Applications for second round of Genius NY competition due Oct. 1

Applications for the second round of the Genius NY business-accelerator program are due at the Syracuse Technology Garden by Oct. 1.

The Tech Garden is a program of CenterState CEO, a Syracuse–based economic-development organization and chamber of commerce serving Central New York.

The office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo describes Genius NY as “one of the world’s largest business competitions focused on unmanned systems, cross-connected platforms and other technology-based sectors.” To apply, visit www.geniusny.com.

Genius NY stands for Growing Entrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York.

The year-long business accelerator is seeking applications from entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses focused on unmanned systems, hardware, software and analytics.

The program will invest nearly $3 million in six finalist companies, including three grand prizes valued at up to $1 million, $600,000, and $400,000.

The $5 million program, which CenterState CEO and the Tech Garden administer, also offers company stipends, housing, resources, programming, and networking opportunities.

The continuation of the Genius NY initiative advances “CNY Rising,” the region’s economic-development blueprint.

Empire State Development funds Genius NY in a model similar to Western New York’s 43North program and 76West in the Southern Tier, Cuomo’s office said.

About Genius NY
“Building on regional industry strengths and emerging opportunities,” the business competition targets companies in the unmanned aerial, ground, and marine systems and cross-connected platforms sectors.

Subsets may include precision and remote sensing, data collection, guidance systems, communication systems, sensors, and data analytics among other technological categories.

Applications will be evaluated by a panel of judges and 12 semifinalists will be selected to present live demos and pitches this fall.

Six companies will advance to participate in the competition. These six teams will enter the in-residence accelerator at the Tech Garden, and will be “immersed” in the incubator’s events, resource pool, and mentoring. Participants are required to operate their business in Central New York for one year during the competition.

In March, the inaugural round of Genius NY awarded six finalists a total of $2.75 million. The top prize of $1 million was awarded to AutoModality, a team from California working on creating autonomous mobile systems. That company is currently focused on inspection of agriculture and infrastructure assets.

The six finalist teams, which relocated to Central New York earlier this year, will use the Genius NY investments to continue “accelerating their growth and expanding their presence in the region,” Cuomo’s office said.