The challenge focuses on advancing microelectronics capabilities in New York State, with a particular emphasis on enhancing national defense. The selected projects demonstrate the state’s commitment to fostering innovation in this critical sector.

NYSTAR executive director Ben Verschueren highlighted the significance of these awards:

“We are proud to support these projects that will not only bolster New York’s position in the global microelectronics supply chain but also contribute to the nation’s security and defense capabilities. The winning projects exemplify the potential of New York’s innovation ecosystem and its role in shaping the future of microelectronics manufacturing.”

The winning projects span a range of applications, from improving chip manufacturing processes to developing advanced optical technologies. Each initiative showcases the diverse talent and innovative spirit present in New York’s microelectronics industry.

To learn more about the winning projects and their potential impact on the microelectronics landscape, watch the video announcement on FuzeHub’s YouTube channel.

This challenge, supported by the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, continues to drive technology development and commercialization throughout New York State, reinforcing the state’s position as a leader in microelectronics innovation.

The challenge was clear: traditional direct heat-transfer equipment, while efficient, was plagued by uneven heating and high emissions. As industries across the board faced increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint, S. Howes saw an opportunity to lead the charge.

Enter the next-generation thermal screw conveyor – a game-changing technology that promised to deliver precise heating and cooling while minimizing emissions. But bringing this innovation to market would require more than just engineering prowess. It would take a village, or in this case, a university.

The Power of Partnership

S. Howes found their perfect collaborator in the University at Buffalo’s Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (CMI). This partnership opened doors to a wealth of resources:

• Cutting-edge research expertise
• Access to bright, young talent
• High-performance computing capabilities
• Crucial funding opportunities

With these tools at their disposal, S. Howes set out to design, manufacture, and prototype their revolutionary equipment.

From Concept to Reality

The journey from idea to marketable product is often fraught with challenges, but S. Howes had an ace up their sleeve. A FuzeHub Manufacturing Grant, secured through their partnership with CMI and UB’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, provided the financial boost needed to refine and test their equipment.

UB’s Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships stepped in, offering advanced manufacturing experts, student talent, and state-of-the-art facilities. This collaboration was the catalyst in which S. Howes’ prototype was forged and perfected.

The Fruits of Innovation

The result? A high-efficiency, environmentally friendly thermal screw conveyor that not only met but exceeded industry expectations. This equipment offered precise and efficient heating or cooling through indirect heat transfer, a significant leap forward from traditional methods.

But the true measure of success in business is sales, and S. Howes’ innovation delivered in spades. In the fiscal year 2021-2022, the company saw $1.5 million in sales. But that was just the beginning. The following year, from July 2022 to June 2023, sales skyrocketed to $8 million – a testament to the market’s hunger for sustainable solutions.

A New Chapter in Manufacturing

As we look to the future, the story of S. Howes serves as a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when innovation meets collaboration. By partnering with academic institutions and leveraging available resources, even long-established companies can pivot, innovate, and lead in the face of new challenges.

In the end, this isn’t just a story about a new piece of equipment. It’s a story about reimagining what’s possible, about finding new ways to meet old needs, and about the power of partnerships to drive progress. As industries worldwide grapple with the dual demands of efficiency and sustainability, the path blazed by S. Howes and the University at Buffalo offers a blueprint for success.

Small businesses across New York State are unlocking millions of dollars from federal grants to advance technology and innovation, addressing needs from clean energy to forensic science.

And now Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) is providing an extra lift — and helping to fill gaps in funding — with its new Innovation Matching Grants Program.

Grants through the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs focus on technology development, from early stage (Phase I) to partner-driven prototypes (Phase II). Competition is fierce: In 2022, there were more than 1,400 applications for the SBIR/STTR grants alone from New York companies; 307 of those proposals were granted awards.

But as with most U.S. grants, there are guidelines that spell out specific ways in which awardees can — and can’t — utilize the funds.

