Every year, the judging process gets harder as we see more interesting ways to change the current technology landscape. Luminate reviewed 138 applications from 33 different countries for cohort 9. The ten companies selected are addressing complex challenges with novel deep technologies across multiple industries, including life sciences, augmented and virtual reality, advanced manufacturing, and sensing and monitoring.
“These startups reflect Luminate NY’s standing as a premier global destination for deep-tech innovation,” said Dr. Sujatha Ramanujan, Luminate Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer. “By connecting these visionary founders with our region’s unmatched OPI supply chain and technical expertise, we are not only accelerating the commercialization of life-changing technologies but also cementing the Finger Lakes’ position as the world’s epicenter for optics and photonics.”
The ten teams selected to join us include:
- AB Photonics (Guilford, CT) — Developing advanced pulsed laser technology that combines affordability with intuitive operation for end-users.
- Brightlight Photonics (Cambridge, MA) — Revolutionizing CMOS-compatible laser sources for biomedicine, metrology, and quantum technologies.
- Ciconia Medical (San Diego, CA) — Improving women’s childbirth experiences and outcomes through the first AI-based medical device for vaginal exams.
- Diamond Quanta (Mountain View, CA) — Building the first scalable engineered-diamond platform, enabling coatings, substrates, and active devices across consumer, automotive, aerospace/defense, and quantum photonics.
- Gekko Photonics (Wroclaw, Poland) — Improving product quality with non-invasive tools that use Raman spectroscopy to monitor chemical reactions in real time.
- HyperVision LTD (Haifa, Israel) — Resolving Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality human vision related challenges through proprietary, very-wide-view pancake lens architecture.
- Manifest Technologies Global (Boulder, CO) — Solving the problems holding advanced manufacturing back through Parallax Volumetric Additive Manufacturing technology, a breakthrough platform that fabricates complex parts in a single, continuous step.
- Modendo (Boulder, CO) — Offering ultrathin microscopes that comprise a single optical fiber and provide high-resolution imaging for industrial and medical applications.
- Phlotonics (Rochester, NY) — Empowering advanced biomanufacturing and drug discovery through photonic sensor platforms that provide real-time, label-free biomolecular analysis.
- Smith Displays Limited (Southampton, United Kingdom) — Transforming Augmented Reality (AR) displays with a completely new approach using nonlinear wavemixing technology.
Read the full announcement from Empire State Development.
We’ll officially welcome cohort 9 to Rochester next month and will share updates on these teams throughout their time in the accelerator.
Region’s laser leadership shines during STELLAR site visit
NextCorps and Luminate recently hosted representatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of a site visit for STELLAR—the University of Rochester-led initiative that is one of 15 finalists nationwide in the NSF Regional Innovation Engines competition, and the only project from New York State still under consideration. If selected, the Rochester-Finger Lakes region could receive up to $160 million over the next decade to accelerate research, workforce training, and business growth tied to optics, photonics, imaging, and laser technology.
During the visit, NSF officials met with more than 75 community leaders to see firsthand how universities, companies, and economic development organizations are working together to make Rochester a national hub for laser innovation.
“The U.S. only makes about a third of the lasers used in this country, and that number is shrinking,” shared Dr. Ramanujan, Luminate Managing Director and CIO. “We are headed to a serious national problem if we don’t close that gap and start making our own lasers… Rochester already has the infrastructure in place to support the laser industry. STELLAR could propel us into the next generation of science-based business.”
NSF is expected to announce its Engines awards later this year.
The reformer & the engineer: A lesser-known Rochester connection
Every March, Rochester honors Susan B. Anthony. But behind the famous reformer stood a protege who transformed the world of industry: Kate Gleason.
While Anthony coached her on the “business of being a pioneer,” Gleason was busy shattering glass ceilings in science. Her resume is a series of historic milestones:
- The academic: The first woman in Cornell University’s engineering program.
- The globalist: A manufacturing trailblazer who personally expanded Gleason Works into European markets.
- The innovator: An entrepreneur who launched eight companies and pioneered fireproof, affordable concrete housing.
Gleason’s life was bookended by her connection to Anthony—she even hosted the activist’s final birthday party. Today, her impact is immortalized at the Kate Gleason College of Engineering (RIT), proving that while Anthony fought for the vote, Gleason built the world women would step into.
Portfolio wins
Mosaic Microsystems has been awarded a $60K grant through the FuzeHub’s Microelectronics Innovation Challenge. Together with partner Syracuse University, the Mosaic team is pioneering methods for small modular chip components known as chiplets to share data wirelessly across a device, unlocking new possibilities in AI, high-performance computing, and next-generation communication systems.
Ciconia Medical won a SBIR grant from the USDA to advance its mission to bring objective data into labor monitoring, enabling clinicians to make data-driven decisions and improve outcomes for mothers and babies.
EmGenisys‘ EmVision, its embryo-viability scoring platform, was featured in the Angus Journal in a piece on bull fertility and emerging tools to improve reproductive efficiency.
LightSpeed Photonics introduced LightKonnect Fiber, a board-level optical interconnect designed to bring fiber directly onto the PCB in servers and rack-scale systems. The company also recently announced a new collaboration with Infraeo to address the rapidly growing bandwidth, power, and scalability requirements of AI, hyperscale, and high-performance computing data centers worldwide. Their initial focus will be on the Indian market.
iLoF, the deep tech digital health company behind its AI-powered photonics platform Optomics, has partnered with Bluepharma to integrate the technology across the pharmaceutical value chain and explore joint opportunities in drug development, R&D, and manufacturing.
PlanOpSim announced a breakthrough feature for metaoptics analysis: the Split Area ASM (Angular Spectrum Method), which allows for far-field analysis of components that were once considered too large to handle.
Tap into support and funding
Moving from prototype to production? NextCorps’ free, nine-week virtual Manufacturing Accelerator connects startups with industry experts, trusted manufacturing partners, and funding opportunities. Requires ~4 hours/week. Starts April 15. Apply by April 10.
The New York Business Plan Competition brings together top student-led startups from across the state to compete for $100K in prizes. Join investors and ecosystem leaders on Wednesday, April 22 to see the pitches and awards, walk the expo, and network. Get tickets.
Grow-NY is accepting applications for round 8. The competition awards $3M annually to seven early-stage food and ag startups tackling global challenges through sustainable innovations. Winners receive funding, mentorship, and customized Upstate NY business development trips. Apply by May 15.
GENIUS NY is looking for cohort 10. The startup accelerator invests $3M annually into early-stage companies focused on uncrewed aerial systems, automation, and advanced air mobility. Winners also receive business training, office space, and support with recruiting, marketing, and fundraising. Apply by May 17.
News from the optics epicenter
From Glass Maker to AI Kingmaker: Corning’s Pivot
Corning Incorporated, long known for manufacturing glass and ceramics, has entered a multiyear agreement with Meta Platforms worth up to $6 billion. As AI infrastructure expands, data can no longer move between chips fast enough using traditional copper wiring—it requires the speed of light delivered through optical fiber.