NEWS
Investing in Innovation Pays Off
When companies in the Luminate portfolio make progress, our whole region moves forward. Owl AI — an autonomous imaging company focused on improving pedestrian safety — is expanding its operations in Monroe County in the Town of Perinton and committing to create up to 105 high-technology jobs in the region. Owl was a member […]
Luminate spotlight: Custom Surgical digitizes microscopes for earlier pathology detection
Via the Rochester Business Journal July 22, 2022 Custom Surgical, one of 10 startups from around the world working with downtown Rochester’s Luminate accelerator at NextCorps, is helping to write Rochester’s next chapter in history as the world’s center for optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI). Each company in Luminate’s Cohort 5 receives an initial investment […]
Governor Hochul Announces Luminate New York Alum Owl AI to Grow Operations in Monroe County
Via New York State July 20, 2022 Autonomous Imaging Company Moving to New Location in the Town of Perinton; Commits to Creating More Than 100 New Jobs Investment Complements “Finger Lakes Forward” – The Region’s Comprehensive Strategy to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Luminate New York alum OWL AI will expand its […]
4 Trends from Photonics for Quantum 2022
By Damon Diehl, PhD, Technology Program Manager “The future is now” was the fundamental message of the SPIE Photonics for Quantum 2022 conference at Rochester Institute of Technology, which ran from June 6 to June 9. The conference was launched four years ago by conference chair Dr. Don Figer, who is also the founder of […]
Diving into IP, Sales, and the Summer
Cohort 5 had a busy month of seminars, advisor meetings, facility tours, and balancing business as usual with their involvement in the accelerator. But all work and no play isn’t the Luminate way, especially with so much happening in downtown Rochester in the summer. The teams’ recent visit coincided with the Rochester International Jazz […]
Networking in the Optics Capital of the World
Cohort 5 kicked off their time at Luminate by pitching organizations in the region. In May, we turned the tables by hosting our third annual trade show (in person for the first time ever) to give regional organizations the chance to share what they do. The matchmaking meetings that followed helped our founders identify […]
Highlights from Cohort 5 Kickoff
For the first time in more than two years, the Luminate accelerator was back to in-person meetings, workshops, and networking events for the start of cohort 5. Our startup teams flew in from around the world — Germany, Spain, Canada, India, and both coasts of the U.S. — to meet us in Rochester, New […]
Addressing the Skilled Labor Shortage in Optics
MCC & AmeriCOM Team Up to Train Future Optics Technicians The use of optics is essential to countless industries and applications — from virtual and augmented reality platforms and gaming devices to infrared systems, back-up cameras, and military surveillance. However, there are far more job openings for optics technicians than qualified candidates. This shortage is […]
Grant Writing from the Ground Up
Grant Writing from the Ground Up offers a step-by-step process to construct compelling grant proposals that rise to the top of a reviewer’s stack. On this episode of the Forward Faster podcast, author Dr. Damon Diehl discusses his background working with scientists and engineers, his motivation for creating a resource for stronger grant proposals, and […]