That’s where NYSTAR’s $6 million Innovation Matching Grants program, launched in May 2024, comes into play. The state-administered funds will support work crucial to commercialization but not covered under the federal grant, including marketing and legal services.

NYSTAR’s competitive program will award SBIR- or STTR-funded projects up to $100,000 (Phase I) or $200,000 (Phase II). Due to pent-up demand, the state has already closed its first round of applications and plans to open a second round in early summer 2024.

“The SBIR and STTR grants are awarded very specifically for advancing technology. That leaves a big gap as companies are trying to commercialize their products,” said Ben Verschueren, executive director of NYSTAR. “They need to get the word out as they take innovations to market. They need help with patenting and legal services. For a lot of these small businesses, that’s a not a trivial investment, but can be a critical one towards their ultimate success. We’re trying to see what the federal government isn’t paying for that we can augment, which will increase the chances of success.”

While helping companies succeed in bringing their innovations to market, the Innovation Matching Grants program also gives NYSTAR a more complete picture of the depth and breadth of work being done throughout the state. Verschueren said this will help NYSTAR assess the needs of researchers and entrepreneurs going forward.

“There is this massive amount of great research we’re doing, and we have a ton of NYSTAR-supported centers, but we don’t necessarily have that direct tie into some of these companies to understand what they’re doing and what they need,” Verschueren said. “This is one piece that helps us get a fuller picture of the pockets of technology and small businesses that are growing across the state.”

There’s also massive interest in the matching grants program. NYSTAR received applications from eight of 10 economic development regions within less than a week of opening Round 1. Projects spanned 18 strategic technology areas — everything from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing to climate tech.

Several NYSTAR assets are already providing direct support to SBIR and STTR awardees.

TYFAST Energy Corp, which has worked with the Koffman Southern Tier incubator, received an SBIR Phase II award as the company works to scale its new class of high-performance lithium-ion batteries to decarbonize diesel-powered vehicles in construction and heavy-duty industries.

In the Capital Region, SupreMEtric LLC is developing a novel technology to aid in crime scene investigations and forensic testing backlogs. Working with Innovate 518, the company secured an STTR grant to develop a prototype for integration into crime lab settings, with plans to create portable instruments for on-site use.

As NYSTAR opens its matching grant program, companies like these will be set up even further for success in New York.

“The types of things we’re weighing when reviewing innovation matching grants is to see if the technologies have path to commercialization and the potential for jobs and the economic impact for New York State,” Verschueren said. “And quite frankly, in the long run, this increases the attractiveness of the state for innovative businesses, and it increases New York’s stickiness. We want companies to stay here and feel supported here.”

Small businesses are encouraged to visit NYSTAR’s website for more information on the Innovation Matching Grants program.

New York State continues to provide a platform for entrepreneurs and startups to earn game-changing support — and capture the attention of private investors — through startup accelerators and competitions supported by Empire State Development, its Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, also known as NYSTAR, and several of ESD’s Regional Offices, in partnership with NY Ventures. These accelerators and competitions invest both technical assistance and capital in homegrown companies while also attracting some of the top startup talent from across the globe to set up operations in New York.

Innovators displayed a wide range of work throughout the 2023 competition season, from advances in drone technologies to new solutions in agriculture and health care. Just as impressive was the potential impact, as judges evaluated projects that could help New York meet its sustainability goals, improve quality of life, and contribute to the state’s economic growth. The accelerators and competitions target a mix of levels of entrepreneurs across different regions and industries, creating wide impacts across the state and its innovation ecosystem.

“Innovation continues to transform New York State’s economy and our daily lives. Big ideas come to life right here, in New York, because we’ve built an ecosystem in which entrepreneurs, companies, and researchers can thrive, and investors can find their next great venture,” said Hope Knight, President, CEO and Commissioner of Empire State Development. “Congratulations to all the winners of our ESD-supported competitions over the past year. You’ve set a high bar for 2024.”

