Impact Signals Continued Economic Development and Growing Interest to Innovate Emerging Technologies and New Businesses in the Rochester and Finger Lakes Region
ROCHESTER, N. Y., June 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NextCorps, a non-profit helping innovative technology companies launch and grow, today unveiled its 2022 Impact Report featuring data that demonstrates Rochester is on its way to becoming a national hub for technology innovation.
In 2018, NextCorps opened a state-of-the-art business incubator facility in Rochester’s iconic Sibley building, rallying the community on the importance of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. This sparked the creation of the Downtown Innovation Zone, which today is home to nearly 200 innovative and creative class companies, multiple business incubators, and offices of venture capital funds and service providers. One year later, the authors of Jumpstarting America put Rochester at the top of the list of cities in America that have the highest potential of becoming a next-generation technology hub and a major driver of national economic development.
From 2018 to the end of 2022, NextCorps served 536 companies across all of its programs from its downtown business incubator, including 148 startups and 24 University of Rochester student-led companies. During this time period, nearly 24,000 people participated in dozens of educational and networking events. Along with these activities, NextCorps created five unique programs to serve the needs of founders working in diverse industries and global locations, including some aimed at bringing the best emerging tech startups from around the world to do business in Rochester and New York State and to take advantage of the rich resources and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
To date, over 2,000 startups from around the globe have applied to NextCorps to compete for a spot in one of these innovative programs, which include:
- Luminate, the world’s largest startup accelerator for companies that are working on technologies enabled by optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI). Luminate has 60 companies in its portfolio, which have an estimated combined valuation of $646M.
- Venture For ClimateTech, a global non-profit venture studio + accelerator that removes obstacles that innovators—at the very earliest stage—face when trying to bring ideas to market that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 23 companies in Venture’s first two cohorts have already generated $3M in revenue, raised $34M, and created 62 jobs.
- Scale For ClimateTech, an accelerator that provides technical support throughout the manufacturing process to help founders make fewer mistakes as they get on the path to production for hardware technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In its first 4 cohorts in Upstate NY, Scale has helped 35 startups complete 93 projects and sign 124 manufacturing agreements, which have resulted in 27,000 units manufactured.
- Embark, an accelerator that helps people start a software business using no-code tools, without needing to have a technical degree or quit their day jobs. Ten startups launched at the end of the pilot program, with 50 percent led by female founders.
- Manufacturing Accelerator, a program that can be used by business incubators located throughout the U.S. in tandem with their regional Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center to help hardware startups reduce the risks, waste, and costs associated with getting a product from prototype to production.
NextCorps is also helping companies with the difficult tasks of raising additional capital and growing their teams. To date, startups working with NextCorps have secured $562M and created 936 jobs, collectively. This includes $1 million in grants from Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E), the region’s electric and natural gas utility, that have been awarded to entrepreneurs through its Economic Development Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program.
In addition to supporting early-stage companies, NextCorps provides consulting and advisory services to regional manufacturers to help them grow and remain competitive by increasing revenues and decreasing costs. Since 2018, the NextCorps Growth Services team has completed 591 projects with 227 unique manufacturing clients, which has led to $102M in new sales, $297M in retained sales, $190M in new investment, and the creation and retention of 4,374 jobs. This effort has resulted in a total economic impact of $824M.
“NextCorps is Rochester’s largest resource for startup programming and is a go-to resource for those working to bring the latest technologies to market,” said James Senall, president, NextCorps. “While our internationally recognized programs and services are a definite draw for founders, they also recognize how the extensive and unique support ecosystem that exists here in the region can help to put their companies on a faster trajectory. This includes the services, expertise, and training provided by our many partners, including the University of Rochester, RIT, Excell Partners, RIT Venture Creations, the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship | RIT, Venture Jobs Foundation, The Technology Farm, The Commissary, TechRochester, Endeavor WNY, Pathstone, SCORE, SBDCs, and many others.”
View NextCorps’ full Impact Report here, which features comprehensive data on its incubation services, multiple accelerator programs, and Growth Services. For more information on NextCorps, visit: NextCorps.org.
About NextCorps
NextCorps is a non-profit catalyst for entrepreneurship in the Rochester area and Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, and is an affiliate of the University of Rochester. It helps tech startups and existing manufacturers grow their businesses through a variety of programs and mentoring opportunities. NextCorps also provides incubation to more than 65 startups, and educational and coaching services to many more companies. Visit www.nextcorps.org to learn more about how our programs and services
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