Albany, NY – Showcasing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s educational paradigm as it promotes student entrepreneurialism and supports home-grown businesses in New York State, 10 finalists have been named after the conclusion of the New York Business Plan Competition’s Capital Region semifinal round, with judges selecting five SUNY Poly CNSE-led teams that pitched plans related to energy/sustainability, nanotechnology/advanced technology, and information technology/software to move on to the final round. SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY Poly CNSE) hosted the exciting semifinal event, along with title sponsor SEFCU and lead sponsor NYSERDA.

The regional semifinal competition drew interest from 35 student teams from seven accredited New York colleges and universities who gathered to pitch their game-changing business proposals for a chance to reach the final round and win part of the more than $500,000 in total prizes. Semifinal round competitions in nine other regions across New York either have been or are scheduled to take place prior to the final round, which is expected to draw hundreds to SUNY Poly CNSE on April 24, 2015, when the best student teams from each region will go head-to-head. One grand prize winner will be announced, earning $50,000 cash and over $50,000 in in-kind services.

The five winning teams that featured SUNY Poly CNSE students took half of the top spots, in addition to taking both spots in the nanotechnology/advanced technology and the clean energy/sustainability tracks. As a result, teams with SUNY Poly CNSE students that will compete in the final round include ACV Metrology, which was named as one of the top three Capital Region teams, for a high-speed 3D scanner and accompanying software that can accurately measure objects in a number of industries, such as aviation, with unmatched precision to provide quality assurance and the knowledge with which to make products more efficient; Aureonic, which has developed plasmonics-based gas sensors that can reduce harmful emissions and also includes students from Albany Law School and UAlbany’s School of Business; LuxOrioN, which pitched cost-effective, phosphor-based high-efficiency LED lighting and also includes Albany Law School students; Brewminder, which also includes students from Albany Law School and UAlbany’s School of Business who are developing a sensor and software analytics to monitor beer as it is being brewed in real-time, saving manpower and decreasing the amount of wasted product; and Autolabs, which created LabOS (Laboratory Operation Suite), a low cost-solution for automating laboratory sensors and tools via connections to the cloud and user devices to enable students and other researchers to retrieve lab data from any PC or smartphone. ChugaChaga, led by a team of students from the University at Albany, took the top spot in the products/services track and was awarded the Capital Region Cup for its affordable mushroom-based tea that boasts high levels of antioxidants.

The New York Business Plan Competition, now in its sixth year, has continued to grow since its inception. Hundreds of student-led startups have and are continuing to pitch their ventures at regional competitions, which are being held at a number of colleges and universities throughout March and early April. As part of the competition, each team is allowed a set amount of time to explain their innovation, with teams competing against others in a similar category, or track. Panels of national venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, and seasoned entrepreneurs serve as judges, providing the student teams with feedback and a chance to understand how their pitch would be received in the “real world.”

Winners of the Capital Region’s semifinal round by category include:

Capital Region Cup Top Team— ChugaChaga Inc. – University at Albany

Information Technology/Software • Autolabs – SUNY Poly CNSE • Illium VR – RPI

Energy/Sustainability • Aureonic – SUNY Poly CNSE, Albany Law School, and UAlbany’s School of Business • LuxOrioN – SUNY Poly CNSE, Albany Law School

Social Entrepreneurship/Non-Profit • Klicka – Skidmore College • Double Dees – Skidmore College

Nanotechnology/Advanced Technology • ACV Metrology – SUNY Poly CNSE • BrewMinder – SUNY Poly CNSE, Albany Law School, and UAlbany’s School of Business

Products/Services • ChugaChaga Inc. – University at Albany • All Stolen Apparel Co. – Skidmore College

With Title Sponsor SEFCU powering this unique competition, in addition to support from lead sponsors NYSERDA and First Niagara, friend sponsors National Grid, Anchor Agency, and Center for Economic Growth, and support by SkipsoLabs, Troywebconsulting, Albany Business Review, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C., Pinnacle, Nixon Peabody, Schwartz Heslin Group, Inc., and Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte, the competition has grown to become the largest of its kind in New York State and one of the biggest in the nation, growing from only one dozen teams competing for nearly $30,000 in prizes in 2010 to $500,000 in prizes in 2015.

For more information about the 2015 New York Business Plan Competition, please visit: http://www.sunycnse.com/NewYorkBusinessPlanCompetition/2015Program.aspx

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute. SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany campus, and degrees in technology, professional studies, and the arts and sciences at its Utica/Rome campus. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $20 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 3,500 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. The Utica/Rome campus offers a unique high-tech learning environment, providing academic programs in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, with degrees and course offerings in natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, CNSE’s Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester, and the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) on its Utica campus and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information visit www.sunycnse.com and www.sunypoly.edu.

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Media Contact:

Jerry Gretzinger, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations (518) 956-7359 | jgretzinger@sunycnse.com