Pensievision Receives $1 Million in Investment; Four Additional Companies Secure Follow-on Investments Applications Now Being Accepted for Round Nine of the Optics, Photonics, and Imaging Competition until January 12, 2026 Investing in Next-Generation Ideas Supports the Region’s Focused Comprehensive Strategy to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy Via Governor NY Governor Kathy Hochul today announced Pensievision as the winner of Round Eight of the Luminate NY optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI) startup accelerator competition. The San Diego, California based company received the “Company of the Year” Award at Luminate NY Finals 2025, which was held live at Arbor Midtown in downtown Rochester and streamed online. Pensievision will receive $1 million in investment from New York State through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The company will use the follow-on funding to anchor its growth in the region by engaging with local supply chains, hiring engineering talent from area universities, and partnering with Rochester-based design and manufacturing firms. Luminate NY, which is administered by NextCorps, is the world’s largest business accelerator for emerging companies that have technologies enabled by optics, photonics, and imaging. “Thanks in part to the successful Luminate NY competition, our state continues to lead the nation on

Via the Rochester Business Journal The rise of quantum computing threatens to break encryption systems that protect sensitive information across industries, from banking to defense. Traditional methods, while effective today, will soon be vulnerable to attacks that could compromise critical infrastructure and data security. The potential fallout is immense—exposing financial systems, healthcare data, and even government communications to new forms of cyberattacks. amPICQ, a deep tech startup founded in Hyderabad, India, is addressing this global challenge by developing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to create quantum-safe communication systems. Their miniaturized, energy-efficient technology delivers the same functionality as bulky, discrete hardware—at a fraction of the size, weight, and cost. The company aims to make secure communication both practical and scalable, ensuring data is protected against the computing power of tomorrow. Shrinking complex systems onto a chip At the core of amPICQ’s innovation is a proprietary thin-film deposition and circuit integration platform. This technology makes it possible to consolidate complex optical systems into a single chip, allowing secure quantum communication to be deployed more widely and cost-effectively. Miniaturization is key. Traditional systems for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) rely on racks of discrete optical components, making them expensive, power-hungry, and difficult to scale. By

Via the Rochester Business Journal Optics has ushered in a multitude of innovations: Eyeglasses, microscopes, and telescopes that allow us to see things more clearly, from extreme close ups to distant galaxies. Fiber optic, laser, and advanced imaging technologies that enable lightning-fast data transfer, telecommunications, and more precise medical diagnoses. Optical sensors that help cameras and medical devices improve our ability to document what’s really happening, and so much more. While these technologies and applications may differ, they all rely on the fundamental concepts of how light behaves. Traditional optics — often referred to as geometric optics — focuses on how light propagates. To control light, these systems use refractive lenses to bend or guide light beams. This typically requires lenses with specific curvatures and carefully designed shapes, which are often bulky, heavy, costly, and involve long lead times to produce. They often require special materials that are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions or dependent on foreign sources. One company working to address these issues is SNOChip. Headquartered near Princeton University, the startup is pushing the boundaries of optics and photonics with the nanotechnology of optical metasurface, also called metalens. By utilizing advanced 2D nanostructures that can precisely control light,

Via the Rochester Business Journal Sometimes science takes a surprising turn. While working on a high-tech imaging project, Professor Dominic Zerulla and his nano-optics team at the University College of Dublin (UCD) discovered something unexpected: by applying a small voltage to a nanometer thin optical coating, they could not only change the overall shape of the optical element but control that shape with extreme precision. Realizing the potential of this breakthrough, a startup called LirOptic was formed. Based in Dublin, the spinout from UCD is developing smart, solid-state lenses that can adjust their shape on demand — without any mechanically shifting parts. These shape-shifting lenses could solve long-standing problems in today’s adjustable optics, opening up new possibilities in everything from medical imaging and smartphones to space tech and self-driving cars. Revolutionizing optics and imaging “Existing adjustable lens technologies have limitations that impact how and where they can be used,” said Simon Forsyth, co-founder and CEO of LirOptic. “Our adjustable solid-state lens offers optical innovators unparalleled compactness, reliability, and precision. In addition to facilitating the miniaturization of medical imaging devices, our technology has the potential to improve cell phone imaging systems, as well as demanding optical applications for extended reality (XR),

Via the Rochester Business Journal On the back of that small rectangular device you carry everywhere, the one you use to text, scroll, snap photos and stream videos, sits some of the most advanced cameras ever put in consumer hands. Over the past two decades, those tiny lenses have multiplied and improved, evolving from a single grainy sensor into sophisticated arrays that can capture portraits, night scenes, and even augmented reality. But despite all this progress, every smartphone camera still depends on a decades-old technology: the Bayer color filter. Originally designed in the 1970s, it remains the backbone of image sensors. However, it also blocks more than half of incoming light and forces manufacturers to use a slow, fragmented production process. As cameras shift from capturing snapshots to powering AI-driven platforms such as facial recognition, drone navigation, and self-driving cars, this outdated filter has become a major roadblock to innovation. Metahelios, a startup based in Glasgow, Scotland, has developed a way around this obstacle by completely reimagining how camera chips are made. Its patented metafilter technology merges color filter functionality and advanced pixel architecture into a single, unified semiconductor process, eliminating inefficiencies while dramatically improving performance. Breaking away from decades-old

