The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced a massive initiative called Cyber NYC that aims to turn the city into “a global leader of cybersecurity innovation and talent.”
At the center of the initiative will be the launch of a Global Cyber Center, which the NYCEDC is calling “an innovation hub for startups, initiatives to fuel commercialization and research, and new talent pipelines to train the cyber workforce of the future.” The city is investing $30 million into the program and could leverage an addition $70 million in private investments.
According to the NYCEDC, Cyber NYC is expected to add 10,000 “good-paying cyber security jobs” over the next decade. While the NYCEDC says the city currently has over 100 firms and 6,000 employees in the cybersecurity industry, TechCrunch notes that New York has fallen behind other cities in building the sector thus far – Boston, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco have been at the forefront in the U.S., while Israel has been a global leader.
Here are some of the main components of Cyber NYC, via the NYCEDC press release:
Global Cyber Center: NYCEDC has selected Israeli corporate innovation expert, SOSA, to establish a center of gravity for the industry. The 15,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art center in Chelsea will bring together an international community of corporations, investors, startups, and talent to foster collaboration and innovation in New York City’s growing cybersecurity ecosystem. Located at 17th Street and 7th Avenue, the center will offer industry-specific events, and programming, as well as coworking space for startups and a cyber range, a virtual testing ground to run simulations.
Hub.NYC by JVP: NYCEDC has selected renowned international venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) to establish the city’s first international cybersecurity investment hub and create the next billion-dollar opportunity in cybersecurity. Functioning out of a 50,000-square-foot space located in SoHo, this dynamic program will support growth-stage startups, facilitating access to clients, business support, and investment, with the goal of growing them into major cybersecurity companies in New York City.
Inventors to Founders: NYCEDC has selected Columbia University to connect academic inventors of patented cybersecurity technologies with experienced entrepreneurial talent to launch new cybersecurity startups, accelerating innovation and commercialization. It will also provide acceleration resources such as mentorship, training, and validation capital to launch more and stronger early-stage academic startups as quickly as possible.
Cyber NYC will also be looking to train the future cybersecurity workforce, teaming up with local universities on the Applied Learning Initiative “to train the next generation of cyber specialists through new certifications and degree programs for New Yorkers.” It will also have a Cyber Boot Camp that will be targeting adults “with minimal familiarity with cybersecurity” to learn and develop the necessary skills to build a career in the industry.
The city has tapped numerous corporate partners to help in the new program, including Goldman Sachs, MasterCard, Facebook, PricewaterhouseCoopers and edX.org.
“New York City needs to be ambitious about cybersecurity because our future depends on it,” NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett said in a statement. “Cyber NYC will fuel the next generation of cybersecurity innovation and talent, leveraging one of the world’s greatest threats to create a major economic anchor and up to 10,000 quality middle-class jobs. We’ve convened a world-class roster of partners to help us execute on this essential plan, which will help protect the industries and people that make this city the economic powerhouse that it is today.”
Photo: NYCEDC