Luminate NY, the state-funded competition designed to help startup companies in the optics, photonics and imaging industries in Rochester, announced the first 10 finalists chosen on Wednesday.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says the inaugural class includes optics, photonics and imaging start-ups, which were selected after pitching ideas to an advisory panel comprised of industry experts. The list includes two non-U.S. companies; 7 out-of-state companies and 3 Rochester companies.
The 10 selected finalists include:
In the fields of Photonic Devices, Lasers, Materials and Display:
· Arovia, Inc. - Houston, TX
· Lumotune - Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
· Molecular Glasses, Inc. - Rochester, NY
In the fields of Spectroscopy and Medical Devices:
· LighTopTech Corp. - Rochester, NY
· Intelon Optics, Inc. - Boston, MA
In Augmented and Virtual Reality, Sensors, Instrumentation, Image Recognition:
· Bounce Imaging - Boston, MA
· Double Helix LLC - Philadelphia, PA
· Think Biosolution - Dublin, Ireland
· Positive Science - Rochester, NY
· Tarsier Optics, Inc. - Baltimore, MD
Each company will receive an initial investment of $100,000 and will be a part of the initiative's first cohort, which will launch in January 2018 at the newly renovated Sibley Building in downtown Rochester.
The 6-month program will assist these teams with their ideas to accelerate their commercialization.
At the end of the program, the teams will compete on Demo Day, where they will vie for over $2 million in additional funding.
Funding for the $10 million program is being provided through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative award, and is being administered by High Tech Rochester.