Here’s a look at the winning projects:

Luminate NY Accelerator Competition

Administered by NextCorps in Rochester, N.Y., Luminate NY is the world’s largest business accelerator for emerging companies with technologies enabled by optics, photonics and imaging (OPI). Each year, Luminate NY selects 10 to 12 companies to participate in its program, providing instruction and resources, including $100,000 apiece in funding upon the start of the program. Participating teams also compete for awards, which totaled more than $2 million in 2023.

Six companies earned additional funding at the Luminate finals with top prize going to Oculi. The company, which was founded in Baltimore, Md., is redefining computer and machine vision with the world’s first smart programmable vision sensor, the Oculi SPU™, which stands for “sensing and processing unit.” Oculi is speeding up and improving computer vision by mixing the effectiveness of the human eye with the quickness of machines. It is ideal for gesture tracking, facial recognition, and low latency eye tracking.

As “Company of the Year,” Oculi received a $1 million investment. Oculi plans to use the funds to move its headquarters to Rochester, scale operations for mass production, expand sales and develop advanced versions of its products.

Outstanding Graduate Award ($400,000):

• Digiteyez (Washington, D.C.), which developed a digital prescription eye care platform.

Distinguished Graduate Award ($200,000):

• NanoPattern Technologies (Chicago, Ill.) is commercializing a patented chemistry and ink that enables display manufacturers to make more sustainable high-resolution screens.
• Quantune Technologies (Germany) developed a chip-sized laser spectrometer for the mid-infrared spectral range.
• Swave Photonics (Leuven, Belgium) developed a spatial light modulator for true digital holography.

Honorable Achievement ($50,000):

• Photonect Interconnect Solutions (Rochester, N.Y.) developed a laser adhesion technique to attach optical fibers to photonic chips.

Grow-NY

The food and agriculture business competition Grow-NY, administered by the Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) at Cornell University, identifies, supports, and funds the top food, beverage, and agriculture innovations, annually awarding $3 million in prize money along with mentorship and business development support. Winners are required to relocated to the Grow-NY region (Central New York, Finger Lakes, or Southern Tier) for one year to receive the monetary award.

The top prize of $1 million went to Hypercell Technologies, a company founded in Peachtree Corners, Ga., providing rapid point-of-care diagnostics for the food chain, ensuring early identification and management of potential biological contaminants from production to transformation with increased speed and accuracy.

$500,000 prize winners:

• Crover (Edinburgh, U.K.) which helps improve efficiency of grain storage operations.
• SomaDetect (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) for its cutting-edge sensor and software system that provides reliable data to dairy farmers.

$250,000 prize winners:

• Cattle Scan (Toronto, Canada) whose technology allows for real-time monitoring of individual cattle, improving overall herd health and advancing business sustainability.
• Clean Label Solution (Ithaca, N.Y.) for its proprietary technology that improves protein and fat digestibility of soy-based animal feeds for livestock while reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption in its production.
• Mycologic (Kennesaw, Ga.), which has developed hardware and software for the cultivation of specialty mushrooms.
• Mush Foods (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) whose edible mushroom mycelium created a groundbreaking, sustainable, animal-free protein for the food and beverage industry.

Grow-NY is supported by the New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech.

43North

New York State’s startup competition held in Buffalo invests $5 million into seed-stage companies, offering founders a chance to secure $1 million in funding and gain access to support services including mentorship, connections to investors, and inroads to customers. Winners are required to relocate to Buffalo for one year to receive funding.

The competition looks for startups that have a strong team in place, traction with customers and have received previous investment. The 2023 43North cohort, each earning a $1 million investment, included:

• Guidesly (Topsfield, Mass.), which serves the $40 billion outdoor recreational guide marketplace through its vertical software-as-a-service platform.
• KAV (Redwood City, Calif.), whose award-winning custom helmets are designed to save lives and reduce brain injuries.
• Kredit Academy (Miami, Fla.), a comprehensive financial literacy platform aimed at empowering consumers, particularly teens and young adults, with knowledge and tools to build sound credit while also providing financial institutions with an effective means of engagement and growth.
• Stepwise (Cambridge, Mass.), a startup making home electrification, specifically for EV chargers and heat pump installations, cost effective for homeowners while future-proofing the electric grid.
• StoreCash (San Jose, Calif.), a mobile payment solution for users to make transactions cheaply and easily via QR codes at more than 200,000 locations, earning maximum cash back at their favorite stores.

