years with employment reaching over 90,000. In the last quarter of 2011, New York based startups earned $831 million surpassing Massachusetts as the No.2 spot in the US in overall venture-capital funding. California is still No.1, but Silicon Alley is closing the gap more and more with each coming quarter. Many international companies located in tech hubs like the European Union, United Kingdom and Israel have taken advantage of the fact that the time difference between Europe and New York is less than California. As a result, many international tech companies have chosen to open up offices in Silicon Alley.
To see profiles of businesses in the NoMad New York portion of Silicon Alley, head over to our NoMad Techies section for a company directory and business descriptions. So next time you are in the lunch line at Shake Shack or Eataly, look around and you might be standing near someone developing the next great tech product!