18 New York investors electrifying artificial intelligence companies in 2026

New York closed $42.3B across 1,800+ deals in 2025, with AI companies taking 22% of total capital. Enterprise AI gets funded here easier than consumer AI. NYC investors want to see revenue and real customer deployments, not just impressive demos. You won't raise here with just a research paper and API costs.

Quick list

Why New York works for AI fundraising

New York has 60+ active funds backing AI companies. Enterprise AI gets more interest than consumer because NYC investors want B2B revenue models. Average seed round for AI here is $3.2M, Series A is $18M. That's higher than most markets because NYC VCs assume you're competing with well-funded SF companies.

The advantage is enterprise customers. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, major law firms, and Fortune 500 headquarters are here. If you're building AI for financial services, legal, or healthcare, NYC access matters. The disadvantage is fewer AI researchers than Bay Area. If you need to hire 20 ML engineers, you'll compete with Google, Meta, and every startup for the same 200 people.

NYC investors moved into AI hard in 2023-2024. Before that, most AI deals went to SF. Now funds like Lux, IA Ventures, and Radical have dedicated AI partners in New York. You'll still see SF funds leading many rounds, but NYC can provide $20M+ without leaving the city.

Picking the right New York AI investor

Local presence matters less for AI than other sectors. Half your pitch meetings will be on Zoom anyway. But NYC-based funds understand enterprise sales cycles and can intro you to Fortune 500 customers here. That's worth more than West Coast pattern matching.

Portfolio companies show where they actually write checks. If they claim to back AI but their portfolio is all SaaS with basic ML features, they don't understand transformers or foundation models. Check if they backed companies in your specific AI category. Computer vision investors don't always get NLP deals.

Check sizes range wildly. Seed rounds in NYC for AI startups are $2-5M because compute costs are real. Series A is $15-25M. Some funds like Insight Partners write $50M+ growth checks. Match your round size to their typical deal. Don't pitch Notation Capital for your $20M Series A.

Local network means access to enterprise customers and AI talent from Columbia, NYU, and corporate research labs. Ask if they've helped portfolio companies hire from Google Research or Facebook AI. Those relationships matter when you need senior ML engineers. Use Ellty to share your technical deck with trackable links. You'll see if partners actually read your model architecture slides or just skim to financials.

Follow-on capacity is critical for AI. If you raise seed in NYC from a fund that can't do Series A, you'll need to convince SF funds later. Some NYC funds like Insight and Lux can take you all the way to growth stage. Others tap out at Series A.

How to find and approach New York AI investors

Research local deals by checking AI-specific announcements from NYC tech publications like AlleyWatch. Most AI funding doesn't get major press unless it's $20M+. Look at which funds led smaller rounds in your category. Those partners respond faster than funds that only chase famous founders.

Leverage local ecosystem through NYU's AI research groups and Columbia's Data Science Institute. Professors there know which NYC funds actually understand technical AI versus funds doing "AI washing." Cornell Tech's AI programs also connect to investor networks. Most real NYC AI deals start through academic or corporate research connections, not cold emails.

Build relationships first by attending AI-specific events like the AI Summit New York or ML-focused meetups in Manhattan. NYC investors don't commit in first meetings. Expect 4-6 conversations before term sheets. That's slower than SF but faster than Boston. Share your deck via Ellty with unique tracking links per investor so you know who's actually reviewing your materials between meetings.

Attend local events where AI investors actually show up. AI Summit New York and TechCrunch Disrupt NYC are where you'll meet partners. Skip generic startup events. The Applied AI Conference and NYC Machine Learning Meetup are better for technical founders. Most NYC AI investors prefer technical depth over business buzzwords.

Connect with portfolio founders from your target funds. NYC AI founders are usually willing to intro if you're technical and have traction. LinkedIn works better here than warm email intros. Be direct about wanting to learn about their investor's process and decision speed.

Organize due diligence before your first meeting with serious funds. Set up an Ellty data room with your model benchmarks, compute costs breakdown, and customer deployment case studies. NYC AI investors will ask for this immediately after initial calls. Have your technical documentation ready.

Understand local pace which is 8-12 weeks from first meeting to term sheet for most NYC AI funds. Faster than traditional East Coast investors but slower than SF. They'll want to see your product working with real enterprise customers, not just demos. If you don't have revenue yet, show signed POCs with brand-name companies.

New York AI investor expectations

NYC AI investors want to see customer revenue within 12 months of raising. They're tired of "we'll figure out monetization later" after watching OpenAI deals. Foundation model companies get funded but you need Google/Meta pedigree or published research. Applied AI and enterprise AI get more interest from NYC funds.

Compute costs scare NYC investors more than SF funds. Have a clear path to margins above 60% or they'll assume you can't compete with well-funded competitors. Most NYC AI rounds in 2025-2026 went to companies with defensible data moats or proprietary models, not just fine-tuned open source.

18 top AI investors in New York

1. Lux Capital

They backed DeepMind early and understand technical AI better than most generalist funds.

