New York closed $8.2B in SaaS deals across 320+ companies in 2025. Enterprise software took 62% of total funding. The city has more fintech and vertical SaaS expertise than SF. You'll compete with better-funded companies who've already proven unit economics.
FirstMark Capital: Led Shopify's Series A at $7M when GMV was only $50M annually
Insight Partners: Backed Twitter at $5M Series A in 2008, rode it through IPO
Union Square Ventures: Wrote the first check into Coinbase at $5M Series A
Bessemer Venture Partners (Manhattan): Led Twilio's $12M Series B before they had 1,000 customers
Bain Capital Ventures (New York): Backed LinkedIn at $10M Series B in 2005
Battery Ventures (Manhattan): Led Wayfair's $27M Series B, exited at $245M
Thrive Capital: Funded Stripe at $20M Series B when payment processing was boring
Tiger Global (Manhattan): Led Peloton's $325M Series F before hardware was cool
Lerer Hippeau: Backed Datadog at $15M Series B in 2014
Work-Bench: Led Snyk's $3M seed round for developer security tools
Two Sigma Ventures (Manhattan): Backed Carta at $7M Series A for cap table management
Primary Venture Partners: Invested in Vestwell's $12M Series A for 401k infrastructure
RRE Ventures: Backed Business Insider at $2.5M Series A before media was dead
Great Oaks Venture Capital: Led Namely's $12M Series A for HR software
Boldstart Ventures: Wrote first check into BigID at $1.5M seed for data privacy
ff Venture Capital: Backed Yext at $5M Series A for location management
Greycroft: Led Buddy Media's $23M Series C, sold to Salesforce for $689M
NextView Ventures: Invested in Bitly's $3M Series A for link management
General Catalyst (Manhattan): Backed HubSpot at $5M Series A in 2007
Accomplice (New York): Led PillPack's $4M Series A, sold to Amazon for $753M
New York has 85+ active SaaS-focused funds. Average seed round is $4.1M. Series A runs $12-20M. Series B hits $30-60M. That's comparable to SF for enterprise but lower for consumer.
The city has financial services buyers everywhere. If you're building fintech, regtech, or anything touching Wall Street, you'll close your first 10 customers in Manhattan. Investors know this and move faster on finance-adjacent SaaS.
New York investors expect revenue before Series A. The "build it and they'll pay" pitch doesn't work here. Show $500K ARR minimum, ideally $1M. They've seen too many products without market fit. Unit economics matter from day one.
Competition is different than SF. You're pitching against companies with $2-5M ARR, not $200K. The bar is higher but the ecosystem is smaller. If you get warm intros to 30 NYC funds, you'll get 8-10 meetings. SF requires 50+ intros for the same result.
Late-stage capital is abundant. Tiger Global, Insight, and Thrive write $50-200M checks. You won't need to leave NYC for Series C like you would from Austin or Miami. Plan your entire fundraising journey here.
Local presence: Manhattan-based investors can intro you to financial services buyers at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, or BlackRock. That's worth 2-3 months of outbound. Remote investors can't open these doors. NYC SaaS VCs have actual decision-maker relationships, not just warm intros to mid-level managers.
Portfolio companies: Check if they've backed vertical SaaS in your category. Some funds only do horizontal infrastructure. Others won't touch anything without API integrations. Review their last 15 deals, not just the logos on their website. If every portfolio company serves enterprises with 5,000+ employees, your SMB-focused product won't fit.
Check sizes: Seed rounds run $3-6M. Series A is $12-20M. Series B hits $30-60M. New York SaaS investors write larger checks than consumer funds but expect higher traction. About 60% of NYC enterprise funds can lead rounds over $10M. Know who leads vs follows before you pitch.
Local network: New York investors can connect you to CTOs at media companies, compliance officers at banks, or IT buyers at healthcare systems. They'll make intros to AWS, Salesforce, or Snowflake partnership teams. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see which technical slides matter most to each fund.
Follow-on capacity: Most NYC SaaS funds have $100-400M under management. They'll do seed through Series B, then bring in Tiger Global or Insight for growth rounds. Ask about follow-on reserves upfront. Unlike consumer funds, enterprise investors expect to support you through $10M ARR minimum.
Research local deals: Follow TechCrunch's NYC coverage and The Information's daily email. They catch 90% of meaningful enterprise rounds. Crunchbase data lags 2-3 weeks for early-stage deals. Check SaaStr for SaaS-specific deal analysis and metrics benchmarks.
Leverage local ecosystem: ERA and Techstars NYC run strong enterprise cohorts. AlleyNYC and Primary coworking spaces host weekly founder events. Join SaaS operators groups on Slack. These communities have direct lines to FirstMark, Insight, and Union Square Ventures. DPA-compliant document sharing becomes important once New York funds dive into diligence and start requesting deeper operational materials.
Build relationships first: New York SaaS investors want to see $500K ARR before first meetings. Don't pitch at $50K ARR unless you have 300% YoY growth. The market expects proven sales motion. Get 3-5 reference customers in enterprise before scheduling partner meetings.
Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and create unique links for each fund. You'll see which investors spend time on your GTM slides vs product architecture. NYC enterprise VCs care more about sales efficiency and customer acquisition than West Coast funds. Track who's reviewing pricing strategy vs who's skipping to team background.
Attend local events: SaaStr Annual in September and Collision Conference in June bring every enterprise investor to Manhattan. Work the side events, not main stages. NYC Tech Meetup happens monthly in Flatiron with 800+ attendees. That's where Work-Bench and Boldstart scout. Enterprise Connect in March for infrastructure or communications SaaS.
