
New Year, New Possibilities
As the most challenging year in collective memory winds down, opportunity draws near. We’re closing out 2020 with excitement and optimism — the deadline to apply for cohort 4 is quickly approaching! Our team of judges is looking forward to reviewing applications from across the country and around the globe. With applicants from Ireland […]

Counting Down to Cohort 4
Register for Luminate Live Webinars Learn more about Luminate, the benefits of participating, and how to apply. You can access the recording of our first webinar or register for future webinars here. Coming up on December 3, talk with three companies from prior Luminate cohorts who will share their experience at the accelerator. It’s […]

Now Recruiting Cohort 4
2020 brought unprecedented changes to our accelerator program and the companies we support — and we adapted as innovators do. As we move into a new year and recruit our fourth cohort, we’ll continue to stay flexible and offer the funding, programming, resources, and opportunities that will help our startups succeed. Apply to Be […]

Luminate Finals 2020 in Review
Round 3 of the Luminate NY startup competition is a wrap! More than 1,500 people from around the world registered for Luminate Finals 2020, held in conjunction with The Optical Society’s first-ever all-virtual Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO + LS) Conference. Congratulations to This Year’s Investment Recipients! While all ten startup companies […]

July 2020 in Review
Can you believe Luminate Finals 2020 is less than a month away? Registration is now open for this free event. We hope you’ll register here to attend and help your favorite startup take home the “Audience Choice” award by voting. This year, the pitch competition will be held in conjunction with the 2020 Frontiers […]

June 2020 in Review
Be sure to save the date for Luminate Finals 2020! The pitch competition will be held on Sept. 14 from 10:30 AM to Noon EDT at the 2020 Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO+LS) conference. For the first time, FiO+LS will be held virtually, and sessions will be free to attendees. Our Finals […]

May 2020 in Review
Summer is finally here, and cohort III startups are busy preparing their pitches for Demo Day 2020. This year’s event will take place virtually as part of the 2020 Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO + LS) Conference and Exhibition, which will be held Sept. 13-17. We will let you know the exact […]

April 2020 in Review
For Luminate’s previous two cohorts, the end of April meant our finalists were two-thirds of the way through the program and eagerly anticipating Demo Day in June. With COVID-19 disrupting business as usual, we’ve extended this year’s program through the summer and adjusted to a virtual format. Our companies continue to scale their businesses and […]

March 2020 in Review
With stay-at-home orders and many of our cohort teams unable to travel to the U.S., the Luminate accelerator has needed to pivot our model during the global COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful to report that our startups and staff are well, and our program continues with the use of video conferencing and adaptable seminar leaders, […]