• Recent Deals: Anthropic Series C ($580M, 2024), Varda Space manufacturing AI ($90M, 2024), Applied Intuition autonomous systems ($250M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Josh Wolfe LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: frontier AI, applied AI for defense/aerospace, biotech AI, robotics
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B, growth
• Office Location: 119 West 24th Street, Manhattan
• Website: luxcapital.com

2. Two Sigma Ventures

Quantitative hedge fund's VC arm that gets ML infrastructure and data pipelines.

• Recent Deals: Gro Intelligence agricultural AI ($85M Series B, 2024), Curai Health medical AI ($27M, 2023), Primer AI NLP ($110M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Villi Iltchev LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: AI infrastructure, data platforms, applied ML for finance/agriculture
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: SoHo, Manhattan
• Website: tsvcap.com

3. ff Venture Capital

Early Hugging Face investor with strong AI conviction before it was obvious.

• Recent Deals: Hugging Face (early investor, now $4B+ valuation), Snorkel AI data-centric ML ($85M Series C, 2024), Deepgram speech AI ($47M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: John Frankel LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: AI infrastructure, developer tools, applied NLP, computer vision
• Stage Focus: pre-seed, seed, Series A
• Office Location: Union Square, Manhattan
• Website: ffvc.com

4. Radical Ventures

Toronto-based but opened NYC office specifically for enterprise AI deals.

• Recent Deals: Cohere enterprise NLP ($270M Series C, 2024), Waabi autonomous trucking ($200M, 2024), Xanadu quantum ML ($100M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Jordan Jacobs LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: foundation models, enterprise AI, AI infrastructure, quantum ML
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B, growth
• Office Location: Midtown Manhattan
• Website: radical.vc

5. IA Ventures

Data-first thesis that translates well to AI infrastructure and applied ML.

• Recent Deals: Dataiku early investor (now $400M Series E), Recorded Future threat intelligence ($250M, 2023), Kensho acquired by S&P for $550M
• LinkedIn: Roger Ehrenberg LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: data infrastructure, applied AI for enterprises, AI security
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A
• Office Location: Flatiron District, Manhattan
• Website: iaventures.com

6. Insight Partners

Growth-stage powerhouse that led UiPath and backs AI automation heavily.

• Recent Deals: UiPath (led to $35B valuation), Snyk AI-powered security ($196M, 2024), Recorded Future threat AI ($250M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Jeff Horing LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: AI automation, enterprise AI software, AI security, vertical AI SaaS
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth, late-stage
• Office Location: Times Square, Manhattan
• Website: insightpartners.com

7. Union Square Ventures

Early Hugging Face and open source AI infrastructure believers.

• Recent Deals: Hugging Face (early investor), Rec Room social AI ($145M, 2024), Sift Science fraud AI (early investor)
• LinkedIn: Albert Wenger LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: AI infrastructure, open source AI, AI platforms, decentralized AI
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Union Square, Manhattan
• Website: usv.com

8. Bowery Capital

B2B-only fund that backs enterprise AI tools with clear revenue models.

• Recent Deals: Writer AI content platform ($100M Series B, 2024), Hebbia AI search ($30M, 2023), Jasper AI writing (early investor)
• LinkedIn: Michael Brown LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: enterprise AI software, vertical AI SaaS, AI sales/marketing tools
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A
• Office Location: Flatiron District, Manhattan
• Website: bowerycap.com

9. Primary Venture Partners

NYC-focused seed fund backing local AI technical founders.

• Recent Deals: Hebbia AI search ($30M Series A, 2023), Hex data AI ($52M Series B, 2024), Multiple AI seed deals under $5M
• LinkedIn: Ben Sun LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: applied AI, data infrastructure, AI developer tools
• Stage Focus: pre-seed, seed
• Office Location: SoHo, Manhattan
• Website: primaryvc.com

10. Work-Bench

Enterprise-only investors who get AI for Fortune 500 workflows.

• Recent Deals: Snorkel AI data labeling ($85M Series C, 2024), Alloy automation AI ($27M, 2024), Shield AI defense ($200M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Jonathan Lehr LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: enterprise AI, AI for government/defense, data-centric AI
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A
• Office Location: Chelsea, Manhattan
• Website: work-bench.com

11. BoxGroup

Early-stage consumer and prosumer AI apps with viral potential.

• Recent Deals: Luma AI video generation ($28M, 2024), Multiple AI consumer seed deals, Ramp AI-powered expense ($750M Series D)
• LinkedIn: David Tisch LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: consumer AI, prosumer AI tools, AI creators/influencers
• Stage Focus: pre-seed, seed
• Office Location: Chelsea, Manhattan
• Website: boxgroup.com

12. M13

Focuses on applied AI for commerce, logistics, and operations.

• Recent Deals: Built Robotics construction AI ($64M, 2024), Ring AI security (acquired by Amazon), Daily Harvest AI supply chain ($100M+)
• LinkedIn: Courtney Reum LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: applied AI for commerce, AI logistics, operations AI
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Los Angeles HQ, active in NYC
• Website: m13.co

13. Greycroft

Backs AI consumer apps and vertical SaaS with AI components.