FuzeHub Commercialization Competition 

As part of the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, this competition is administered by FuzeHub and held annually at the New York State Innovation Summit. The Commercialization Competition awards a total of $450,000 to New York State-based startups that can demonstrate the commercialization potential of their technology or product.

The funding awarded is intended to help small manufacturing and technology companies further develop their prototype in an effort to pursue additional investment and customers as well as strengthen their “go-to-market” strategies.

Ashlawn Energy (Binghamton, N.Y.) won the grand prize of $150,000 in 2023. The company created a unique rechargeable battery system that stores power at off-peak times, saving it for use during peak times, thereby reducing energy consumption when it matters most.

$50,000 winners:

• Epic Airway Systems, Inc. (Schenectady, N.Y.), which combines two existing technologies into a single solution that makes breathing during emergencies or sedation safer for patients.
• RHM Innovations Inc. (Rochester, N.Y.) for its assistive shower system.
• Soulo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for its long-handled electric toenail trimmer designed for aging and disabled adults.
• ReVert Technologies, Inc (New York, N.Y.), whose smart surge protector automatically turns appliances off and on.
• Opal Wearables, Inc. (Brooklyn, N.Y.), which developed a smart ring that can silently request help from 911 or emergency contacts.
• DUB Biologics INC (East Syracuse, N.Y.), a company developing a therapeutic that helps reduce fibrosis, also known as scarring.

New York Business Plan Competition

The New York Business Plan Competition is a statewide, intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition, administered by Upstate Capital, that awards more than $100,000 in cash prizes to up to 30 student teams in six tracks.

RHM Innovations Inc. was selected as the grand prize winner and recognized with a Community Founder Award. The company develops assistive bathing technologies to increase safety and independence; its first product, the Aiding Arm, is a shower chair attachment with a patented lever system that allows a person to control the flow of water while seated safely in a standard shower chair.

Founders Courtney Burris (University at Buffalo) and Brandon Davis Burris (University of Rochester) were awarded $26,000 to help grow their startup. They also will receive mentorship and connections from industry leaders through Upstate Capital’s membership.

In each of the competition’s six tracks, prizes were awarded to first place ($10,000), second place ($2,000) and third place ($1,000) startup teams. For a full list of award winners, visit nybpc.com.

GENIUS NY

Based in Syracuse and administered by CenterState CEO, GENIUS NY is an accelerator in the UAS (uncrewed aerial systems) industry, distributing a total of $3 million across five winning teams. Winners are required to relocate two of their leadership staff to Syracuse for a minimum of 12 months.

The $1 million grand prize went to blueflite, a company founded in Detroit, Michigan that offers a drone-based logistics platform. Its patented, unique, and all-electrical drone design has vertical take-off and landing capabilities, advanced maneuverability, and is built to meet the rigorous demands of commercial operations.

The four other finalists each received a $500,000 investment:

• Aloft (Washington, D.C.) provides software solutions for individual aircraft and full fleet management to make drone operation safer and more valuable.
• Greenjets (Bedfordshire, U.K.) creates electric propulsors that make drones safer, quieter and more sustainable.
• Voltela (New York, N.Y.) provides software that ensures a reliable and consistent communication network for uncrewed aerial systems.
• VOTIX (Miami, Fla.) supplies a hardware-agnostic platform that enables drone automation, orchestration and remote operation.

HUSTLE Defense Accelerator

Administered by Griffiss Institute in Rome, N.Y., the HUSTLE Defense Accelerator is for early-stage and pre-seed tech startups pushing artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, quantum science, or aircraft system solutions, culminating with a Demo Day Competition that awards a total of $450,000. Winners are required to conduct substantial businesses operations in the Mohawk Valley for at least 12 months after the HUSTLE Defense Accelerator.

