Empire State Development has awarded more than $3 million in grants to 25 businesses across New York as part of the third round of its NYSTAR Innovation Matching Grants program. The initiative, which began in May 2024, aims to support small business growth and technology development throughout the state.
The program is designed to supplement federal grant programs by providing matching funds for companies that have received awards from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Each recipient can receive up to $200,000 in additional funding, which is intended for commercialization services not covered by their federal grants, such as marketing and legal assistance. Since its inception, NYSTAR has received over 130 applications and distributed nearly $7.8 million to 60 businesses.
Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Innovation is happening in every corner of New York State. By providing additional funds to these homegrown projects in high-growth industries, we’re accelerating the kind of technological and economic progress that will benefit all New Yorkers.”
The awardees represent a range of strategic technology sectors including additive manufacturing technologies, artificial intelligence, energy storage and battery technologies, as well as life sciences and biotechnology. Funding is contingent on recipients’ successful SBIR or STTR awards along with negotiation and execution of a Grant Disbursement Agreement.
NYSTAR’s focus remains on supporting early-stage technology development with an aim toward helping research reach commercial markets. This approach supports business expansion and job creation while strengthening regional economies within New York.
NYSTAR Executive Director Ben Verschueren said, “We started the Innovation Matching Grants program to bridge the gap between R&D and commercialization. Awardees are using New York’s support to market their innovations, gain investor awareness, and safeguard their intellectual property, among other crucial steps that are outside the scope of their federal grants. NYSTAR is proud to offer this program as part of our larger effort to spur innovation in the Empire State.”
Businesses receiving Round Three awards are located throughout regions including the Capital Region, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, Long Island, New York City, North Country, Southern Tier and Western New York.
A full list of recipients includes Albacore Ocean Systems LLC; ANDRO Computational Solutions LLC; Anova Biomedical Inc.; ARMA BIO INC.; Astrabeam LLC; BeamFeed LLC; BiRed Imaging Inc.; Brooklyn InnoSeq Inc.; Calyx Systems; Care4QoL LLC; ecoLong LLC; Ergami Endoscopy Inc.; Hebbian Bio Inc.; iHealthScreen Inc.; KLAW Industries; Mission Power; Natrion Inc.; Nearabl Inc.; Neuralenz; NoMIS Power Corp.; PlasmaChem Solutions Inc.; QAS.AI Inc.; Sunrise Technology Inc.; SynchroPET; VoiceLove LLC.
Empire State Development acts as New York’s chief economic development agency with initiatives spanning broadband equity through ConnectALL office workforces via its Office of Strategic Workforce Development—details about ESD’s activities can be found at https://esd.ny.gov/.
NYSTAR operates under Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation offering approximately $70 million annually in funding supporting over 80 centers statewide dedicated to enabling technology-driven growth—further information available at https://esd.ny.gov/nystar.
