Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Nextcorps bringing the next corp.'s to Rochester

Nextcorps is located on the sixth floor of the Sibley Building
Alex Crichton
Nextcorps is located on the sixth floor of the Sibley Building

Nextcorps, formerly High Tech Rochester, is open for business in downtown Rochester.

Local, state and federal officials cut the ribbon on the new business incubator located in the Sibley Building.

Part of the downtown innovation zone, Nextcorps, an affiliate of the University of Rochester, houses 25 startups, with plans to launch 100 new tech companies from that space, according to company president James Senall.

"We wanted to have a visible location for entrepreneurship that people could really see and understand.  And drive growth and get excited about.  And then, within that, this building, this floor, the Sibley Building is just an iconic space. And it was a gathering space for the community years ago, and it is again now, and we're excited about it," he said. 

Senall says their mission is to help entrepreneurs start and grow new companies.

Two time cancer survivor David Fuehrer says his company has created the most used app in oncology.
Credit Alex Crichton
Two time cancer survivor David Fuehrer says his company has created the most used app in oncology.

CEO of GRYT Health, David Fuehrer, says has developed what he says is the most used patient and caregiver app in oncology.

He says he's excited to bring his business from Manhattan back to Rochester to Nextcorps.  And especially to the iconic Sibley Building.

"There is so much history, but the significance of the history is in believing what's possible.  And it's not about looking back, it's about standing on what's been accomplished, to be able to go forward," he said.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, saying this will add to the building's legacy of driving economic activity.

"High Tech Rochester, which is now Nextcorps, carries a most important role empowering our local entrepreneurs to take their inventions to the next level and to create local jobs," she said.

The $24 million dollar project has received $10 million from the state, another $2.5 million from the federal Economic Development Administration, and $3 million from private philanthropic donations. 

The opening of the facility marks the end of the $16 million dollar phase 1.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter says given the Sibley Building's legacy, she can think of no better way to repurpose the space than by welcoming a new generation of state-of-the-art small businesses.