Silicon Alley Is Having a Second Act Around the Flatiron
The stretch of Broadway that birthed New York's dot-com scene is once again thick with software offices — this time built to last.
In the late 1990s, the blocks around the Flatiron Building earned the nickname Silicon Alley as web startups packed its cast-iron lofts. Many vanished in the crash. Their successors, it turns out, never really left — and in 2026 the district is booming again.
The new generation is warier and better funded. The fictional data firm Cobble & Row occupies three floors of a converted department store, its engineers working beneath original tin ceilings. Nearby, a cluster of design studios and AI startups has made the neighborhood a magnet for talent.
What's different this time, founders say, is discipline. Fewer beanbags, more revenue. The Alley has grown up, even if the buildings look exactly the same.
More in Business
New York's Small Businesses Are Booming Again — and the Boroughs Are Leading
New storefront applications hit a record across the five boroughs this spring, as founders bet that neighborhood retail still beats the algorithm.
Venture Money Returns to New York — but the Checks Come With Strings
Funding is flowing to the city's startups again after a long drought, though investors are demanding profitability, not just growth.
Women-Owned Businesses Are the Fastest-Growing Slice of New York's Economy
New data shows women launching companies across the city at double the overall rate, reshaping industries from construction to care.