Best investors in New York's marketing technology ecosystem in 2026

New York invested $2.8B in marketing tech across 180+ deals in 2026. Most capital went to customer data platforms, marketing automation, and analytics tools. The city's concentration of agencies, media companies, and brand headquarters makes it the natural home for martech innovation. NYC investors understand marketing operations because they're surrounded by the buyers.

Quick list

Why New York for martech fundraising

New York closed $2.8B in marketing tech deals in 2025, down slightly from $3.1B in 2024 but still second only to San Francisco. Average Series A sits at $14M. The city has 30+ active martech investors, plus every major growth fund takes meetings here.

NYC's strength is customer proximity. Your potential buyers work at Publicis, WPP, Omnicom, IPG, and hundreds of independent agencies within 10 blocks. Major brands have marketing ops teams in Manhattan. You can get design partner feedback over lunch instead of flying to pitch meetings. That feedback loop matters more in martech than most categories.

The weakness is that everyone's building similar tools. Customer data platforms, email automation, and analytics dashboards all have 5-8 funded NYC companies competing. Investors see nearly identical pitches weekly. You need clear differentiation and customers using your product daily, not just pilot programs.

Picking the right New York martech investor

Portfolio companies: Check if they've backed marketing automation, analytics, or customer data platforms before. Many consumer investors claim to understand martech but really don't. Look for funds that backed companies serving marketing teams, not just consumer apps with marketing channels.

Check sizes: NYC seed rounds for martech run $1.5-3M. Series A averages $14M but ranges from $8M to $25M depending on revenue. Product-led growth companies with strong adoption raise less. Enterprise sales motion with long cycles raises more.

Local network: Manhattan investors can intro you to agency holding companies and major brand CMOs. That's the real value beyond capital. Marketing tech lives or dies based on enterprise sales cycles. Having an investor who can get you into Unilever or P&G's martech stack saves 6 months of cold outreach.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create trackable links for each NYC investor. You'll see who actually opens your customer acquisition slides versus who's just collecting decks. Martech investors focus heavily on CAC payback, NDR, and product stickiness. Track which sections get the most attention.

Follow-on capacity: Most NYC martech seed funds can't lead your $20M Series B. FirstMark and Lerer Hippeau can. Everyone else brings in Insight Partners, Tiger Global, or West Coast growth funds for later rounds. Make sure your seed investor has relationships with those firms. Venture capital decisions often hinge on how clearly and efficiently information is presented.

How to find and approach New York martech investors

Research local deals: Check Crunchbase and PitchBook for "marketing" + "New York" + "2026" to see recent activity. Look at who led rounds for Iterable, ActionIQ, Attentive, and Yotpo. Those funds are actively deploying in martech. MarTech Today and Chiefmartec cover NYC deals better than general tech press.

Leverage local ecosystem: Techstars NYC occasionally takes martech companies. ERA accelerator has strong B2B SaaS mentors. The Lerer Hippeau and FirstMark portfolios both have 6-7 martech companies. Get warm intros through portfolio founders - cold emails to NYC martech investors get ignored 95% of the time.

Build relationships first: NYC martech investors want to see $500K+ ARR before taking first meetings. They've been burned by pretty demos with no revenue. Have 10-15 paying customers, even if small contracts. They'll ask about NDR and expansion revenue in the first call. Come prepared with cohort data.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send unique tracking links to each fund. Tag links by investor name to see engagement patterns. NYC martech investors review decks within 48 hours if interested. Radio silence after 72 hours means they passed. Don't follow up more than once.

Attend local events: MarTech Conference NYC happens annually. AdExchanger's Programmatic IO draws investors. Advertising Week New York is where agencies and brands meet - bring investors as guests if you can. Skip general startup events. Go where marketing ops professionals gather.

Connect with portfolio founders: Email founders at Iterable, ActionIQ, or Attentive. Ask which investors helped with agency partnerships and enterprise sales. Some funds just write checks. Others intro you to P&G, Unilever, and holding company innovation teams. That difference matters more in martech than most verticals. Screenshot protection helps reduce the risk of sensitive information being copied or reused.

Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room before Series A conversations start. NYC martech investors want customer contracts, product analytics showing daily active usage, and detailed CAC payback by channel. They request this immediately after partner meetings. Having it ready speeds up term sheets by 2-3 weeks. Our professional services depend on secure, well-managed document sharing to maintain client trust.

Understand local pace: NYC martech deals take 3-5 months from intro to wire. Faster than enterprise SaaS, slower than consumer apps. Investors want to talk to 3-5 customers and see a quarter of revenue growth. If you're pre-revenue, only pre-seed funds like Notation Capital or BoxGroup will engage.

New York-specific considerations

NYC martech investors strongly prefer B2B over consumer. They've watched hundreds of DTC brands burn through capital on Facebook ads. Tools that help marketing teams at enterprises get funded. Consumer apps that require paid acquisition don't. The 2022-2023 pullback hit consumer martech hardest.

