Our biggest event of the year is just around the corner! Join us on October 22 for Luminate Finals 2025, where the 12 startups from cohort 8 will cap off their time in the accelerator program and see who goes home with follow-on funding. Expect bold science, groundbreaking technology, and big checks—more than $2 million is on the line, including $1 million to Company of the Year. Vote for your favorite company and help them win $10K in cash.
Register now to reserve your spot and get updates as the event draws near!
Luminate Finals 2025 is sponsored by SPIE and part of the SPIE Optifab 2025 lineup. If you attend Finals in person, stick around for the SPIE Jam, kicking off at the same venue shortly after the event. Network over drinks with Rochester’s vibrant innovation community.
Sharpening pitches, strengthening ties
As we approach the end of cohort 8, we’re keeping the teams busy and further sharpening their investment readiness. The startups put their progress to the test during our annual 5×5 pitch series—five minutes to present, followed by five minutes of Q&A with investors—and recorded their company overview videos that will premiere during Luminate Finals.
The teams also dove into workshops designed to strengthen both their ventures and their leadership skills, covering:
- Corporate entity structures and joint ventures, with Mario Fallone, partner at Akerman LLP and co-chair of the firm’s venture capital and emerging growth companies practice
- IP considerations for new ventures, with patent agent Lou Horvath
- Blitzscaling for rapid growth in uncertain conditions, with Karen Mesolella, director of product innovation and development at Rochester Optical
- Turning fear into strength for growth and collaboration, with Raeanne Lacatena, holistic business and mindset coach, and author of The Integrated Entrepreneur
- Future-proofing component procurement, with Arrow Electronics, including a live demo of the SiliconExpert platform of 20,000+ electronic distributors and suppliers
And because connection is just as important as content, we toured both AIM Photonics’ TAP (Test, Assembly, and Packaging) facility and Optimax, a global leader in precision optical manufacturing.
Of course, the week included time to relax and bond: cheering on the Red Wings at Innovative Field, and bowling and networking at Radio Social, hosted by legal professionals from Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC.
Cohort 8 in the news
With the countdown to Finals 2025 officially on, the Rochester Business Journal is profiling each of the teams. Read the featured articles to get to know the OPI innovators of cohort 8.
Pixel Photonics pushes quantum forward with scalable light detection breakthrough (Pictured left)
IRIDESENSE unlocks ability to see the invisible in 3D and color
VanaM Inc. brings agile thin film innovation to the heart of photonics
Portfolio wins
Labby CEO Julia Somerdin was named to Forbes’ 2025 Class of 50 Over 50, a collection of women proving that success and innovation have no age limit. Somerdin is driving Labby’s mission to transform dairy farming with AI-powered milk analysis for early detection of mastitis, a $32B challenge in the dairy industry.
Scout Space completed its first suborbital spaceplane surveillance test flight with Dawn Aerospace, flying its Morning Sparrow sensor suite aboard the Aurora platform at supersonic speeds to advance very low Earth orbit (VLEO) space domain awareness.
One Silicon Chip Photonics (OSCP) released InertialGate, a versatile IMU (inertial measurement unit) interface board that enables seamless integration of OSCP’s inertial systems across multiple platforms.
Qunnect achieved 99% fidelity in its real-world quantum networking deployments in New York and Berlin, advancing secure, quantum-ready infrastructure that integrates seamlessly with today’s fiber networks.
Nicslab co-founder and CEO, Andri Mahendra, has been named one of Optica’s 2025 Entrepreneurs to Watch. Nicslab is redefining control systems for integrated photonics with compact, scalable, and affordable tools that empower researchers and innovators worldwide.
Pixel Photonics hit a new milestone with its integrated detector system, Dena, demonstrating sub-50 ps correlation between entangled photon-pairs. This precision—which holds even at count rates over 20 million counts per second (MCps)—unlocks new possibilities for quantum communication, entanglement-based experiments, and scalable photonic systems.
Upcoming opportunities
NY THRIVE Innovation Voucher Program
Applications reviewed on a rolling basis
Get help bringing cutting-edge semiconductor technology to market with access to university labs and equipment, world-class R&D expertise, and funding up to $250K.
Battery Technician Program: Fall 2025 Cohort
Act fast! Starts September 9
NENY’s Battery Academy offers free online training in battery tech and manufacturing, with optional hands-on labs at SUNY Broome. Open to all experience levels.
For ClimateTech Innovation Showcase 2025
September 22–23 | Newlab, NYC
This two-day event during NYC Climate Week will feature over 35 startups from Venture For ClimateTech and Scale For ClimateTech. Expect pitches, panels, demos, and networking.
SPIE Startup Challenge 2026 at Photonics West
Applications due October 7, 2025
Are you launching a startup in optics or photonics? SPIE’s premier pitch competition offers cash prizes, expert feedback, and exposure to industry leaders and investors.