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Business Insider
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
VC giant Andreessen Horowitz's power move has spurred some niche drama at New York Tech Week
Venture capital juggernaut Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) pulled a power move at this year's Tech Week — and it's become the conference's most compelling niche drama. Tech Week, whose current iteration was started by A16z in 2022, returned to New York City this month with a full calendar of events just as the city started heating up for summer. The conference's "decentralized" nature means anyone can throw an event and apply to have it added to the official calendar, provided they follow a set of rules. However, one of this year's new rules has drawn criticism from some organizers and attendees: Official tech week events must use Partiful. "The only official events platform this year is Partiful," the 2025 Tech Week guide says. That's left Luma, a competing events platform popular at previous iterations of Tech Week, out in the cold. Versions of Tech Week's events FAQ document from 2023 and 2024 said events could use either Luma or Partiful. And here's what's gotten tongues wagging: A16z is invested in Partiful, but not in Luma. "I get the Partiful push this year. It's a portfolio company. Of course they're gonna try to make it the default," Olivia O'Sullivan, a partner and COO at Forum VC, wrote in a LinkedIn post critiquing the platform that led to a barrage of comments. "Hot take: next year, the people should take back NY Tech Week and bring back Luma as the default platform," she wrote. The change has been a headache for some organizers. Daniel Oberhaus, the founder of PR firm Haus, told Business Insider he couldn't get his defense tech rooftop party listed on the formal Tech Week schedule because he had used Luma to invite guests. "Most conferences we attend tend to be run through Luma," he said. When Oberhaus asked Tech Week organizers to add his event to the official calendar, they requested that he delete the Luma invite and remake it only on Partiful, he said. Oberhaus decided to keep the initial Luma invite since "hundreds of people" had already signed up. "Perhaps it's egg on our face in the sense that we should have just made a Partiful to begin with, but we were just using the platform we were familiar with," he said. "We had plenty of people in attendance, and we're just not on the official page now, which is, I think, a bit of a bummer for a distributed conference." Other event organizers and attendees also groused about the changes to what they said was once a free-wheeling gathering for the technorati with few rules on how events should or shouldn't be run. Luma cofounder Victor Pontis was measured in his response when asked for comment on the shift, but nodded to the power dynamics at play. "With successful initiatives like this, people naturally try to claim ownership since it's valuable and well-known," Pontis said. "Having control over what qualifies as a Tech Week event gives some power." Partiful vs. Luma Founded in 2020 by ex-Palantir staffers, Partiful has become a go-to app for young people hosting shindigs and offers a one-stop shop for hosts to customize their event pages and send text blasts and updates. Partiful has become especially popular in tech circles and among the under-30 crowd, and has been used by some Tech Week organizers in New York and LA in previous years. For some Tech Week attendees at this year's New York events, however, Partiful was a new — and not necessarily preferred — platform for RSVPs. Luma, also founded in 2020, has been a favorite event management platform for many in the tech world. Jacob Wallach, the creator behind the TikTok account Excel Daddy, told BI that when he attended Tech Week events last year, "it felt like everything was on Luma." Wallach also hosts events regularly in New York and typically uses Luma for managing RSVPs. On the other hand, Wallach said, Partiful is the app he and his peers often use for "birthdays, house parties, barbecues." Despite the drama, being the sole official platform could be a boon for Partiful. Natalie Neptune, founder of GenZtea, hosted multiple events this Tech Week. She used Partiful for these, which made it onto the official calendar, but said she typically uses Luma. "I started using Luma last year just because New York Tech Week used Luma," Neptune said. That same flywheel, if all goes well, could come to Partiful. The platform has also rolled out tools specifically for professional events, like collecting emails for RSVPs and syncing with calendars. Neptune said she thinks New York Tech Week and A16z's focus on Partiful this year "definitely will have more people" using the platform.