Expect detailed questions about distribution strategy. How do you reach marketing ops teams? What's your strategy for penetrating agencies versus brands? NYC investors have seen great martech products fail because founders couldn't crack enterprise sales. Your go-to-market matters as much as your product.

Most NYC martech funds want to see a path to profitability within 24 months. The growth-at-all-costs era ended here in late 2022. Show efficient CAC payback under 12 months and strong net dollar retention above 110%. If your NDR is below 100%, expect tough conversations about churn.

16 top marketing technology investors in New York

1. Lerer Hippeau

NYC's most active early-stage martech investor with portfolio including major marketing platforms.

• Recent Deals: Iterable ($60M Series C, 2020), Yotpo ($230M Series F, 2021), Freshly (marketing tech before Blue Apron acquisition)
• LinkedIn: Ben Lerer
• Sector Focus: marketing automation, customer data platforms, email marketing, SMS marketing, influencer tech
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: SoHo, New York, NY
• Website: lererhippeau.com

2. FirstMark Capital

Early backer of major NYC martech companies with strong enterprise connections.

• Recent Deals: Sprinklr ($1.8B valuation before IPO), Airbnb (marketing tech stack), Pinterest (advertising platform)
• LinkedIn: Rick Heitzmann
• Sector Focus: customer experience platforms, social media marketing, enterprise martech, analytics
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Office Location: Flatiron, New York, NY
• Website: firstmarkcap.com

3. Union Square Ventures

NYC thesis-driven fund that backs network-effect marketing and data platforms.

• Recent Deals: Tapad ($18M Series B, 2013), Meetup (event marketing before WeWork), Kickstarter (creator marketing)
• LinkedIn: Fred Wilson
• Sector Focus: identity resolution, cross-device tracking, creator platforms, community marketing
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Union Square, New York, NY
• Website: usv.com

4. RRE Ventures

Long-standing NYC fund with multiple martech exits and strong data platform focus.

• Recent Deals: ActionIQ ($32M Series C, 2020), Sailthru (marketing automation before acquisition), Boxever ($12M Series B before Sitecore acquisition)
• LinkedIn: Stuart Ellman
• Sector Focus: customer data platforms, marketing analytics, personalization engines, attribution tools
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: New York, NY
• Website: rre.com

5. Bowery Capital

NYC-focused B2B software investor with multiple martech portfolio companies.

• Recent Deals: Kustomer ($60M Series D, 2020), Blueconic ($25M Series A, 2018), Cordial ($35M Series B, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Loren Straub
• Sector Focus: customer engagement platforms, marketing automation, CDP, conversational marketing
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Office Location: Midtown, New York, NY
• Website: bowerycap.com

6. Bain Capital Ventures

Growth investor with NYC office backing breakout martech companies at scale.

• Recent Deals: Attentive ($230M Series E, 2021), Iterable ($60M Series C, 2020), Cordial ($35M Series B, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Ajay Agarwal
• Sector Focus: SMS marketing, email automation, customer messaging, mobile marketing
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D
• Office Location: New York, NY
• Website: baincapitalventures.com

7. Primary Venture Partners

NYC marketplace investor that backed Klaviyo before $9.5B IPO.

• Recent Deals: Klaviyo (early investor before $9.5B IPO), Attentive (Series B participation), Postscript ($35M Series B, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Brad Svrluga
• Sector Focus: ecommerce marketing, SMS platforms, email marketing, customer retention tools
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: New York, NY
• Website: primaryvc.com

8. Work-Bench

Enterprise-focused NYC seed fund that backs B2B martech for large companies.

• Recent Deals: Multiple enterprise martech startups (2024-2026), B2B analytics platforms, marketing ops tools for Fortune 500
• LinkedIn: Jonathan Lehr
• Sector Focus: enterprise martech, B2B analytics, account-based marketing, sales and marketing alignment
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Office Location: Midtown, New York, NY
• Website: work-bench.com

9. BoxGroup

NYC pre-seed and seed investor in consumer and martech platforms.

• Recent Deals: Yotpo (early investor before $230M Series F), Warby Parker (DTC marketing), Sweetgreen (customer retention tech)
• LinkedIn: David Tisch
• Sector Focus: ecommerce marketing, customer reviews, referral marketing, retention tools
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed
• Office Location: Flatiron, New York, NY
• Website: boxgroup.com

10. Greycroft

Bicoastal fund with NYC office backing marketing tech and creator economy platforms.

• Recent Deals: Unsplash (acquired by Getty Images), Buddy Media (sold to Salesforce for $689M), Maker Studios (sold to Disney)
• LinkedIn: Dana Settle
• Sector Focus: creator economy, influencer marketing, social media tools, content marketing platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Office Location: New York, NY
• Website: greycroft.com

11. Tribeca Venture Partners

NYC seed fund that's backed multiple martech companies through to acquisition.