EMPEQ, which is based in Ithaca, N.Y., earned the $150,000 grand prize for its Fast Site Survey™ that combines detailed, accurate data on building equipment with customizable forms and templates to make site surveys up to 80% more efficient.

$100,000 investment winners:

• Paterson Aerospace Systems Corporation (Wilmington, Del.), a think tank of professional engineers and scientists with a passion for protecting environmental assets for safer and cleaner space exploration.
• BosonQ Psi (Buffalo, N.Y.), which presented a vision to be the premier simulation software company utilizing quantum computing to serve enterprise customers.

$50,000 investment winners:

• Accessible Automation (Rome, N.Y.), which has developed a long-range wireless communication system. The first product projected to roll out with this technology will be a wireless thermostat to control the temperature in any room of a house.
• Drone City LLC (New York, N.Y.), a company whose drones are installed with sophisticated sensors, the latest spatial awareness technology, and automatic safety parachute mechanisms that can carry out automated delivery services.

Are You Ready to Compete?

Applications are starting to open for 2024 accelerator and competition participants. To learn more about the programs above, including eligibility criteria, visit the websites of the organizations that align with your startup’s product and industry.

All of New York State’s startup competitions serve as meaningful opportunities for venture capital firms and investors, both regionally and nationally, to identify high-potential and high-impact early-stage companies that strengthen communities, disrupt industries, and can generate returns. Investors interested in engaging with these competitions should contact NYSTAR or any of the various program organizers. NYS also offers other opportunities for venture capital funding, including fund-to-fund investments, via NY Ventures.

The 2021 New York State Innovation Summit is in the books – and the record books. Earlier this week, 500+ attendees and 100 exhibitors gathered for this two-day, in-person event at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York. For many who attended, this was the first chance in months to make new connections and catch-up with colleagues face-to-face instead of through a webcam.

Hosted by NYSTAR and FuzeHub, the Summit featured four keynote addresses and celebrated seven Commercialization Competition winners. In all, more than 50 speakers covered challenges and advances in economic development, national trends, and disruptive technologies – proving once again that New York State is the place for cutting-edge innovation.

Day 1 highlights included keynote addresses from Guha Bala, the president of Velan Studios, who spoke about the need for greater diversity in the gaming industry. A keynote address from Joshua Ness of Verizon Labs then explained how 5G will make us less dependent on our smartphones than we are now.

From there it was off to breakout sessions and booth visits with exhibitors ranging from startups participating in the Commercialization Competition to Ducted Wind Turbines, which displayed a fully-operational 12-ft. wide wind turbine high above the tradeshow floor. During the 12 breakout sessions, 12 companies pitched for a shot at $50,000 through the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund.

Day 2 began with a keynote address from Adam Milton, Director of Operations at the Mohawk Valley Fab for Wolfspeed (formerly Cree). Milton described the continuing progress on construction of Wolfspeed’s new facility in Marcy, New York, and explained how 50% of the factory’s electricity will come from carbon-free or low-carbon sources.

A CEO roundtable then provided perspectives on the bioscience, energy, and software industries, including NYS programs that are assisting companies and helping to train tomorrow’s workforce. The afternoon’s keynote address came from Plug Power’s George McNamee, who painted a picture of a world fueled by green hydrogen.

The 2021 New York Innovation Summit finished in style when seven worthy companies became Commercialization Competition awardees. Here is the list of winners.

• DomCat Technologies LLC(Binghamton)
• Eco-Baggeez LLC(Cazenovia)
• IV Wedge LLC (Babylon)
• Natural Beauty Breast Prosthesis, LLC (Hamilton)
• PrisAM LLC (Rochester)
• Pharmacoustics Technologies, LLC (Potsdam)
• SunThru LLC(Scotia)

The Summit also featured New York State style entertainment and fun with two live performances. To kick-off the event, attendees enjoyed a Summit-styled rendition of Alice Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” as performed by Capital Region vocalist Kelly Bird. At the end of Day 2, the Westmoreland High School Marching Band played and paraded through the exhibit hall as a final innovation celebration.