Business Insider
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
'SF, we're coming for you:' We went to NYC Tech Week, where everyone is saying the city is the land of opportunity
One of the clearest takeaways from New York's Andreessen Horowitz-sponsored Tech Week — a decentralized sprawl of happy hours with panoramic rooftop views, panels, and, this year, pickleball matches — was this: When it comes to building startups from AI to consumer to deep tech, New York is no longer playing catch up to attract startup interest. It might just be pulling ahead. "People don't come to New York to live in a group house and code all night and never see anyone else," said Julie Samuels, the president and CEO of Tech:NYC, an organization that promotes tech founders and entrepreneurship in the city, at a panel on Monday focused on AI startup innovation. Samules added that New York is the place to be for any founders eager to move fast on product and head count. "New Yorkers hire," she said. "People want to live here, have always wanted and will continue to want to live here." Getting into Tech Week wasn't exactly easy: Many events were full or required pre-approval on Partiful, the Andreessen-backed invite platform of choice. Still, Business Insider managed to drop in on a few of the week's activities, like a boozy happy hour on the rooftop of IBM's sleek Manhattan headquarters and Gen Z founders hobnobbing at a cosmetics store, to see what all the hype was about. NY is going all in on AI San Francisco has long reigned supreme as home to the industry's hottest AI startups: big-name LLM developers like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Claude are all headquartered there, along with numerous other young companies at the app and infrastructure layer. One of the biggest themes at New York's tech week events, however, is that the Big Apple isn't just ready to welcome an AI startup here and there. The city's tech community is pushing to become a destination for all things AI. "The entire AI stack is in New York — you have ecosystems, agents, apps," said Emily Fontaine, IBM's global head of venture capital, during a panel discussion at the company's Madison Avenue headquarters early in the week. "When you come to New York, you have the whole spectrum to invest in," she said. "These are all companies that are well developed, have a product, and are starting to get revenue." Fontaine added that in New York, "compared to SF, you have strong founders who are actually driving revenue who are excited to go to market with us." At a power walk to kick off the event, most founders couldn't stop talking about AI. They spanned industries and geographies, but one told BI he was determined to make New York City the country's startup capital. "It's the second best. I want to make it the biggest startup ecosystem in the world," Somya Gupta, who cofounded an AI education startup, said. "SF, we're coming for you!" Founder Ben Spray said his next venture is an AI-powered IT department, but that the AI component is a marketing strategy, given how hot the technology is. "It's a little bit of a branding move," he told BI. "I mean, take my AI IT department — it's really just an IT department built from the ground up to fit into the AI world." Even local and state politicians are getting in on the AI push. At an Axios panel on Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she's keen on using AI to train 100,000 state employees in offices like the DMV. "I'm not looking to eliminate their jobs," she said. "I see great potential here, and I leaned hard into this." Defense and hardware head East Science, defense, and hardware-oriented startups, known as deep tech companies, are a red-hot sector on the West Coast, though the New York scene is finally heating up. One standout was the rooftop party in SoHo hosted by Haus, a deep tech public relations and communications firm, and Stonegardens Advisory, a consultancy that advises startups breaking into defense. With swanky cocktails and cheese boards piled high, panelists dished out how to win key government contracts early. "The end goal was ultimately to help people who are building the space understand what it means to work with the Department of Defense, which is increasingly opening itself up to startups and learning how to work with these more early-stage companies," Daniel Oberhaus, who founded Haus, told BI in an interview. (Last week, the Pentagon launched a program to back college-founded startups that serve both commercial and government customers.) Deep tech may not be as big of a thing in New York as it is in El Segundo, Calif., a nucleus of aerospace, defense, and energy companies, Oberhaus admitted. But Newlab, a warehouse and startup space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, thinks that New York's software chops and engineering talent will make the city's hardware companies rival the West Coast. Newlab is tricked out with offices and labs, which have attracted early-stage deep tech startups. A hub for consumer apps and Gen Z founders Consumer startups — especially those built for or by Gen Z — are also having a moment in the city that never sleeps. At one happy hour on Wednesday, founders of consumer startups mingled over drinks to talk about the apps they're building. Naturally, the event (which was cohosted by Consumer Club, a Discord community for consumer founders, and Superwall, a paywall tool for apps) took place at coworking space and consumer startup hub Verci. Some startups in the crowd included BePresent, a screen time control app that works out of the Verci space. A16z's Speedrun startup school also had a presence there, with an investor and recent alumni, like Waveful, a social network that was part of the most recent Speedrun cohort. Lekondo, a visual search engine for fashion, told us they were recently accepted into Speedrun's upcoming cohort. That same night, we also stopped by another mixer for Gen Z founders and creators, put together by Natalie Neptune, founder of GenZtea, an IRL events business that aims to connect brands with Gen Z, at skincare brand Kiehl's. Nathaneo Johnson, a Yale student who cofounded the buzzy professional networking startup Series, was among the Gen Z founders in the crowd. "You're seeing an increase of these AI-powered social networks," said Neptune. The NY vs. SF debate rages on Wherever we went, the techies were ready to socialize — perhaps markedly different from the builder culture vibe in San Francisco. Loosened up by seemingly endless trays of spicy margaritas and champagne at yet another rooftop party, this one at IBM, the crowd was lively and relaxed. Attendees, wearing button-downs rumpled from a day's work, didn't just talk business: Conversations evolved into debates on everything from global politics to the misfortunes of dating in New York City. "Tech Week has proven NYC is a mainstay and a competitive market for tech," Molly O'Shea, founder of venture-focused newsletter Sourcery, told BI in a text. O'Shea moderated two panels at Tech Week. "I'm sure many visitors (like me) are contemplating moving here to get some of this energy."
