Governor Cuomo Announces 11 More Companies Join Start-Up NY

March 4, 2015

From the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo

83 Businesses Have Joined START-UP NY Since Launch and Committed to Create More Than 2,530 New Jobs

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that 11 more businesses plan to expand in or locate to New York State under the START-UP NY program. They will join the more than 70 companies already participating in the initiative, which creates tax-free areas associated with colleges and universities across the state in order to spur economic growth.

The 11 businesses will invest nearly $30 million, and have committed to create at least 158 new jobs over the next five years in tax-free areas sponsored by the University at Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, Farmingdale State College, Morrisville State College, SUNY Brockport and Stony Brook University. This latest group of companies joining the program brings the total number of businesses participating in START-UP NY to 83, representing commitments to create more than 2,530 new jobs and invest more than $133 million in communities throughout the state.

“Under START-UP NY we are continuing to show businesses around the world that there is no better place to grow than New York,” Governor Cuomo said. “This initiative is creating new opportunities and strengthening the economy by pairing our world-class colleges and universities with the workforce and tax-free environment that helps companies thrive. START-UP NY is generating great things for New York State, and I am pleased to welcome these businesses to the program.”

These businesses will create jobs in several key industries, including research and development in biotechnology, physical engineering and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, beverages, information technology, and systems and software development.

The following businesses are approved for START-UP NY:

Adiabatic Solutions, LLC
C&M Robotics Co., Ltd.
ClearCove Systems, Inc.
Codagenix, Inc.
DaStrong Corp.
Empire Farmstead Brewery, Inc.
Joox America, LLC
K16 Corporation
Mitogenetics, LLC
Precision Optical Transceivers, Inc.
QB Sonic, Inc.

Empire State Development Acting President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, “START-UP NY is a game-changing initiative that is attracting thousands of jobs and millions in investment to New York State. We are growing our economy and training a highly skilled workforce to fill the great jobs that are being created by START-UP NY companies in a range of high-growth industries such as life sciences, biotechnology and advance manufacturing, among many others.”

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher said, “Governor Cuomo’s START-UP NY program continues to successfully lure innovative, high-tech businesses to SUNY campuses and New York’s communities. STARTUP-NY has proven to be an economic game-changer not only for the business community and the state, but for the many SUNY students, faculty, and staff who connect with them in pursuit of research, enhanced academic opportunities, and hands-on workforce experience in a variety of disciplines. We look forward to welcoming these newest businesses to SUNY.”

Additional details about the latest businesses approved for START-UP NY are as follows:

Morrisville State College – 54 new jobs

Empire Farmstead Brewery is a new business that will create a stand-alone manufacturing and agri-tourism facility in Cazenovia, Madison County. The theme of Empire Farmstead Brewery is a contemporary, state-of-the-art microbrewery, working farm and tasting tours; and beer manufactured at the facility will be packaged in kegs, bottles and cans for regional and international distribution. The project is in partnership with SUNY Morrisville, which is implementing a new Brewing Studies Program and will work directly with the company to manage the facility and educate students with first-hand practical business experience in production brewing. Empire Brewing will create 52 net new jobs while investing $5.9 million.

K16 Corporation is a new technology device and software development firm focused on developing technology based solutions in teaching methods. K16 will be locating to on-campus space in Morrisville and create two net new jobs while investing $10,000.

University at Buffalo – 40 new jobs

Adiabatic Solutions, LLC is a formative stage advanced manufacturing company located in Tonawanda, Erie County, producing metal components for a wide variety of industries (energy, medical devices, automotive and small engine) through a unique HBI forming process. The company, which recently won the State’s 43North business plan contest, will locate in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Center’s Innovations Center and create 27 net new jobs while investing $12.1 million.

DaStrong Corp. is a new company that is developing and manufacturing a next generation cooling fan for electronic equipment. The company will locate to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Center’s Innovation Center and create two net new jobs while investing $1,634,600.

Joox America, LLC, originally founded in Brazil, is a new to New York State information technology company developing a cloud-based platform that enables a client or company to choose any object or product to be customized online. The company will locate to the Gateway Building in Buffalo and create 11 net new jobs while investing $271,130.