• Recent Deals: Thirty Madison health AI ($140M, 2024), Archer aviation AI ($215M, 2024), Vendr SaaS AI ($150M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Dana Settle LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: consumer AI, vertical AI SaaS, AI healthcare
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: SoHo, Manhattan
• Website: greycroft.com

14. Notation Capital

Pre-seed and seed AI infrastructure for technical founding teams.

• Recent Deals: Multiple AI infrastructure seed deals under $3M, Replit AI coding ($97M Series B, 2023), Clay AI data enrichment ($30M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Nick Chirls LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: AI infrastructure, developer tools, AI-first products
• Stage Focus: pre-seed, seed
• Office Location: Brooklyn
• Website: notation.vc

15. Kli Capital

Enterprise AI and data infrastructure with strong NYC tech network.

• Recent Deals: Collibra data AI ($250M Series F, 2023), Fivetran data pipelines ($565M Series D, 2022), Monte Carlo data observability ($135M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: Murat Bicer LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: data infrastructure, enterprise AI platforms, AI operations
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Midtown Manhattan
• Website: kli.capital

16. Human Capital

Backs AI applied to HR tech and future of work from NYC base.

• Recent Deals: Eightfold AI talent intelligence ($220M Series E, 2024), HiredScore recruiting AI ($45M, 2023), Paradox AI HR assistant ($200M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Paul Estes LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: HR AI, recruiting AI, workforce management AI
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Manhattan
• Website: humancapvc.com

17. Stage 2 Capital

Series A investor in AI-powered SaaS with proven revenue.

• Recent Deals: Writer AI content ($100M Series B, 2024), Moveworks AI IT support ($200M Series C, 2023), Multiple AI SaaS Series A deals $10-20M
• LinkedIn: Mark Roberge LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: vertical AI SaaS, AI sales tools, enterprise AI workflows
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Active in NYC market
• Website: stage2.capital

18. ScOp VC

Seed-stage AI infrastructure and developer tools with technical diligence.

• Recent Deals: Multiple AI infrastructure seed deals, Weights & Biases MLOps ($200M Series C, 2023), Scale AI data labeling ($325M Series E, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Eze Vidra LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: AI infrastructure, MLOps, AI developer platforms
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A
• Office Location: Active in NYC/SF
• Website: scop.vc

Start tracking your New York AI investor outreach

These 18 investors closed NYC AI deals in 2025-2026. Before you start reaching out to New York funds, set up proper tracking. Most AI investors want to see your technical architecture and model performance before discussing valuation.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your model benchmarks versus your go-to-market. NYC AI investors typically spend more time on compute costs and margin analysis than SF funds, so track which pages get attention.

When New York investors ask for technical documentation or customer case studies, share an Ellty data room instead of scattered Google Drive links. Your model architecture, benchmark results, customer deployment metrics, and compute cost projections in one secure place with view analytics. NYC funds move to term sheets faster when diligence is organized.

Common questions

Do I need to be based in New York to raise from NYC AI investors?

No, but it helps for enterprise AI companies. If you're selling to financial services or Fortune 500, being in NYC makes customer development easier. Most NYC AI funds invest nationally but prefer companies that can leverage local enterprise customers.

How does New York compare to San Francisco for AI fundraising?

NYC has fewer foundation model investors but more enterprise AI capital. If you're building infrastructure or research-heavy AI, SF has more funds that understand it. If you're building AI for specific industries with enterprise customers, NYC investors get it faster. Average rounds are similar in size but NYC expects revenue earlier.

What's the average seed round size for AI companies in New York?

$2.5M to $4M for AI seed rounds in NYC as of 2026. That's higher than non-AI SaaS because investors understand compute costs. If you're building foundation models or training custom models, expect investors to ask for $5M+ seed rounds. Applied AI with lighter compute needs can raise $1.5-2M.

Should I raise locally or go straight to SF for AI funding?

Depends on your AI category. Enterprise AI and applied AI do well in NYC. Foundation models and AI research typically need SF funds unless you have top-tier credentials. Many successful NYC AI companies do seed locally then Series A with SF co-leads. If Insight, Lux, or Two Sigma lead your seed, you don't need SF.

Do New York AI investors expect in-person meetings?

First meetings often happen on Zoom but serious investors want in-person before term sheets. Expect to fly to NYC 2-3 times during your raise. Some funds like Work-Bench and IA Ventures strongly prefer meeting portfolio companies regularly in person. Remote-only founders have harder time building relationships with NYC funds.

What AI categories get funded most in New York?

Enterprise AI and applied AI for financial services, healthcare, legal, and logistics. NYC investors back fewer consumer AI apps than SF but more vertical AI SaaS. AI security and AI data infrastructure also get funded heavily. Foundation models get interest only from top-tier funds like Lux and Radical.

How technical do NYC AI investors expect founders to be?

Very technical for infrastructure and platform companies. Less technical for applied AI if you have strong advisors. Most NYC AI funds have partners with CS or ML backgrounds who will ask detailed questions about model architecture, training data, and benchmarks. Don't pitch AI investors here without technical co-founders or deep expertise yourself.