Funding, Mentoring, and Access to a World-Class Optics, Photonics, and Imaging Ecosystem Helps Speed the Commercialization of Promising Deep Technologies Applications Are Being Accepted until January 12, 2026 Accelerator Competition is Supported Through “Finger Lakes Forward” – The Region’s Robust Strategy to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy via Empire State Development Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that applications are now open for the ninth round of Luminate NY, the world’s largest startup accelerator for technologies enabled by optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI). Startups from around the globe are invited to apply for a chance to secure funding, expert mentorship, and a foothold in the Finger Lakes Region—home to one of the most robust OPI ecosystems in the world. Luminate NY supports emerging companies that are developing next-generation solutions across industries like autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, communications, AR/VR, robotics, packaging, advanced manufacturing, and more. The program, funded by the transformative Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative, is administered by NextCorps, and located in Rochester, NY. Selected participants must attend in-person programming in Rochester one week each month and join remote sessions the remaining weeks. Applications are being accepted through January 12, 2026. Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner

Via the Rochester Business Journal In the world of high-tech manufacturing, precision is everything. Yet, for decades, a fundamental limitation has held laser systems back: a limited depth of focus (DoF). This constraint makes working on curved or uneven surfaces a clumsy, inefficient process. Manufacturers in the marking, cutting, and engraving industries are forced to rely on painfully slow surface mapping and mechanical modules that constantly readjust the laser’s position. The results are far slower production, higher material waste, and complex systems that are costly to build and maintain—a persistent headache for industries from electronics to aerospace. San Diego-based Oblate Optics is leveraging emerging advances in inverse design and nanomanufacturing to create an innovative solution to limited DoF. Its ultra-thin, high-efficiency, AI-optimized DeepFocus™ metalenses use extended-depth-of-focus (EDoF) to keep the laser focused over a far greater range of working distances than otherwise possible. This eliminates the need for extremely slow surface mapping, and for mechanical or manual refocusing and moving parts—increasing operation speed, accuracy, and cost efficiency. Its compact, plug-and-play modules replace bulky and expensive optics, streamlining the laserbased manufacturing process. “Our optics offer unmatched performance, compactness, and cost effectiveness, making them uniquely suited for next-generation and ultra-fast laser manufacturing

Via the Rochester Business Journal Across industries such as aquaculture, biotech, and advanced manufacturing, chemical processes remain largely invisible. Without insight into critical compounds, such as nutrients, CO₂, and waste products, operators struggle to improve efficiency, decarbonize, or implement smart manufacturing. Dottir Labs is changing that with a compact, field-ready sensor network that delivers continuous, in-line chemical analysis on-site. The idea was sparked by founder Dr. Nili Persits’ experience developing ruggedized sensing systems for the defense industry, and has since evolved through six years of R&D, including work at MIT. The result is a system that transforms Raman spectroscopy from a bulky, expensive lab tool into a small, scalable solution designed for real-world environments. Making Raman spectroscopy practical for industry Raman spectroscopy uses laser light scattering to reveal a molecule’s unique “fingerprint,” enabling precise chemical detection without altering the sample. While highly accurate, conventional Raman systems rely on bulky spectrometers, controlled environments, and manual sample collection—factors that have historically limited their use outside of research labs. Dottir Labs has removed those barriers by eliminating the need for spectrometers and designing its hardware for scalability. Its field-ready probes can be deployed directly into tanks, reactors, or process lines to deliver live

Via the Rochester Business Journal In industries like aerospace, medical imaging, and augmented reality, manufacturers rely on highly accurate optical components. But measuring the shape and surface quality of these parts, especially mirrors and lenses with unusual shapes, has traditionally required expensive equipment, controlled environments, and highly trained specialists. Wyse Light has developed a compact, tabletop device that uses a novel optical technique called coaxial deflectometry. Coaxial deflectometry was pioneered by founder and longtime metrology researcher Dr. Yves Surrel, to measure the shape of reflective surfaces with nanometer precision while replacing bulky and expensive systems. The method offers manufacturers a faster, easier, and more cost-effective way to inspect complex optical components. “Our approach removes many of the limitations that come with traditional tools,” said Eric Romestant, general manager of Wyse Light. “It’s accessible, efficient, and doesn’t require an optics expert to operate.” The device is also highly portable, weighing just 6 kilograms, and doesn’t require vibration-free tables or climate control. It can be used directly on the production floor or in a workshop, which is especially valuable for companies needing in-process metrology. The core technology was developed by Dr. Surrel, who spent much of his career working on surface measurement.