Excell Partners Receives $2.5M to Support Regional Economic Development

The State of New York announced this week that it has awarded $2.5 million to Excell Partners from its Innovate NY Fund initiative. These funds will be used to provide critical financial support to early-stage technology companies. 

 “Access to seed-stage funding is essential to the creation of a robust ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Theresa Mazzullo, CEO of Excell Partners. “These resources represent a critical bridge between academic and private research and development and the creation of new technology companies and regional economic growth. I want to thank Governor Cuomo and Empire State Development’s President, CEO and Commissioner Kenneth Adams for making this critical investment and their leadership in providing critical assistance to small businesses emerging in our region. I want to also recognize U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, New York State Assemblymen Joseph Morelle and Harry Bronson, New Yorks State Senator George Maziarz, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks for their critical assistance along with the scores of other organizations and individuals who supported Excell throughout this process.”

Administered by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESD), the Innovate NY Fund is distributing $25 million in federal dollars to economic development and technology development organizations, research universities, and investment funds that focus on making seed-stage investments.

Excell Partners – an affiliate of the University of Rochester – was created in 2005 to serve a regional economic development role by providing early stage technology companies with seed capital and other support services such as management recruitment, identifying strategic partners, accessing follow-on funding, and strategic guidance. 

Since its inception, Excell Partners has invested $2.5 million in 22 early-stage medical device and equipment, biotechnology, industrial/energy, consumer products, and electronics/software companies. These investments have helped these companies attract an additional $135 million in follow-on funding and create more than 245 jobs. In 2010, Excell Partners received an additional $2 million from ESD and is in the process of investing these funds. 

 Excell’s Board of Directors is comprised of representatives of the University of Rochester, University at Buffalo, Syracuse University, Cornell University, and Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe and Ontario Counties, and Upstate Venture Association of New York.  Excell also works in close coordination with numerous business support and economic development organizations including High Tech Rochester, the InVentures Group, the Kensa Group, Syracuse Technology Garden, the New York State Center for Excellence in BioInformatics and Life Sciences (Buffalo), the Center for Economic Growth (Albany), the Pre-Seed Workshop, Eastman Business Park, and venture capital funds such as Seed Capital Fund of CNY, the Rochester Angel Network, Western New York Ventures, Stonehenge, and Cayuga Venture Fund.