Connect with portfolio founders: Message CEOs from your target fund's last 10 investments on LinkedIn. Ask about decision timelines and diligence depth. Most respond within 48 hours. New York enterprise founders are direct about which VCs actually help post-investment vs which ones just show up to board meetings.
Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room before first calls. Include your financial model, customer pipeline, and security documentation. New York SaaS investors will ask for SOC 2 status, customer references, and unit economics in first meetings. Have this ready or you'll lose momentum.
Understand local pace: Enterprise rounds close slower than consumer in NYC. Eight weeks from first meeting to term sheet is normal even with strong traction. You'll present to 3-4 partners before final decisions. Budget 4-5 months start to finish. But investors pass faster here than SF if metrics don't match stage expectations.
New York SaaS investors have higher ARR expectations than other markets. Seed rounds need $100K-300K ARR. Series A requires $1-2M ARR minimum. Series B expects $5-10M ARR. That's 40% higher than Austin and 25% higher than SF at comparable stages.
Most NYC enterprise funds prefer B2B over B2B2C. If your GTM includes selling through consumer channels first, expect skepticism. Pure enterprise motion gets funded faster. Vertical SaaS in fintech, legaltech, or healthtech moves quickest because investors understand the buyers.
Expect term sheets to include board seats earlier than SF. New York investors want governance by Series A. That's different from West Coast funds who wait until Series B. You'll give up board control faster but get more involved investors.
They led Shopify and Pinterest early and remain the most respected enterprise fund in Manhattan.
They manage $90B and write $20-200M checks into growth-stage SaaS companies.
They backed Twitter, Coinbase, and Stripe when none of these categories existed yet.
They've backed 145+ IPOs since 1974 and run the most rigorous SaaS metrics program.
They invest $1-30M across software and have backed LinkedIn, Jet, and Lime.
They manage $8B and invest across all stages from seed to growth in enterprise software.
They wrote early checks into Stripe, Oscar Health, and Robinhood with $15B under management.
They manage $95B and write $50-300M growth checks into proven SaaS companies.
They typically back consumer but have strong enterprise portfolio including Datadog and Axial.
They focus exclusively on enterprise software for IT buyers with $1-5M seed checks.
They invest $1-20M in data-driven companies and have backed Carta and Flatiron Health.
They invest in infrastructure and vertical SaaS with fintech expertise and NYC focus.
They've backed Business Insider and Namely and focus on NYC-based enterprise software.
They invest $2-10M in B2B SaaS with focus on HR, fintech, and vertical software.
They write first checks into enterprise infrastructure and developer tools at $1-3M.
They backed Yext and Plated early and invest $1-5M in NYC B2B software.
They invest across consumer and enterprise with strong exits including Buddy Media and Huffington Post.
They invest $500K-2M at pre-seed and seed in B2B software with NYC presence.
They backed HubSpot and Stripe early and invest $5-50M across software stages.
They invest $500K-5M in early-stage software and backed PillPack before Amazon acquisition.
These 20 investors closed NYC enterprise deals in 2025-2026. Before you start pitching Manhattan funds, set up proper tracking. You'll need 25+ meetings to get term sheets.
Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each New York investor. You'll see exactly which slides they review and how long they spend on your GTM strategy. NYC SaaS VCs focus heavily on sales efficiency metrics and customer acquisition costs. Track who's spending time on unit economics vs who's reviewing product roadmap.
When New York investors request due diligence materials, share an Ellty data room instead of scattered Google Drive links. Your financial model, customer pipeline, security documentation, and reference customers in one secure place with view analytics. You'll know which partners are seriously evaluating vs which ones have moved on to other deals.
Do I need to be based in New York to raise from NYC SaaS investors?
No, but expect monthly trips to Manhattan for meetings. NYC enterprise funds invest 50% locally and 50% elsewhere. Remote founders need stronger metrics to get first meetings. Have $500K ARR and 150% net dollar retention before pitching if you're not based here.
How does New York compare to SF for SaaS fundraising?
New York has comparable capital ($8.2B vs SF's $12.1B in 2025) but higher ARR expectations at each stage. SF investors will back you at $200K ARR for Series A. NYC wants $1-2M ARR. Choose SF for infrastructure or developer tools, NYC for vertical SaaS or fintech.
What's the average Series A size in New York for SaaS?
$15M for enterprise SaaS vs $12M for horizontal infrastructure. Expect 1-2 lead investors at $8-12M each, plus existing investors filling the rest. Series B runs $35-50M. That's 20% higher than Austin but 15% lower than SF.
Should I raise locally or go straight to NYC?
Start in New York if you're selling to financial services, media, or healthcare in Manhattan. Don't cold pitch NYC funds from Boulder with 5 customers. Get to $500K ARR first. Then target 20-25 NYC funds plus a few SF infrastructure specialists like Andreessen Horowitz or Index.
Do New York SaaS investors expect in-person meetings?
Yes for final rounds. First meetings can be Zoom, but partner presentations and board meetings happen in person. Budget 4-5 trips to Manhattan before closing. This is standard for enterprise, different from consumer where every meeting is in person.
What SaaS categories get funded most in New York?
Fintech leads with 28% of deals in 2025. Vertical SaaS second at 24%. Security and compliance third at 18%. Infrastructure fourth at 16%. Healthcare tech and legaltech fight for the remaining deals. Horizontal productivity tools struggle unless you have unique enterprise distribution.
How important is profitability for NYC SaaS investors?
Very important by Series B. NYC investors expect path to profitability within 18-24 months of Series A. That's different from SF where growth-at-all-costs still works. Show strong unit economics and reasonable burn multiples. If you're burning $2M monthly at $3M ARR, you won't get funded here.