• Recent Deals: Sailthru (acquired by CM Group), Tapad ($360M acquisition by Experian), multiple marketing analytics startups
• LinkedIn: Jonathan Axelrod
• Sector Focus: marketing automation, identity resolution, analytics, customer engagement
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Office Location: Tribeca, New York, NY
• Website: tribecavp.com

12. ff Venture Capital

NYC seed fund that occasionally backs DTC marketing tech and brand infrastructure.

• Recent Deals: Gin Lane (pattern brands marketing tech), Glossier (DTC marketing operations), Away (customer acquisition tools)
• LinkedIn: John Frankel
• Sector Focus: DTC marketing, brand building tools, customer acquisition platforms, retention software
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
• Office Location: Union Square, New York, NY
• Website: ffvc.com

13. Notation Capital

Brooklyn-based pre-seed fund that backs technical founders building martech infrastructure.

• Recent Deals: Multiple NYC marketing automation startups (2023-2026), customer data tools, attribution platforms
• LinkedIn: Nicholas Chirls
• Sector Focus: marketing automation, attribution, customer data infrastructure, analytics tools
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed
• Office Location: Brooklyn, New York, NY
• Website: notationcapital.com

14. Canvas Ventures

Growth equity fund with NYC presence backing profitable martech companies.

• Recent Deals: Demandbase ($76M Series E, 2021), Outreach ($65M Series D, 2020), multiple account-based marketing platforms
• LinkedIn: Paul Hsiao
• Sector Focus: account-based marketing, sales and marketing platforms, B2B martech, demand generation
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Growth
• Office Location: New York, NY (and Palo Alto)
• Website: canvasventures.com

15. Tiger Global

Growth stage investor writing large checks into proven NYC martech platforms.

• Recent Deals: Attentive ($230M Series E, 2021), Klaviyo (growth rounds before IPO), Iterable (Series D, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Scott Shleifer
• Sector Focus: marketing automation, customer engagement, SMS/email platforms, analytics
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth
• Office Location: Midtown, New York, NY
• Website: tigerglobal.com

16. Insight Partners

Late-stage software investor that backs martech companies headed toward IPO.

• Recent Deals: Wrike ($100M+ growth rounds), Recorded Future (cybersecurity with martech elements), multiple B2B SaaS with marketing tools
• LinkedIn: Jeff Horing
• Sector Focus: enterprise software, B2B SaaS, marketing operations platforms, analytics
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth, Pre-IPO
• Office Location: New York, NY
• Website: insightpartners.com

Start tracking your New York martech investor outreach

These 16 investors closed NYC marketing tech deals in 2025-2026. Before you start reaching out to Manhattan funds, get your metrics organized. NYC martech investors won't take meetings without clear CAC payback and NDR numbers.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each New York investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your customer acquisition metrics and product engagement data. NYC martech investors typically skip the problem slides and jump straight to your solution, pricing, and unit economics. You'll know who's actually interested within 48 hours based on deck engagement.

When investors ask for customer references, product analytics, or detailed cohort data, share an Ellty data room instead of scattered Google Drive links. Your customer contracts, Mixpanel dashboards, and CAC calculations in one place with view tracking. You'll see when investors share your room with other partners, that's when you're advancing to final rounds.

Common questions

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

No, but proximity to agencies and brands helps. NYC funds invest in martech companies nationwide, but they prefer founders who can easily meet with Publicis, WPP, or major brand marketing teams. If you're remote, expect questions about your enterprise sales strategy.

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

NYC has more martech-specific investors and better access to enterprise buyers. SF has larger funds overall but fewer partners who deeply understand marketing operations. Average check sizes are similar. NYC investors care more about NDR and CAC efficiency than growth rate.

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

$1.5-3M for product-led growth martech. $3-5M if you're doing enterprise sales with longer cycles. Series A averages $14M but ranges from $8M to $25M depending on whether you're selling to SMBs or enterprises.

Should I raise locally in NYC or target SF investors?

Raise from whoever writes the check first, but NYC investors add more value in martech. They have stronger relationships with agencies, holding companies, and brand marketing teams. Many successful NYC martech rounds include both local and SF investors for follow-on capacity.

Do New York martech investors expect in-person meetings?

Yes for Series A and beyond. Seed rounds happen over Zoom regularly. But most funds want face-to-face meetings before writing $10M+ checks. They'll also want to meet your design partner customers if they're local agencies or brands.

What martech sectors get funded most in New York?

Customer data platforms, marketing automation, and email/SMS tools dominate. NYC investors are skeptical of consumer social apps and influencer platforms after multiple failures. B2B martech serving enterprise marketing teams gets funded much more easily than consumer-facing tools.