Rochester Business and Startup News
Upstate Technology, Innovation & Business Coverage

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s coworking ecosystem has quietly evolved from a handful of shared offices into a diversified network of spaces serving everyone from startup founders and remote executives to women entrepreneurs and suburban professionals. As hybrid work settles in as a permanent feature of the modern economy, the region’s coworking operators are differentiating less on desks and more on community, specialization, and experience. A review of seven of the area’s mo

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester and the broader Finger Lakes region are quietly assembling the components of a nationally relevant AgTech ecosystem, one rooted in advanced research, global food and retail influence, and a steadily growing pipeline of venture-backed startups. Long known for optics, imaging, and advanced manufacturing, the region is now leveraging those strengths to support the next generation of agricultural and food technology companies. From precision agricultur

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Boutique fitness is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the health and wellness industry, with global revenues projected to climb into the tens of billions over the next decade. While national brands such as SoulCycle, Pure Barre and Club Pilates helped popularize the category with high-intensity classes and curated studio experiences, Rochester based boutique studios are competing head-to-head with the country’s biggest names. There are roughly 95 gyms an

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — When Shelley Elkovich launched For Bitter For Worse  in early 2020, she wasn’t just introducing another beverage brand, she was reimagining what it means to raise a glass. Her company, now based in Rochester, makes complex, non-alcoholic cocktails designed for people who want to celebrate without compromise. For Elkovich, the story began with both passion and necessity. “I’ve always been the designated bartender in my friend group,” she said. “I love flavor,

ROCHESTER, N.Y.  — Flower City AI returned Wednesday for its third year, filling The Little Theatre with technologists, founders, educators, healthcare leaders and students for a full-day program focused on Rochester’s emergence as a growing hub for applied artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional industry conferences, Flower City AI is intentionally community-driven designed to bring together researchers, builders and local organizations shaping how AI is deployed acros

Rochester, NY - Brown and White Ventures is backing a biotech innovator, announcing November 25th a new investment in miRecule , a Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company developing antibody RNA therapeutics for rare neuromuscular diseases with limited treatment options. In miRecule, the venture capital fund invests in a biotech startup that applies genomic patient data to create highly tailored therapeutics designed to help patients live a life free from the debilitating s

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s tech leaders, founders, and innovators gathered at the Jackrabbit Club in Village Gate last night for a high-energy celebration of TechRiseRoc , TechRochester ’s mentorship-driven program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs gain traction and grow. The event brought together established industry professionals and up-and-coming founders to celebrate TechRiseRoc, TechRochester's signature mentor–mentee matching program. The program pairs entr

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After three decades in the food and beverage industry, Rochester native Thomas Seymour is channeling his expertise into a new kind of coffee experience. As co-founder of Moka Energy, a startup launched in 2024, Seymour is on a mission to reinvent how consumers get their caffeine, by transforming the ritual of coffee into a portable, flavorful, and clean-label snack. For Seymour, coffee has always been personal. “I was introduced to coffee at a very young ag

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — The 2025 Grow-NY Business Competition awarded $3 million to seven emerging food and agriculture companies this week, naming Brooklyn-based Brekland the $1 million grand-prize winner. The awards were announced November 13 at the Grow-NY Summit, held this year on November 13th at the Lake House on Canandaigua, marking one of the region’s most anticipated showcases of agricultural innovation. The competition, now in its seventh year, is funded by Empire State

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Global Entrepreneurship Week Rochester, GRWROC , returns November. 18–21,2025 bringing together founders, investors, support organizations and business leaders for four days focused on innovation, collaboration and economic momentum across the region. Positioned as a region-wide celebration of entrepreneurship, the event highlights the people and programs shaping Rochester’s business landscape. Organizers emphasize that the week is designed to connect entrep

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s founder community doesn’t run on caffeine alone, but the right coffee shop can absolutely spark better ideas, smoother meetings, and the kind of chance encounters that make building a company here feel special. From indie cafés with personality to chain locations that function as unofficial co-working hubs, here are the region’s most founder-friendly spots to work, meet, build, and collaborate. This isn’t a ranking, just a curated guide to the p

How the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship is rewriting the rules of business education and expanding into Buffalo ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In the world of startups, growth, agility, and purpose are the hallmarks of success. But one of Rochester’s fastest-growing “startups” isn’t a tech company or venture-backed firm it’s a business school that operates more like a modern accelerator than a traditional college. Founded in 2023 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom G

A Connected Know guide to New York’s innovation infrastructure—how accelerators, incubators, and research centers drive statewide economic growth.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the first time since 2019, the New York State Innovation Summit returned to Rochester this week, bringing together more than 550 of the state’s brightest minds in technology, manufacturing, and research for two days of conversation, collaboration, and commercialization. Presented by FuzeHub in partnership with Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology & Innovation (NYSTAR), the sixth annual summit reaffirmed New York’s role as a national

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A new chapter in entrepreneurship begins in Western New York with the launch of the Collaborative Entrepreneurship Incubator, a first-of-its-kind initiative that rethinks how ventures are built, grown and led.