We’re down to the wire. Tensions are high.
Grab a front-row seat—either in person at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center or online—to literally feel the pulse of progress as Luminate Finals 2026 hits the stage this Wednesday, September 30.
Ten mind-bending deep-tech startups beat out 138 global applicants to spend the last six months advancing their bold ideas into commercial powerhouses. Now, they’re competing for up to $2M in follow-on funding, including a life-changing $1M Company of the Year investment. The heavy-hitting judges will pick the big winners, but the $10K Audience Choice Award is 100% in your hands.
Don’t miss the chance to witness what’s coming next. For better healthcare, stronger materials, safer skies, and the freedom to innovate without common constraints.
AB Photonics — Engineering high-powered, mode-locked pulsed lasers you can hold in the palm of your hand
Brightlight Photonics — Shrinking high-performance Ti:sapphire lasers to chip scale for quantum technologies
Ciconia Medical — Transforming labor assessment with objective, AI-powered imaging
Diamond Quanta — Making engineered diamond practical for chips, optics, and AI infrastructure
Gekko Photonics — Bringing laboratory-grade chemical insight directly to the production line
Hypervision — Restoring natural peripheral awareness for remote and simulated environments
Manifest Technologies — Modernizing optical manufacturing for thinner, lighter smart optics
Modendo Inc. — Enabling laser inspection of features buried inside advanced semiconductor packages
Phlotonics — Advancing bioprocess monitoring with real-time molecular insight
Smith Displays Limited — Reimagining augmented reality displays with wavemixing physics
Register now to cast your vote live during the event and see who walks away with the $1M!
Cohort 9 in the news
Get to know the OPI+L innovators of Luminate cohort 9 through Rochester Business Journal’s startup spotlights. Explore the teams, technologies, and big ideas they’re bringing to market ahead of Luminate Finals 2026.
Gekko Photonics brings real-time chemical intelligence to industrial process monitoring
Brightlight Photonics shrinks the laser backbone of quantum systems (Technology pictured)
Manifest Technologies is rewriting the rules of lens manufacturing
Phlotonics turns silicon photonics into real-time insight for the bioeconomy
Ciconia Medical advances new standard for labor assessment with imaging and AI technology
Portfolio wins
PlanOpSim launched MetaStack, an industry-first software module that models interactions between multiple metaoptical surfaces in cascade, down to the nanostructure of the meta-atoms. The new tool addresses a key challenge in designing complex metaoptical systems.
Dottir Labs was named first runner-up at the 2026 TiE Boston Women Finals and received a National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) SBIR Phase I grant to advance its chemical intelligence platform. The grant will support additional deployments for water management and environmental monitoring.
Owl Autonomous Imaging was selected for a DUTCH Award to advance its uncooled long-wave infrared imaging technology for next-generation defense and autonomous systems. The award supports the development and demonstration of advanced thermal capabilities.
Ciconia Medical received a second federal SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health, following its USDA-funded award earlier this year. The NIH-supported project will advance its work bringing objective, image-based data to the point of care for maternal care.
Pixel Photonics launched MULTIWAVE, a 24-month project supported by the European Innovation Council Accelerator. The project will expand its single-photon detection technology into space communications, LiDAR, industrial sensing, and biomedical imaging while advancing wafer-level manufacturing.
Events & opportunities
PIC Summit Europe 2026
November 3-4 | Eindhoven, Netherlands
PIC Summit Europe brings together designers, foundries, integrators, OEMs, investors, and other leaders across the integrated photonics industry. The 2026 event features two days of talks, networking, and discussion on the latest developments in photonic integrated circuits.
Luminate is a communications partner for this year’s event. Use code COMMPARTNER15 for 15% off registration.
Manufacturing Accelerator — Last call to apply
Applications due September 30
Ready to take your prototype into production? The NextCorps Manufacturing Accelerator is a free, nine-week virtual program that connects early-stage companies with expert guidance, manufacturing partners, and funding opportunities to bring hardware products to market.