Poland's Gekko Photonics wins $1M Luminate NY prize, will set up shop in Rochester
What's the deal? Gekko PhotonicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → won US$647.1K grant as "Company of the Year" in Round Nine of the Luminate NY accelerator competition, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced. The Wroclaw, Poland-based startup took the top prize at the Luminate NY Finals 2026 in Rochester, funded by New York State through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
What does it do? Gekko Photonics builds inline Raman analyzers that replace delayed lab testing with continuous chemical monitoring. Its Spectrally platform pairs photonic hardware with AI-driven chemometrics to cut waste and improve quality control across the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
Where's the money going? Into a US foothold. Gekko plans to build a local operation in Rochester to manufacture its systems and support industrial customers, hiring engineering and customer-support staff and working with regional suppliers.
"Rochester's photonics expertise makes it a natural place for our company to grow," said chief executive officer Robert Stachurski. He added the funding would help "bring our systems into production and deployment more quickly for US customers."
Who else won? Administered by NextCorpsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Luminate NY spread additional follow-on funding across the cohort. AB PhotonicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → of Guilford, Connecticut, took US$258.8K Outstanding Graduate Award; Brightlight PhotonicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and HypervisionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → each won $250,000; Rochester's PhlotonicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → received $100,000; and San Diego's Ciconia MedicalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → won US$6.47K Audience Choice Award.
Why now? The awards followed a six-month program, with winners chosen by a panel of industry executives and venture capital judges after company pitches and due diligence. The finals were held live during OpticaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science conference and streamed globally.
The signal: Luminate NY calls itself the world's largest accelerator for deep-tech companies working in optics, photonics, imaging, and lasers. By luring an established European startup to relocate manufacturing to upstate New York, the state-backed program is using non-dilutive capital to seed a regional hardware cluster — betting that follow-on grants can turn lab-stage photonics into local jobs.
Read more: longislandbusiness.com
Image credit: Gekko Photonics
