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

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The legal cannabis industry in the United States has matured into a multibillion-dollar sector, with regulated sales reaching approximately $30.1 billion in 2024 and trending toward an annualized pace exceeding $33 billion entering 2025, according to industry reports. Forecasts project the market could approach $39 billion by 2029, driven by continued state legalization, retail expansion, and product innovation. Against that national backdrop, Rochester and

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Bishop Kearney High Scho ol has announced plans to develop a multi-use athletic and wellness complex aimed at expanding student opportunity, strengthening campus life, and supporting the school’s long-term growth. The proposed project will include a new on-campus ice rink, athletic facilities, and dedicated training and wellness space designed to serve a wide range of student needs, from physical education and team sports to strength training, fitness, and h

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For decades, professional networking has centered around conference rooms, cocktail receptions and carefully exchanged business cards. But across Rochester, a growing number of professionals are building meaningful business relationships in far less conventional settings on tennis courts, walking trails and inside boutique fitness studios. The shift reflects a broader change in how professionals think about community. Rather than transactional introductions,

ROCHESTER, N.Y.  — Rochester’s startup and innovation ecosystem isn’t just being built in offices and coworking spaces. It’s being broadcast. Across Spotify feeds, FM airwaves, and independent platforms, a growing group of Rochester-based podcast hosts are shaping conversations about business, leadership, equity, food systems, crime, culture, and community. Some are hyper-local. Others are gaining national attention. All are contributing to how the region tells its story. Her

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Iter Opus , a U.S.-based technology startup developing artificial intelligence-driven hiring and career tools, has selected downtown Rochester as the site of its new headquarters, positioning itself within the city’s growing innovation corridor. The company has moved into the historic Powers Building. Iter Opus is preparing to scale its flagship product, Levii.io , a private AI-powered platform designed to match job seekers with career pathways and align em

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Constellation Brands , one of the largest beverage alcohol companies in the United States and a cornerstone of Rochester’s corporate landscape, announced Thursday that Nicholas Fink will become its next President and Chief Executive Officer effective April 13, 2026. Fink will succeed Bill Newlands, who has served as President and CEO since 2019. Newlands will step down from the role on April 13 and remain as a strategic advisor for several months to support

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As the global race to commercialize nuclear fusion accelerates, Rochester’s innovation community is convening to examine where Western New York fits in a rapidly scaling, capital-intensive industry. On Friday, March 13, industry experts, technologists, and regional manufacturers will gather at NextCorps on the sixth floor of the Sibley Building for a full-day workshop titled Manufacturing for the Fusion Industry: Targets. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina in full swing, a small group of athletes with roots in Western and Upstate New York will take the world stage wearing Team USA. While Olympic competition remains the central focus, the Games also represent a meaningful financial moment, one shaped by national sponsorships, licensing revenue, and a newly expanded compensation model for U.S. athletes. For competitors from Rochester and the broader region, includin

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Business owners, procurement leaders, and public-sector buyers gathered Wednesday at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center for the 2026 Upstate New York Supplier Engagement Summit, a full-day event focused on expanding access, visibility, and opportunity for diverse suppliers across the region. Hosted in downtown Rochester, the summit brought together minority-owned, women-owned, and service-disabled veteran–owned businesses with representatives from loc

Buffalo, N.Y. — Brown and White Ventures has announced an investment in Finta , an AI-powered workflow platform designed to modernize how private companies raise capital and manage relationship-driven deals. The investment will support Finta’s efforts to scale its end-to-end dealflow infrastructure, which automates many of the most time-consuming aspects of private capital formation, including prospect research, investor outreach, warm introductions, and pipeline managemen

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Reju , a textile-to-textile regeneration company backed by global engineering firm Technip Energies , has selected Rochester, New York, as the site of its first U.S.-based industrial-scale facility, marking a significant step in the company’s global expansion and the region’s growing role in sustainable manufacturing. The future facility, known as a Regeneration Hub, will be located on 18.9 acres at Eastman Business Park. Once operational, the site is expect

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — By the time Connor Peters graduated college at 19, he had already launched a business, managed IT systems, and identified a problem he couldn’t ignore. Today, as CEO of Locke , a Rochester-based cybersecurity company founded in 2022, Peters is building software designed to solve one of the most persistent and overlooked challenges in modern IT, identity. Peters grew up in Geneseo, New York, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems f

ROCHESTER, N.Y.  — Long before artificial intelligence, semiconductors, or advanced manufacturing became buzzwords, Rochester was already shaping the way the world sees, measures, and understands light. That work continues today through optics and photonics, industries that remain foundational to Rochester’s economy, workforce, and long-term relevance, even if they rarely make headlines. What Optics and Photonics Actually Mean At its core, optics is the science and engineerin

Rochester, N.Y. - Raising capital is often framed as a milestone, an announcement-worthy achievement marked by press releases, congratulatory posts, and celebratory headlines. But for most founders, the reality is far less polished. Capital raising is not a single moment; it is a prolonged, operationally demanding process that tests clarity of vision, depth of preparation, and personal resilience. For early-stage founders, particularly those outside major venture hubs, unders

BROCKPORT, N.Y. — After spending more than a decade teaching English to students around the world, found herself ready for a new challenge. Today, she is the founder of VerbaVista , an early-stage EdTech company launched in 2025 that aims to help English-language educators plan lessons more effectively using technology built by teachers, for teachers. LaScala-Lodato’s path to entrepreneurship was anything but conventional. A native of Port Jefferson, New York, she earned a ba

Rochester, N.Y. - From CES to Davos, a handful of global conferences shape what business will look like next. Rochester founders should be paying attention. Each year, thousands of executives, policymakers, founders, investors, and technologists converge at a small number of global conferences. These are not trade shows in the traditional sense. They are agenda-setting forums, places where industries align, capital finds direction, and narratives about the future of business

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Constellation Brands, one of the Rochester region’s most globally influential companies, reported its third-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results on Tuesday, reinforcing the company’s position as a leading force in the U.S. beverage alcohol market. The company announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Newlands and Chief Financial Officer Garth Hankinson will host a conference call Thursday, Jan. 8, at 10:30 a.m. ET to discuss results and outl

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In a startup ecosystem often defined by accelerators, incubators, and capital programs, Springboard NY  occupies a different and increasingly important role. Rather than backing individual startups, Springboard NY invests in the infrastructure around entrepreneurship, helping regions like Rochester build stronger, more connected innovation economies. Launched as a regional initiative serving Western New York, Springboard NY focuses on ecosystem-building: fun

ROCHESTER, N.Y.  — In an era when most clothing worn in the United States is produced overseas, Rochester stands apart. Once known globally as a center of precision optics and imaging, the city also holds a lesser-known but increasingly rare distinction: it remains one of the last U.S. cities with the infrastructure, labor force, and institutional knowledge to produce men’s clothing. While the modern fashion conversation often centers on New York, Los Angeles, or Paris, Roche

Rochester, N.Y. — As more small businesses compete for attention in an increasingly crowded digital landscape, Hannah Lavigne has built a business around helping brands stand out with clarity and intention. As the owner and head designer of Sage James Creative , Lavigne works with entrepreneurs and small businesses to translate their ideas into cohesive websites, branding, and digital identities. Founded in 2019, Sage James Creative is a website design and branding studio ser