EVENTS

EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Discover technologies forging the future at Luminate Finals 2023!

Watch the startups of cohort 6 light up the stage at Luminate’s annual showcase and awards ceremony. Join us in the heart of Downtown Rochester at Innovation Square to:

  • See which teams are awarded $2 million in follow-on funding, with a grand prize of $1 million for Company of the Year!
  • Vote live for your favorite team to help them bring home this year’s Audience Choice Award and $10,000.
  • Network among entrepreneurs, startup supporters, and members of Rochester’s vibrant innovation ecosystem.

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EDT  |  In-Person / Virtual
Virtual program kicks off at 11:30 AM


PAST EVENTS

Luminate Finals 2022

Thank you to Optica for sponsoring and hosting Luminate Finals 2022 in conjunction with Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science in Rochester. Nearly 300 attended in person at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, and hundreds more livestreamed the event from more than 30 countries.

Luminate Finals 2022 marked the graduation of the startups in cohort 5 of the Luminate accelerator — companies that are revolutionizing semiconductor manufacturing, diabetes management, aerospace, ophthalmology, and other industries. Congratulations to our 10 finalists, as well as our runners up and regional participant!

Watch the Recording

Congratulations to Our Follow-On Funding Recipients

$1,000,000: LIDROTEC
LIDROTEC’s wafer-dicing laser technology enables thinner cuts with a virtually 0% damage rate, providing significant cost savings and productivity increases to the semiconductor industry.

$500,000: Custom Surgical
Custom Surgical’s MicroREC allows ophthalmologists to connect their smartphone camera to the optical path of their microscopes, providing an effective way to record, store, and analyze medical procedures, and leverage them to diagnose and treat patients.

$250,000: Alertgy
Alertgy’s patented wristband platform gives diabetics and pre-diabetics a way to non-invasively monitor their blood glucose levels on demand, providing trending information and automatic alerts if levels are too high or too low.

$125,000: MEETOPTICS
MEETOPTICS’ AI-driven platform helps engineers and researchers in the optics and photonics space access and compare products and technologies from trusted manufacturers.

$125,000: SCOUT
SCOUT’s vision-based autonomy solutions allow for automated detection, tracking, and characterization of space objects and orbital debris, critical for space safety and mission assurance as space traffic continues to grow.

$10,000 (Audience Choice): Custom Surgical


Luminate Finals 2021

Luminate Finals 2021 was streamed internationally on Thursday, September 30. Presented by Optica (formerly The Optical Society / OSA), the event marked the graduation of the ten startups in cohort 4 of the Luminate accelerator.

Watch the Recording

[Download Program]

Congratulations to Our Follow-On Funding Recipients

$1,000,000: PreAct Technologies
$400,000: Andluca Technologies
$250,000: Mesodyne
$250,000: Dynocardia
$200,000: Owl Autonomous Imaging
$10,000 (Audience Choice): Layer Metrics


Luminate Finals 2020

Luminate Finals 2020 was streamed internationally on Monday, September 14 as part of The Optical Society‘s all-virtual Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science (FiO+LS) APS/DLS conference.

Watch the Recording

Congratulations to Our Follow-On Funding Recipients

$1,000,000: SunDensity
$400,000: Simulated Inanimate Models
$300,000: Rubitection
$250,000: Nordetect
$250,000: AkknaTek
$10,000 (Audience Choice): Kilo Medical Solutions