Semiconductors / HardwareUpstate New York

Phlotonics

Semiconductors / Hardware · Rochester, NY

Phlotonics is a Rochester, NY-based biosensing company developing advanced photonic sensor platforms for real-time, label-free biomolecular detection to support biomanufacturing and drug discovery. In 2025, the company was awarded a $1.1 million AIM contract to advance its biosensor technology.

Founded

Region

Upstate New York

Investors

People

About Upstate NY

Upstate New York seeded Silicon Valley more directly than most people realize: IBM started in Endicott, GE's research labs sat in Schenectady, and Kodak and Xerox built deep imaging and photonics expertise in Rochester — engineers and ideas from all three migrated west and helped build what came after. Cornell, RPI, the University of Rochester, and the SUNY system now anchor a semiconductor, photonics, and drone corridor that's a direct descendant of that older industrial-research base, not a recent transplant.

Region Stats

Total firms 137

VC / investors 61

Companies 59

Schools 17

Known For

Semiconductors

Photonics

Drones