Luminate’s newest cohort has officially begun. Our twelve teams—ten finalists plus two promising runners-up—arrived from all corners of the world to our offices in Rochester, NY to kick off their time in the accelerator program. Founders settled into our downtown space and began diving into the resources that will guide their growth over the next seven months, pausing for plenty of fun along the way.
Highlights from week one included baseline meetings with members of the Luminate staff and advisory board, so we can get a clearer picture of where each business stands and what they need next, as well as meetings with NextCorps’ Manufacturing Accelerator staff to assess every team’s MRL (manufacturing readiness level), TRL (technology), and CRL (commercialization). The cohort had their first expert-led workshops—from customer discovery with Dr. Tanya Raymond of Sapienne Consulting, to solution selling with Karen Mesolella of Dawnbreaker—plus a visit from Mayor Malik Evans, who offered his perspective on why Rochester is a great place to work and call home. And no kick-off week is complete without our Tech Fast Pitch, where the teams delivered 3-minute presentations to members of the optics community who can help them forward their business right here in the region. Special thanks to Dr. Alexis Spilman Vogt for hosting alongside Luminate’s Dr. Sujatha Ramanujan, and to Bell Collaborative for making this annual event a consistent success.
Up next for cohort 8: More rigorous business training, pitch coaching, investor meetings, Rochester outings, and ecosystem connections. Stay tuned!
Welcoming growth
The Luminate advisory board recently added the expertise of Erik Stover, CEO of TRIOPTICS USA, a global leader in optical measurement and manufacturing systems for lenses, optical systems, cameras, and LiDAR modules. Welcome, Erik!
There’s a surge of momentum at NextCorps, the nonprofit administrator of Luminate. Plans were recently announced for a $10 million expansion at the Sibley Building to serve Rochester’s growing startup community. The buildout will add 30 to 35 offices, double the number of conference rooms, create dedicated space for prototyping and light manufacturing and assembly, and increase opportunities for collaboration and events.
“We want to continue being the central hub of startup activity in the region,” said Jim Senall, President of NextCorps. “Having the right kind of spaces to do all those things is appealing to us.”
ChargeUp powers forward
Seven startups were selected for the second cohort of ChargeUp, the only accelerator program in the U.S. focused exclusively on battery and energy storage innovations. Based on curriculum and learnings from two of NextCorps’ proven accelerators—Luminate and the NextCorps Manufacturing Accelerator—ChargeUp follows a similar model and is run by Binghamton University’s Koffman Southern Tier Incubator under the New Energy New York (NENY) initiative.
Each company will receive $25K in funding, access to state-of-the-art labs and facilities, mentorship from industry experts, investor connections, and the opportunity to secure up to $100K in follow-on support for technical development. Congrats to the new cohort!
Portfolio wins
Dr. Juniyali Nauriyal, CEO and co-founder of Photonect Interconnect Solutions, was named Emerging Technology Woman of the Year at TechRochester’s Technology Woman of the Year Awards. Julia Somerdin, CEO and co-founder of Labby, was also selected as a finalist. Congratulations to both Luminate cohort 6 alum!
AmPICQ was awarded Best Semiconductor Startup of the Year from India Electronics and Semiconductors Association at IESA Vision Summit 2025, a premier event dedicated to the semiconductor and electronics industry.
Pixel Photonics has secured €1M in funding from the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND) to further develop its waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (WI-SNSPDs) for multi-mode detection. This development represents a technological breakthrough in ultra-precise photon detection and enables new applications in fields such as microscopy, diagnostics, and laser communication.
Qunnect recently collaborated with Deutsche Telekom to demonstrate the transmission of entangled photons over 30 km of commercial fiber with 99% fidelity sustained for 17 days, surpassing previous records for sustained, high fidelity transmission of entangled photons over a commercial fiber network.
VoxelSensors was one of ten selected for the inVISION Top Innovation 2025 awards. With its Single Photon Active Event Sensor (SPAES), VoxelSensors is introducing a new type of sensor that enables a 3D perception system based on laser triangulation.
Scout Space will fly research payloads on Dawn Aerospace’s reusable Mk-II Aurora spaceplane as part of a suborbital flight campaign alongside top U.S. institutions in 2025.
AkknaTek launched its product at the Ophthalmology Academy of Germany and received an Honorable Mention at the ASCRS SightLine Business Forum.
Photonect CEO, Dr. Juniyali Nauriyal, was featured in SPIE’s Women in Optics series, where she talked about her path from early science outreach events in India to launching a photonics company in the U.S.
Circle Optics has been awarded a $250K Phase I SBIR contract by the U.S. Army to advance its stitch-free panoramic imaging technology.
Rubitection has raised over $400K on Wefunder so far. Its investment round closes on April 30.
Funding opportunities
GENIUS NY is accepting applications for cohort 9. The program invests $3M annually in five early-stage companies focused on uncrewed aerial systems, automation, and advanced air mobility, offering funding, mentorship, and connections to investors and customers. Apply by May 28.
Grow-NY is accepting applications for round 7. The competition awards $3M annually to seven early-stage food and ag startups from around the world that are tackling global challenges through sustainable, healthy, and scalable innovations. Winners receive funding, mentorship, and customized business development trips to Upstate NY. Apply by May 15.