New York State continues to be a place where entrepreneurs and startups can earn essential support and investment through startup accelerators and competitions supported by Empire State Development, 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 all corners of New York.
The 2025 competition season introduced a new fleet of innovators across contests like the agriculture-focused Grow-NY, the photonics-geared Luminate NY, and the startups-supporting 43 North and Genius NY. Here’s a rundown of this year’s competitions and winners—representing various regions across the globe, as well as industries represented across New York’s vast innovation ecosystem.
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.
This year’s top prize of $1 million went to Brekland of Brooklyn, a company that develops biodegradable foam coating that brings new in-field functionality to crop protection products. Other honorees included:
$500,000 winners:
- Mothership Materials (New York, NY) – Transforms agricultural waste into carbon-negative raw materials such as glucose and cellulose.
- Seen Nutrition (Ithaca, NY) – Food tech startup focused on the menopause market with patented dietary calcium chew made with dairy produced in Central New York.
$250,000 winners:
- Living Ink Technologies (Berthoud, CO) – Repurposes renewable biomass waste like algae into sustainable black printing inks and pigments.
- Trebe Biotech (Pergamino, Argentina) – Uses insect larvae to produce faster, more scalable bioproducts for animal health such as recombinant proteins and vaccines.
- Whipnotic (New York, NY) – Develops fruit-infused whipped creams with unique nozzle tech.
- ZILA BioWorks (Renton, WA) – Converts vegetable oils into recyclable bio-epoxy resins.
Luminate NY
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 2025.
This year’s $1 million “Company of the Year” was San Diego, California’s Pensievision, whose breakthrough 3D imaging technology for demanding environments from medical diagnostics and factory floors to orbital missions, using miniaturized single-lens setup, AI, and astronomy-inspired optics.
Other winners included:
$500,000:
- amPICQ (Hyderabad, India) – Designs and develops Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) to make quantum-safe security both practical and accessible across Quantumcom, Datacom, and Telecom industries.
$200,000:
- Oblate Optics (San Diego, CA) – Makes ultra-thin lenses that keep laser beams in perfect focus—even on curved or uneven surfaces—without the need to move or refocus the optics.
- Pixel Photonics (Münster, Germany) – Removes the barriers to the widespread use of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) with its waveguide-integrating design (WI-SNSPDs) to support OEM integration across quantum communications, microscopy, medical diagnostics, and advanced sensing.
- SNOChip (Princeton, NJ) – Produces on-chip optical components, such as microlens arrays, computer-generated holograms, and metasurfaces, designed for seamless integration with semiconductor lasers and sensor chips.
$10,000 Audience Choice Award:
- LirOptic (Dublin, Ireland) – Produces adjustable solid-state lens that offer optical innovators unparalleled precision, reliability, and compactness in the realm of medical imaging devices, communication, more.
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 2025 43North cohort, each earning a $1 million investment, included:
- Cellsense (New York, NY) – Transforms algae and cellulose into compostable beads that eliminate microplastics across the fashion and cosmetic industries.
- Cosi Care (London, UK) – Created the world’s first medical devices that offer instant itch relief and safe alternative to scratching for those living with eczema or chronic itch. (The company also won $25,000 People’s Choice Award.)
- Floe (New Haven, CT) – Offers smart, cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for ice and snow management on roofs.
- RadEmploy (New York, NY) – Radiology staffing platform that leverages conversational AI to efficiently connect radiology professionals with large hospital systems.
- Tukki.ai (Miami, FL) – Uses AI to help immigrants and companies manage visas and green cards efficiently.
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 totaling more than $500,000 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.
This year’s top prize ($150,000) went to Southern Tier biorecovery scale-up, REEgen, who has genetically engineered a new approach for recovering and purifying critical minerals from industrial waste, making their production cleaner, safer, and more efficient. Scarsdale’s Gyn-Strong ($100,000) earned runner-up honors for creating the world’s first intravaginal device that uses electrical pulses to provide targeted pain relief and menstrual collection in one discreet, app-connected product.
Other winners included:
- $80,000: CryoBio, Inc. (Southern Tier) – Developing a one-of-a-kind spray solution that prevents ice formation on crops to eliminate frost damage.
- $60,000:
- IVSonance Biomedical, Inc. (Southern Tier) – Addresses in-vitro fertilization (IVF) challenges with a transformative acoustic technology built on the powerful principle of moving objects without touching them.
- TunaBotics (Central New York) – Develops robotic grippers made of soft materials that let robots pick up objects that are too small, delicate, or curved for existing tools.
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.
Columbia University’s Sara Technology took home the $25,000 Grand Prize for its AI-powered platform that expands access to pediatric speech therapy. The team’s mission to make speech therapy more affordable and accessible for families and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) stood out for its impact and scalability.
See the complete list of this year’s winners here.
HUSTLE
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 $600,000. Winners are required to conduct substantial businesses operations in the Mohawk Valley for at least 12 months after the HUSTLE Defense Accelerator.
This year’s application deadline was extended to December 19. Following an initial down-select, selected teams will be notified after the deadline to participate in a Virtual Pitch event. From this pitch, five winners will be chosen to participate in the HUSTLE cohort, starting in March 2026.
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.
This year’s cohort is:
- Flox (Stockholm, Sweden) – Employs AI on drones to deter wildlife from critical infrastructure.
- Lamarr AI (Georgia) – Provides faster, more affordable building exterior inspections using drones and AI. A Syracuse University professor is a co-founder.
- Lighthouse Avionics (Ohio) – Offers cost-effective optical solutions for monitoring low-altitude airspace to detect drone and bird threats.
- Modovolo (New York) – Develops low-cost, modular drones with extended flight capabilities for commercial and defense applications.
- Skyfire AI (New Jersey) – Uses autonomous drone swarms and AI to enhance situational awareness for first responders and defense teams.
Winners of up to $1 million will be announced in May 2026.
Congratulations to the most recent winners! To learn more about New York’s startup accelerators and competitions, click here.