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Instacart hit with lawsuit over new Fizz app
Dive Brief: Instacart is facing a trademark infringement lawsuit over its new app, Fizz, from social media and event planning platform company Fizz Social complaint, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the grocery technology company and Partiful, which has an integration of Instacart's Fizz app, are using "a mark identical to Plaintiff's" to compete against Fizz Social for the same Generation Z lawsuit came one day after Instacart unveiled the new standalone app, which has an integration with Partiful, that allows event hosts and guests to make group delivery orders. Dive Insight: Fizz Social claims that Instacart's new app not only bears a name that could confuse consumers, but also targets the same Gen Z cohort with a similar focus on social events. "Defendants' unauthorized use of the FIZZ Marks is not only likely to cause confusion … it also constitutes bad faith," Fizz Social said in its complaint, alleging that Instacart knew or should have known about Fizz Social but chose to use a similar name "in an effort to misleadingly divert consumers." The complaint also claims that trademarks submitted for Instacart's Fizz app "cover nearly identical subject matter" as Fizz Social's trademark applications for the "Fizz" marks. Fizz Social is requesting a jury trial for the case. Fizz Social and Instacart declined to comment on the lawsuit. Partiful did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. Unveiled last week, Instacart's Fizz app lets customers ages 21 and older place a consolidated order for one address. The launch boosts Instacart's presence in the party-planning space as the grocery technology company continues to find ways to reach digitally engaged shoppers. Fizz Social, which was founded at Stanford University and is now based in New York City, runs a platform that allows college students and young people across the U.S. to find parties, organize gatherings and coordinate social events. The company also has a marketplace for buying and selling items. The company has raised at least $41.5 million in funding, including a Series B round of $25 million in 2023, according to market research and data platform Tracxn. Fizz Social claims that it has been the owner of the "Fizz" name since at least early January 2022 and that the marks have become "a distinctive identifier" of its brand and services. However, the complaint also notes that Fizz filed for trademark registration in 2024 and that the application is still pending. In 2023, Fizz sued rival Sidechat over unfair competition practices, TechCrunch reported. Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Instacart faces trademark lawsuit over Fizz app
You can find original article here Supermarketnews. Subscribe to our free daily Supermarketnews newsletter. Instacart's new party-centric app Fizz, launched on Tuesday, could go flat following a trademark lawsuit filed on Wednesday by Fizz Social Corp. in a California district court. The New York City-based social media and commerce company, which targets college students and others in the Gen Z demographic, argues in the lawsuit that San Francisco-based last-mile delivery company Instacart and its business partner Partiful are competing head-on and using the company's trademarked name. In the app store, the plaintiff describes its app as 'your go-to place to connect with the people who matter to you most.' 'On Fizz, you can join your school's private community or your nearby community to share and discover authentic content through text, video, image, direct message, and more. With every post, you have the ability to be anonymous, allowing you to be your most authentic self,' the app description noted. The Fizz Social Marketplace offers users a platform to 'Buy and Sell With Your Peers, Safely: Browse clothing, TVs, textbooks, cars, and more in the comfort of your private community. Safety and efficiency are the top priorities in the peer-to-peer Fizz Marketplace.' Fizz Social said in the lawsuit that Instacart is a 'blatant attempt to misappropriate' its brand. An Instacart spokesperson declined to comment in response to questions from Supermarket News. Instacart's Fizz app offers party supply delivery for a flat fee of $5 and is 'tailor-made for groups' due to its ability to invite friends to contribute to the order separately. Fizz Social said in the lawsuit that it has used the trademark since 2022 and has 'dedicated significant time, energy, and resources to developing distinctive social networking services that facilitate event discovery, party planning, and community building among the Gen Z community.' The app is currently active in more than 41 states, according to the lawsuit. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Fast Company
09-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Gen Z social app Fizz sues Instacart over trademark infringement
A startup marketing to Gen Z on college campuses filed a lawsuit this week alleging that Instacart engaged in federal trademark infringement and unfair competition by naming its new group ordering app 'Fizz.' The plaintiffs, Fizz Social Corp., claim they have been operating their event planning platform under the 'FIZZ' trademark and have become a well-known social platform used on more than 400 college campuses. The app, which requires users to sign up with a college email, features anonymous text posts, polls, photos, and the ability to send direct messages. The company has raised at least $41.5 million as of last summer, TechCrunch reported in 2024. 'This new Fizz App by Instacart and Partiful is a blatant attempt to misappropriate the goodwill that Plaintiff has painstakingly developed through its continuous use of the FIZZ Marks among the Gen-Z demographic,' attorneys for the social media app wrote in a complaint filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit follows Instacart's launch this week of a new stand-alone app also named Fizz, which allows groups to order snacks and drinks ahead of parties for a flat $5 delivery fee. Instacart also integrated the app with Partiful, a popular event planning platform, which is also named as a defendant in the suit. 'Plaintiff brings this action based on Defendants' past, current, and planned use of the FIZZ trademark in connection with collaborative event promotion and planning, social discovery, and social networking services targeting the same Gen-Z consumer base that Plaintiff has served since at least January 2022,' the suit states. Fizz, the social app, is demanding an immediate halt to Instacart's use of the Fizz name and is seeking damages. According to the lawsuit, Fizz has used the name since January 2022. However, it only filed for trademark registration in 2024, with applications still pending. Still, Kevin J. Greene, the John J. Schumacher chair and professor at Southwestern Law School, says that while unfair competition claims are often 'throwaway claims' that lawyers routinely include, the social media platform could have a strong case under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. Greene notes that this section protects unregistered marks and addresses likely confusion over similar names.
