New York is in the midst of an explosive period of growth in artificial intelligence and machine learning. While Silicon Valley is the AI capital of the West Coast, NYC has made it clear that it’s the East Coast counterpart. Here are some of the top reasons we’ve identified for why NYC is the go-to spot for cutting-edge AI work.

NYC has the highest concentration of AI/ML Jobs in the US

Source: Reproduced from Bloomberg’s analysis of Indeed.com

New York is home to more than 7,000 startups — second in size only to San Francisco. However, when it comes to the concentration of artificial intelligence and machine learning jobs in the market, it looks like NYC even has San Francisco beat. An astonishing 11.6% of job postings on indeed.com are related to AI and machine learning, compared to San Francisco’s 9.6% (according to research compiled by Bloomberg). If you’re looking for a job in the artificial intelligence space, New York is the perfect spot.

The market is still growing rapidly

The number of job postings related to artificial intelligence and machine learning has doubled since 2015. In 2012, there were approximately $2.3 billion invested in tech startups in NYC. By 2017, that figure grew six times to $13 billion in investments. It’s clear that investors see what an AI hub NYC has become, and there’s no sign that this growth is slowing down. As we know, investor money translates to more jobs as companies grow their teams.

The giants of AI have positions in NYC

Although these companies have headquarters on the West Coast, they have positions related to artificial intelligence and machine learning located in NYC.

In his book AI Superpowers, Kai-Fu Lee refers to the seven giants of AI: Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba. Of these seven, four are located in the US (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) and they all have AI positions located in NYC. Uber even has its Uber Eats machine learning positions in NYC. As a job seeker, you don’t have to go to Silicon Valley to work for one of these giants. Check out their East Coast hubs in NYC.

There are unique sub-sector opportunities

It’s no secret that NYC is one of the financial epicenters of the world. With financial institutions like Bloomberg, JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock embracing AI, there is no shortage of opportunities to apply your skills at the world’s top financial institutions.

Outside of finance, there are some lesser-known sub-sectors where NYC truly shines. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (2018) identifies three of these sub-sectors, and provides some interesting facts:

Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics

• Advanced manufacturing is the use of innovative technologies by manufacturers to increase or create new forms of production, like 3D printing or industrial IoT where networked sensors and intelligent devices collect data to drive AI.
• NYC is the most active city for 3D-printing in the world.

Cybersecurity

• Given the massive number of companies dependent on highly sensitive data in NYC (think: finance, media, retail, and healthcare companies), it’s no surprise that cybersecurity is a key sub-sector for the city.

Health and Life Sciences

• 9.2% of VC funding in the NYC tech ecosystem went to health-focused startups
• Health unicorns (startups valued at more than $1 billion) in NYC include Oscar Health and Flatiron Health.
• It’s also home to some of the world’s top hospitals and cancer centers like New-York Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Memorial Sloan Kettering.

One thing is clear: given the massive size of the AI and ML market in NYC, and its rapid rate of growth, demand for AI talent is surely going to continue to outstrip supply. If you’re a job seeker looking to break into the AI space, it’s time to set your sights on NYC.

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