Innovation Labs
Our Innovation Labs offer entrepreneurs worldwide an expedited path to testing their technologies with some of the largest, most complex public sector agencies in the New York region.
Our ambition is to help New York City transform the delivery of essential services and improve daily life for every New Yorker. Our Lab programs ensure that government has access to innovation and that the benefits of innovation are shared.
We establish Innovation Labs in critical sectors where transformative technology solutions can have the greatest impact.
Transit Tech Lab
The Transit Tech Lab launched in 2018 in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to apply technology solutions to address urgent transit delivery challenges. In 2019, the program expanded to include NJ Transit, the NYC Department of Transportation, and the Port Authority of NY and NJ.
Environmental Tech Lab
The Environmental Tech Lab was launched in 2023, in partnership with New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, to address new challenges posed by climate change and the need to build a sustainable future for our water and wastewater systems.
Buildings Tech Lab
The Buildings Tech Lab launched in 2024 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Buildings to accelerate innovation in construction, safety, and sustainability in New York City’s built environment.
FinTech Innovation Lab
The FinTech Innovation Lab is one of our early-generation Lab programs, launched in 2010 in partnership with Accenture. Each year, the Lab helps early- and growth-stage fintech companies refine and test their value propositions through mentorship and collaboration with over 40 top financial services and venture capital firms.
Each of our early-generation private sector labs supported the growth of emerging tech companies in key sectors, including enterprise technology (NYCSeed, 2008), life sciences (BioAccelerate NYC, 2010), health care (New York Digital Health Innovation Lab, 2012), and the fashion industry (Fashion Tech Lab, 2014).
How it works
Early- to growth-stage companies are invited to solve specific challenges, identified by the public sector agencies. Challenge winners conduct an eight-week proof of concept to assess their technology at commercial scale. Exceptional use cases earn a 12-month pilot.
Throughout the program, agency input helps entrepreneurs refine their products and learn how best to deploy them. This feedback accelerates their understanding of what the market needs because the market is at the table with them.
Challenges we’re addressing in 2024:
How to maximize the city’s curb space to better serve the multiple and varied needs of New Yorkers
How to build a transit system that is more resilient and adaptive to climate threats, aging infrastructure, and advances in renewable energy
How to better communicate service changes, reduce delays, and augment safety and cleanliness initiatives to improve the daily experience of New Yorkers taking public transportation
How to enhance the management of New York City’s water and wastewater assets via improved predictive maintenance and operational efficiencies
How to apply data and technology to help automate the Department of Environmental Protection’s operations and increase staff capacity
How to better manage internal processes to expedite permitting processes, building inspections, code reviews, and enforcement initiatives
This is technology in the public interest.
Public agencies can discover, assess, and pilot new technology solutions to their critical challenges and most important priorities on an expedited basis, and essentially at no cost.
Innovative tech companies gain exposure to New York City’s public agencies, corporate partners, and investors—and an opportunity to demonstrate their solutions at scale.
Industry leaders get a first look at what some of the world’s most promising tech companies can do.
Every New Yorker benefits from a more livable and resilient city.
