Brooklyn Bridge Ventures secures more than $15 million
Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, led by sole partner and founder Charlie O’Donnell, announced it closed a $15.1 million seed fund this week. Now, the firm anticipates checks of $350,000 when it leads deals, compared with the roughly $200,000 its first fund could support. Looking ahead, the fund will continue to focus on New York companies that have yet to raise $750,000 in previous rounds. [Forbes]
Newsela rolls out Library
Heading into the new school year, Newsela announced it will now offer a major new feature it calls the Library. The Library contains a slew of primary source material, historical and biographical content adapted to different reading levels in both English and Spanish. [TechCrunch]
The NYC subway may have limited mobile ticketing as soon as next year
Mastercard and Boston-based Masabi are currently in talks with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to expand their recently launched e-ticketing app for the agency’s commuter rail lines to New York City’s subway system as soon as next year. The plan is to install thousands of e-readers in hundreds of subway stations to allow Metro North and Long Island Rail Road passengers who bought their tickets online using the MTA’s eTix app to seamlessly transfer onto the subway system. [The Verge]
BuzzFeed reorganizes into two new businesses
This week, the company announced it will be splitting into two new overarching departments: BuzzFeed News and BuzzFeed Entertainment Group. BuzzFeed Entertainment Group will encompass all entertainment content and will be led by the president of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, Ze Frank. BuzzFeed News will serve as the company’s journalistic arm and will be led by editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, Ben Smith. Ultimately, the restructuring aims to bring video content to the core of the company. [Built In NYC]
5 NYC startups graduate from Y Combinator's Summer '16 cohort
This week, 92 startups pitched at Y Combinator’s two Demo Days, presenting how their vision is going to change the world to an audience of venture capitalists, angel investors and notable tech leaders. In total, five New York-based startups pitched at this year's two-day YC showcase, running the gamut from on-demand haircuts to artisanal food marketplaces. [Built In NYC]
Images provided by Facebook and companies.
Know of a company that deserves coverage? Let us know or tweet us @builtinnewyork.
