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Four Rochester companies make finals of FuzeHub commercialization competition
Four Rochester companies make finals of FuzeHub commercialization competition
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Four Rochester companies have been tapped as finalists in the 2019 FuzeHub Commercialization Competition.
Slated for Nov. 18 and 19 at the Albany Capital Center, the competition will offer a total of $400,000 to the top competitors. Six of the 19 selected companies will receive $50,000 in funding, while one of the six will take the grand prize of $100,000 on top of the $50,000. Funding is geared toward improving working prototypes and pushing companies toward commercialization.
The competition is supported through the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, which has awarded $3.7 million since its founding in December 2016.
“This is considered one of FuzeHub’s signature events,” said Elena Garuc, executive director of FuzeHub, in a statement. “It brings awareness to the diversity of innovation and entrepreneurship that exists in all of our regions across New York. Each year we continue to see new cutting-edge products and technologies.”
The four Rochester companies competing this year are Circle Optics Inc., Combined Energies LLC, Molecular Glasses Inc. and Phase Innovations LLC. Molecular Glasses and Circle Optics were both competitors in the first and second NextCorps Luminate NY accelerator in the first and second cohorts, respectively. Additionally, Buffalo-based Efferent Labs Inc., another second-cohort Luminate competitor, is vying for funding at the Commercialization Competition.
FuzeHub is a nonprofit aimed at connecting small and midsize manufacturing companies with resources for development. The organization is supported by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.
“The annual FuzeHub Commercialization Competition is a key driver of innovation economic activity in a variety of industries in New York, and I look forward to seeing the chosen entrepreneurs present new ideas to drive economic growth and job creation in the state,” said Matt Watson, director of Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.
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