Don’t miss next year’s event and your opportunity to be part of where innovation happens.

The EDA recently announced $36.5 million in federal funding to 50 organizations across the country and nearly $40 million in matching investments from public- and private-sector sources. These “Build to Scale” investments will support programs that fuel innovation, job creation, and technology-based regional economic development.

FuzeHub was awarded $753,546 from the EDA for its Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund Manufacturing Grants program, which encourages collaboration between not-for-profit organizations and small- to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York State.

Grants disbursed through FuzeHub’s Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund serve as a resource for companies from early stage, proof of concept through maturity. The program not only helps manufacturers meet growth challenges and accelerate their paths to commercial success, but also creates jobs, revenue, and economic impact.

“The success of the Innovation Fund is on display every day, across the state. Our awardees have made incredible strides in their commercialization journeys and contributed to the ongoing evolution of New York’s manufacturing capabilities,” said Elena Garuc, Executive Director of FuzeHub. “This award from the EDA will allow us to assist even more early-stage manufacturers — an effort that will fast-track innovation and boost our state’s regional economies.”

The other three New York State­–based projects to receive EDA grants are:

• City University of New York: $750,000 to accelerate 40 new medical technology products and create more than 800 desirable STEM jobs in Greater Harlem through the proposed Center for Co-Innovation and Medical Technology.
• Launch NY: $750,000 to serve startups that have progressed beyond minimum viable product development. Through the Fast Forward project, Launch New York will help those companies scale commercial operations in technology-driven industry sectors.
• Cornell University: $400,000 to increase the flow of capital to seed- and early-stage startups in New York through the Big Red Ventures Investor Network. The network aims to serve as an upstate-downstate bridge for scalable startups that will attract investors from the global venture capital community.

“For the last 10 years, CUNY has been systematically building a successful innovation infrastructure that started with I-Corps and then incorporated the NYSTAR-affiliated CUNY Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” said John A. Blaho, Ph.D., CUNY Director for Industrial-Academic Research. “These efforts enabled CUNY to be perfectly positioned to successfully compete for EDA funding that will spur innovation and deep-technology job creation in the NYC region.”

“Now more than ever making entrepreneurship drive meaningful job and wealth creation is vital to our economic recovery, and this new EDA award for our Fast Forward initiative will ensure that we have the stepped up services for our robust pipeline of startups who are ready to move beyond the seed stage into scale-up mode,” Marnie LaVigne, Ph.D., President and CEO of Launch NY, said in a statement released by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

As the statewide New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership center, FuzeHub is an asset within Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) innovation network.

Several programs at CUNY and Cornell University are also supported by NYSTAR funding; Launch NY is a partner in the NYSTAR network. There are over 70 NYSTAR-backed centers across the state that are actively working to generate technology-driven economic growth.

Applications for FuzeHub’s 2021 Commercialization Competition are being accepted through 4:00PM on August 31. In order to apply to any of the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund grants, an eligible applicant uses the SurveyMonkey Apply platform (“SMA”), a cloud-based grant management system. One of the major advantages of SMA is the ability to save an incomplete application in draft mode, allowing the applicant to work on all of the data through the different sections up to submission. Another benefit of SMA is the awardee’s ability to see all their Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund grants together. This is true for both previous and current applications, whether they were awarded or not. If an organization is reapplying, they can easily find their previous application for reference if desired.

Uploads
For the 2021 Commercialization Competition, there are 3 separate tasks that require file uploads: the Confirmation of Business Status, the Commercialization Summary and the Product Prototype video task (same as the previous year). There are 2 best practices to keep in mind when uploading files:

1. After the file is uploaded, review how it looks on screen, making sure that all information in the file is visible. If the file has multiple pages, confirm that all pages are visible; also pay attention to whether a single page ends up broken into 2 or more partial pages, making it more difficult for the judges to follow the information being shared.

