Much of this change has to do with the way that the technology industry has shifted toward creating consumer products and applications, rather than building the basic framework of computing and the Internet. Many new start-ups benefit from proximity to the media, advertising and fashion industries, New York’s strengths. And as the city’s industry grows, entrepreneurs say, it is offsetting some of the traditional disadvantages of being outside Silicon Valley.

There is little talk of New York overtaking the Bay Area as the hub of the country’s technology industry. And the concept of New York as a real rival to Silicon Valley can make some Californian eyes start rolling.

“You can definitely build great companies elsewhere, but I have not seen anyplace in the world that builds true global franchises — technology-based franchises — like this place does,” said John O’Farrell, a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, based in Menlo Park, Calif. Though the firm has invested in several New York-based start-ups, Mr. Farrell said, it sets the bar higher for them, largely because it believes they are less likely to succeed.

A lack of venture capital financing outside of Silicon Valley has traditionally been a prohibitive barrier for start-up founders who might have wanted to put down roots elsewhere. But that is changing. Almost 500 start-ups in New York received venture financing from 2007 to 2011, according to a recent report from the Center for an Urban Future, a New York-based public policy organization. The number of venture capital deals in the city has risen 32 percent since 2007, while the figures for other areas, including the Valley, have dropped. And several major venture capital firms have recently opened offices in New York.