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Polish startup Gekko Photonics took home the $1 million prize Wednesday in the ninth round of the Luminate NY accelerator competition.
Gekko Photonics, named Company of the Year, makes process analyzers for manufacturers. Its team of engineers and scientists uses light-based measurement to check product quality while production lines are running, so companies don’t have to pull samples, wait on lab results or stop production.
Gekko’s Spectrally platform combines photonic hardware and AI-driven chemometrics to improve process control, reduce waste, and deliver more consistent quality across various process industries, including pharmaceuticals.
The company, based in Wroclaw, Poland, expects to use the funds to build a local operation to manufacture its photonic systems and support industrial customers through installation, integration, service, and ongoing technical support, officials say.
“Rochester’s photonics expertise makes it a natural place for our company to grow,” said Gekko Photonics CEO Robert Stachurski. “This funding will help us hire local engineering and customer support talent, work with regional suppliers, and bring our systems into production and deployment more quickly for U.S. customers.”
The Luminate NY Finals event was held in Rochester and streamed globally during Optica’sFrontiers in Optics + Laser Science conference.
“Turning light into deep-tech solutions is hard-won work. It requires more than brilliant science; it takes an unrivaled ecosystem that can help founders scale their technology and businesses,” said Sujatha Ramanujan, managing director of Luminate NY. “Luminate, along with the assets in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region, provides this unique support to speed impact and new opportunities in industry.”
In addition to Gekko, the other businesses were honored.
AB Photonics, named Outstanding Graduate, is developing what it says would be the first low-cost, scalable platform for building hand-held, ultrafast lasers into commercial products. It is aimed at equipment makers and researchers. AB Photonics was awarded $400,000.
Brightlight Photonicsof Cambridge, Mass., and Israel’s Hypervision each won the Distinguished Graduate Award and $250,000. Brightlight is shrinking titanium-sapphire lasers to chip size. The compact lasers would replace bulky tabletop systems in quantum technology. Hypervision is developing wide-view displays for headsets and remote-control systems. The displays are meant to give users a more natural sense of size, depth and surrounding space.
Phlotonics received $100,000 in the Honorable Achievement category. The Rochester company’s BioproSense platform lets manufacturers continuously track several molecular markers from a single sample, helping them catch cell stress earlier, protect yield and make faster decisions during production.
Ciconia Medical won the Audience Choice Award with $10,000. The San Diego firm plans to bring to market an AI-based device for vaginal exams, aimed at improving childbirth experiences and outcomes for women.
With the conclusion of its ninth cohort, Luminate’s portfolio now includes more than 90 businesses with a combined market value exceeding $750 million, officials say. The funds disbursed at the event carry a condition: the winners must commit to establishing operations in the Finger Lakes region for at least 18 months.
“The successful Luminate NY competition is ensuring that New York State continues to lead the nation on cutting-edge technological ideas and research,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “The imaginative winners of the competition’s ninth round represent some of the world’s most innovative businesses, bringing transformative products in the optics, photonics and imaging supply chain to market.”
The program, administered by NextCorp, helps accelerate emerging technologies enabled by optics, photonics, and imaging. New York state funds investment in the winning companies through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
Applications for cohort 10 are open. The 10th cohort is expected to receive funding from Empire State Development, with support from state Sen. Samra Brouk. Cohort 10 will include additional support for laser companies under the new STELLAR Engine.
Smriti Jacob is the Beacon’s managing editor.
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