If the file does not appear correct on the screen, try resaving and uploading it again. If you cannot figure out why the file does not show correctly, reach out to FuzeHub for support.

2. For optimal file viewing, when uploading a video file for the prototype task, try to keep the file size under 1Gb. We encourage the use of YouTube video links if appropriate for this task.

Budget
The application budget is meant to be a summarized version of your project budget. Please only enter the budget items that you will be seeking to get reimbursement from FuzeHub for (up to $50,000), not necessarily the total cost of the project if it surpasses $50,000.

The budget form has a maximum of 10 lines – it is not possible to add lines to it. It is best practice to find a good balance between summarizing and including as much detail as possible. Take advantage of the “Additional Notes Section” to explain items in the budget that may not be clear, or roles of people getting paid through the fund.

Once the budget is marked as complete, make sure to go back into the task and check on the numbers. In the past, a glitch caused some budgets to be saved as zeroes. Please confirm that your budget is displayed properly.

Timing to Complete

We encourage applicants to look at all the tasks in SMA and familiarize themselves with the platform well ahead of the application deadline. Technical and internet connection issues can cause unforeseen delays, so please do not wait until the last minute to submit your application. Make sure you have plenty of time to review all tasks before submitting, paying close attention to how the uploaded files are presented on screen (see “Uploads” above). While completing the tasks in SMA is a fairly quick process, gathering all the materials for upload will certainly take multiple hours. Plan accordingly.

Collaborators
The main applicant can add collaborator(s) to the application at any time. Just click on the button that says “Add Collaborator” on the left-hand side of the main application screen. Collaborators can fill out forms, make a payment and upload files as needed. When the collaborator is added to the platform, they will receive an email confirmation. The collaborator must click on the link included in the email in order to have access to the application.

For more help while you are logged into SMA, check out the Step-by-Step Guide under the SMA menu “Pages”, “CC Resources” or contact us at fund@fuzehub.com.

The Commercialization Competition 2021 webpage has helpful resources, the competition timeline, and an informative short video explaining FuzeHub’s investment requirement, the Simple Agreement for Future Equity or more commonly referred to as a SAFE. For all of the latest Commercialization Competition 2021 information, visit https://fuzehub.com/commercialization-competition/. Before submitting an application, we recommend reviewing the guidelines to ensure you have the most up-to-date version.

Companies will compete to demonstrate the commercialization potential of their technology or product and can win up to $50,000. This competition is intended to help small and medium (SME) size manufacturing and technology companies further develop their prototype in an effort to pursue additional investment and customers as well as strengthen their “go-to-market” strategies, as they move from new product/production method to marketplace. Top applicants will be considered “finalists” and invited to “pitch” to a panel of judges at the Commercialization Competition, which will be held as part of the New York State Innovation Summit at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York on November 8-9, 2021.

The Commercialization Competition has awarded over $1 million in funding to twenty-one New York State early-stage companies since its inception in 2017. Learn more about our competition portfolio companies and their successes at Innovation Fund Success Stories.

Survey Participation Benefits

• Eligibility to schedule a 60-minute Industry 4.0 consultation with experts at RIT’s COE-ASM, at no-cost.
• Access to survey summary results.
• Priority access to tools and case studies developed within the project.

Risks and Other Potential Benefits: We don’t anticipate any risks. Other benefits may include engagement with COE-ASM to provide assistance with your Industry 4.0 implementation – with some funding support available for NY State companies. Visit the COE-ASM website to learn more about the available resources and support.
Need more information?
Call Ajay Khaladkar, RIT Industry 4.0 Program Manager at (585) 475-5145 or email him at apkgis@rit.edu if you have questions about the study.
Contact Heather Foti, Associate Director of the HSRO at hmfsrs@rit.edu if you have any questions or concerns about your rights as a research participant.