Rochester Institute of Technology – 23 new jobs

ClearCove Systems, a New York State incubator graduate from Venture Creations in Rochester, Monroe County, is a renewable energy company that has developed patented solutions that transform wastewater treatment plants into renewable energy resources and creates economic development for their local community. The company has tested its new technology at two upstate wastewater treatment plants and plans to implement its first full-scale operation at the Bath (Steuben County) wastewater plant by early summer 2015. Clearcove Systems will locate its headquarters to the RIT downtown campus and create 23 net new jobs while investing $3.98 million.

Farmingdale State College – 20 new jobs

Mitogenetics, LLC is a new to New York State business that is currently incorporated in Iowa. The research and development company focuses on compounds that can treat diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, which is what occurs when the mitochondria, i.e. energy source in cells, are not able to function due to genetic or environmental factors. The company will locate to Broad Hollow Science Park in Farmingdale and create 15 net new jobs while investing $2.65 million.

Codagenix, Inc. is a formative stage biotechnology research and development company that is commercializing a software-based platform for more effective development of vaccines. This platform technology uses computer-based rational design for the design and construction of vaccines. The preclinical success has garnered significant commercial and investor interest that will allow them to grow on the SUNY Farmingdale campus and create five net new jobs while investing $135,000.

Stony Brook University – 13 new jobs

C&M Robotics Co. Ltd, currently operating in Seoul, Korea, is a new to New York State advanced manufacturing business that manufactures specialized robotics hardware for companies reliant on robotic processes, with a focus on robotic press fitting systems. C&M Robotics envisions a long-term research and development collaboration with the manufacturing automation laboratory at Stony Brook University. The company will locate to the Long Island High Technology Incubator and create eight net new jobs while investing $950,000.

QB Sonic, Inc. is a new medical device company that is commercializing technology developed at Stony Brook University. The ultrasound technology will diagnose and treat musculoskeletal disorders, which include deterioration due to aging, (i.e. osteoporosis), and trauma to bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints due to injury or overuse. The technology can image bones and soft tissue with high resolution, low cost equipment that does not have harmful X-rays. The company will locate to the Long Island High Technology Incubator in Stony Brook and create five net new jobs while investing $25,000.

SUNY Brockport – 8 new jobs

Precision Optical Transceivers Inc. is an existing manufacturer of optical transceivers and accessories used in cable and telecommunications networks. The company has developed proprietary Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory coding technology and production processes to enable the rapid delivery of transceivers to customers. Precision Optical is currently operating in Brockport, Monroe County, and will locate new employees to the SUNY Brockport MetroCenter in Rochester. The company will create eight net new jobs and invest $2,060,000.

About START-UP NY
START-UP NY seeks to accelerate entrepreneurialism and job creation across the state on a large scale, with a particular focus on Upstate New York. Under the program, businesses sponsored by participating colleges and universities that create net new jobs will operate 100 percent tax-free for 10 years, paying no state income tax, business or corporate state or local taxes, sales tax, property tax or franchise fees. The companies will have opportunities to partner with the higher education institutions, as well as access industry experts and advanced research laboratories associated with the schools.

To date, 66 schools have been approved for START-UP NY, including four CUNY and 17 private institutions, establishing more than 385 tax-free areas for new or expanding businesses to operate on or near campus. Each school’s approved START-UP NY plan is available at www.startup-ny.com.

START-UP NY includes strong provisions to protect against fraud. Businesses are required to submit certification to ESD, and falsifying certifications is a felony. The program also includes strict provisions to guard against abuses such as shifting jobs among related entities or “shirtchanging,” when a company simply reincorporates under a new name and claims its existing employees are now new jobs. In addition, START-UP NY includes measures to prevent self-dealing and conflicts of interest. In cases of fraud, the State is empowered to claw-back benefits granted to the business. Companies that do not meet the terms of the program – including meeting their job creation targets – may have their benefits reduced, suspended or terminated. ESD has the authority to review company data to ensure that jobs have been created and maintained, and to end participation by companies that have not created net new jobs.

About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.