# Empire State Development

> Empire State Development is a VC fund backing Biotechnology and Manufacturing. See 31 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: New York, United States
- Total investments: 31
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 77%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/empire-state-development/
- Website: http://www.esd.ny.gov
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpireStateDevelopment/

Empire State Development is a VC fund in New York focused on Biotechnology and Manufacturing. Empire State Development (ESD) is New York’s chief economic development agency.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Empire State Development. Shizune tracks 1 team members at Empire State Development. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/empire-state-development-4caa?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 7 | 23% |
| Manufacturing | 6 | 19% |
| Health Care | 5 | 16% |
| Non Profit | 4 | 13% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 4 | 13% |

63 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Grant | 24 | 77% |
| Series A | 4 | 13% |
| Seed | 1 | 3% |
| Series B | 1 | 3% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 26 | 84% |
| Sweden | 1 | 3% |
| Germany | 1 | 3% |
| Slovakia (Slovak Republic) | 1 | 3% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Marcia Mitchell | Director for NY Ventures | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/marcia-mitchell |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sharper Sense | Sharper Sense is a wearable patch that stimulates a nerve in the neck to enhance hearing, vision, and touch. This neuromodulation technology helps optimize sensory processing for improved perception. | $100K | Grant | Jul 08, 2026 |  |
| Dutchess Community College | Dutchess Community College is the primary source of two-year educational programs in Poughkeepsie, New York, and surrounding areas. The education at Duchess is also of high quality, boasting successful graduates and award-winning professors.More than 60 programs of study are available at Dutchess Community College. These include such professionaldisciplines as: * Aviation Science * Business * Criminal Justice * Fire Science * NursingAssociate’s degrees are also awarded in such academic and creative subject areas as: * Creative Writing * Humanities * Math * MusicThe impressive faculty members at the school have collectively received over 30 awards for teaching excellence.Students who obtain a degree in an academic or artistic field usually transfer to a four-year university. Four-year schools to which students have transferred include: * Brown University * Columbia University * Syracuse University * Vassar College * Yale UniversityStudent life activities include arts activities such as visual arts exhibits, festivals, film screenings and student clubs.For admissions, simply fill out an online application and provide copies of high school transcripts or a copy of your GED. All incoming students must also take an entrance exam.Financial aid is awarded through academic scholarships and federal need-based aid programs like Pell grants, Stafford loans and Plus loans. State grants and veteran’s benefits are also available. | $2M | Grant | Mar 09, 2026 |  |
| Schneider Packaging Equipment Company | Schneider Packaging Equipment Co. is an innovative company whose core focus is to produce. | $500K | Grant | Dec 30, 2025 |  |
| Excelsior Sciences | Excelsior Sciences develops a chemistry and AI platform for discovering and manufacturing small-molecule compounds. It uses a proprietary “smart bloccs” system, which consists of modular, machine-ready chemical building blocks, to convert small-molecule innovation into an iterative, automation-friendly workflow. Through this platform, Excelsiorenables closed-loop cycles of AI-guided synthesis, testing, and optimisation that link early-stage discovery to scalable manufacturing. The company supports projects across pharmaceuticals, materials science, and other sectors that rely on small molecules. Excelsior also maintains an internal pipeline of therapeutic candidates while working with partners to deploy its chemistry platform broadly. | $25M | Grant | Dec 03, 2025 |  |
| Launch NY | Launch NY is a U.S. Treasury-designated Community Financial Institution (CDFI) and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit venture development organization, providing pro bono mentoring and capital access to high-growth potential startups across Upstate NY. The mission is to identify, support and invest in high-growth, high-impact companies, and catalyze theentrepreneurial culture in the 27 counties comprising the western half of Upstate New York. | $1M | Grant | Oct 29, 2025 |  |
| Bired Imaging | Bired Imaging provides infrared imaging coupled with an analytical approach used for cancerous tumor detection and localization. They perform equally with dense breast tissue and are an ideal adjunctive technology for breast cancer screening. | $200K | Grant | Sep 19, 2025 |  |
| Lamarr.AI | Lamarr.AI is developing automated solutions for building envelope diagnostics and refurbishment. Using drones, thermal imaging, and AI-based analytics, finding and repairing envelope problems becomes faster, cheaper, and more accurate than traditional approaches. |  | Grant | Aug 11, 2025 |  |
| Modovolo | Modovolo is an aviation and aerospace component manufacturing firm. |  | Grant | Aug 11, 2025 |  |
| Skyfire AI | Skyfire AI develops autonomous drone systems that use artificial intelligence for mission planning, data analysis, and aerial coordination. Its platform enables object detection, real-time tracking, and adaptive flight control for use in public safety, defense, and infrastructure. The technology supports tasks such as surveillance, inspection, andsearch and rescue by providing AI-driven insights and automated mission execution, including multi-drone deployments. |  | Grant | Aug 11, 2025 |  |
| Flox Intelligence | FLOX is bringing cutting-edge technology and Generative AI to wildlife management, addressing the challenges of human-wildlife coexistence across diverse landscapes.By streamlining and simplifying wildlife management workflows, we empower organizations to keep wild animals away from areas where they pose risks, such as airports, railways, roads,public spaces, agriculture, young forests, and other shared environments. Our autonomous solutions, grounded in advanced wildlife science and powered by Generative AI, ensure safety and efficiency, allowing our clients to focus on their core activities.With FLOX, you can achieve safer, more productive environments, ensuring harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife. |  | Grant | Aug 11, 2025 |  |

10 of 31 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [ARCH Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/arch-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Johnson & Johnson Robotics and Digital Solutions](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/johnson-johnson-innovation) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Partnership Fund for New York City](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/new-york-city-investment-fund) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Pfizer Venture Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pfizer-venture-investments) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [AbbVie](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/abbvie) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Alexandria](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alexandria-venture) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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- [Business Finland](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/tekes) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Empire State Development invest in?

Empire State Development invests primarily in Biotechnology, Manufacturing and Health Care startups, most often at Grant and Series A stage. Most of the 31 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Empire State Development?

Public channels for Empire State Development include LinkedIn, the website linked on this profile and Facebook. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Empire State Development?

The team at Empire State Development includes Marcia Mitchell (Director for NY Ventures). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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