Pensievision, a creator of 3D imaging technology for industrial applications and medical devices, received the Company of the Year Award at the Luminate NY Finals 2025, held this week in Rochester. Along with the title, the company received a $1 million investment from New York State through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
Pensievision's solution delivers 3D imaging for demanding environments, from medical diagnostics and factory floors to orbital missions. Its technology combines a miniaturized single-lens setup, artificial intelligence, and astronomy-inspired optics to enable high-precision insights in tight or complex environments where bulky, multi-lens or laser-based systems fail.
“It’s a compact, affordable camera that does very high-accuracy 3D mapping of surfaces, and it’s compact enough that it can fit on anything from a robotic arm to an endoscope that goes inside the body,” said Pensievision CTO Joseph Carson. The technology has been demonstrated in both applications, and will soon be demonstrated in an upcoming visit to the International Space Station, Carson said.
The company's platform utilizes a Corning Varioptic liquid lens to rapidly take images at varying focuses to produce a 3D image through focus mapping. AI-driven software is then used to process the messy 3D mapping into the underlying high-resolution quantitative map. The output map is precise and accurate enough to be used in mission-critical applications.
Pensievision plans to use the follow-on funding to anchor its growth in the Rochester region by engaging with local supply chains, hiring engineering talent from universities in the area, and partnering with Rochester-based design and manufacturing firms. According to Carson, there are at least three firms in the newly wrapped cohort with which he envisions Pensievision fostering relationships.
“There’s a lot of collaborative efforts between the companies in this cohort because they’re working in similar fields with different technologies,” said Luminate’s managing director, Sujatha Ramanujan. “It’s been a nice outcome.”
amPICQ, originally from Hyderabad, India, and now located in Rochester, was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Award and $500,000 in follow-on funding. Its team is designing and developing PICs to make quantum-safe security both practical and accessible across quantum communications, datacom, and telecom industries.
For the first time, three companies tied for the Distinguished Graduate Award, with each being earning $200,000. Oblate Optics, from San Diego, produces ultra-thin lenses that keep laser beams in perfect focus — even on curved or uneven surfaces — without the need to move or refocus the optics. Münster, Germany based Pixel Photonics uses its waveguide-integrating design for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors to support OEM integration across quantum communications, microscopy, medical diagnostics, and advanced sensing. SNOChip, from Princeton, N.J., is a developer of on-chip optical components, such as microlens arrays, computer-generated holograms, and metasurfaces, designed for seamless integration with semiconductor lasers and sensor chips.
Event attendees voted LirOptic as the Audience Choice, and the company earned $10,000 in follow-on funding.
The investments were presented after a panel of judges from the optics and photonics industry and venture capital community scored the participating companies based on their business pitches and due diligence completed during the seven-month accelerator program. The finals event marks the completion of the eighth year of the cohort-based program, which now includes more than 80 portfolio companies, carrying an estimated combined market value of $700 million. As required by the award, all winners of the competition will commit to establishing operations in the region for at least the next 18 months.
Since its inception, Luminate NY has invested $21 million in 85 startups. Collectively, they have created more than 210 jobs in New York State and spent $21.6 million on more than 140 projects with regional design, manufacturing and supply chain companies. Twenty-two international companies have relocated to New York, and 41 portfolio companies have women in the C-suite.
Applications are now being accepted for round nine, through Jan. 12, 2026. Teams will receive $100,000 in funding upon program start, with the expectation that $50,000 will be used to engage resources in the Finger Lakes region.
Bio Photonics Research Award
Visit: biophotonicsresearch.com
Nominate Now: https://biophotonicsresearch.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee
#MeatAnalysis #FluorescenceTech #FoodQuality #FoodSafety #SpectroscopyInFood #MeatAuthentication #RapidDetection #FoodScience #MeatFreshness #MolecularDetection #FoodIndustryInnovation #NonDestructiveTesting #FoodMonitoring #SpectroscopyApplications #QualityControl #AdvancedSpectroscopy #MeatSpoilageDetection #FoodIntegrity #SmartFoodTesting #RealTimeAnalysis #FoodAuthenticity #FoodSafetyInnovation #SpectroscopyResearch #NextGenFoodSafety #InnovativeFoodScience,
Pensievision's solution delivers 3D imaging for demanding environments, from medical diagnostics and factory floors to orbital missions. Its technology combines a miniaturized single-lens setup, artificial intelligence, and astronomy-inspired optics to enable high-precision insights in tight or complex environments where bulky, multi-lens or laser-based systems fail.
“It’s a compact, affordable camera that does very high-accuracy 3D mapping of surfaces, and it’s compact enough that it can fit on anything from a robotic arm to an endoscope that goes inside the body,” said Pensievision CTO Joseph Carson. The technology has been demonstrated in both applications, and will soon be demonstrated in an upcoming visit to the International Space Station, Carson said.
The company's platform utilizes a Corning Varioptic liquid lens to rapidly take images at varying focuses to produce a 3D image through focus mapping. AI-driven software is then used to process the messy 3D mapping into the underlying high-resolution quantitative map. The output map is precise and accurate enough to be used in mission-critical applications.
Pensievision plans to use the follow-on funding to anchor its growth in the Rochester region by engaging with local supply chains, hiring engineering talent from universities in the area, and partnering with Rochester-based design and manufacturing firms. According to Carson, there are at least three firms in the newly wrapped cohort with which he envisions Pensievision fostering relationships.
“There’s a lot of collaborative efforts between the companies in this cohort because they’re working in similar fields with different technologies,” said Luminate’s managing director, Sujatha Ramanujan. “It’s been a nice outcome.”
amPICQ, originally from Hyderabad, India, and now located in Rochester, was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Award and $500,000 in follow-on funding. Its team is designing and developing PICs to make quantum-safe security both practical and accessible across quantum communications, datacom, and telecom industries.
For the first time, three companies tied for the Distinguished Graduate Award, with each being earning $200,000. Oblate Optics, from San Diego, produces ultra-thin lenses that keep laser beams in perfect focus — even on curved or uneven surfaces — without the need to move or refocus the optics. Münster, Germany based Pixel Photonics uses its waveguide-integrating design for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors to support OEM integration across quantum communications, microscopy, medical diagnostics, and advanced sensing. SNOChip, from Princeton, N.J., is a developer of on-chip optical components, such as microlens arrays, computer-generated holograms, and metasurfaces, designed for seamless integration with semiconductor lasers and sensor chips.
Event attendees voted LirOptic as the Audience Choice, and the company earned $10,000 in follow-on funding.
The investments were presented after a panel of judges from the optics and photonics industry and venture capital community scored the participating companies based on their business pitches and due diligence completed during the seven-month accelerator program. The finals event marks the completion of the eighth year of the cohort-based program, which now includes more than 80 portfolio companies, carrying an estimated combined market value of $700 million. As required by the award, all winners of the competition will commit to establishing operations in the region for at least the next 18 months.
Since its inception, Luminate NY has invested $21 million in 85 startups. Collectively, they have created more than 210 jobs in New York State and spent $21.6 million on more than 140 projects with regional design, manufacturing and supply chain companies. Twenty-two international companies have relocated to New York, and 41 portfolio companies have women in the C-suite.
Applications are now being accepted for round nine, through Jan. 12, 2026. Teams will receive $100,000 in funding upon program start, with the expectation that $50,000 will be used to engage resources in the Finger Lakes region.
Bio Photonics Research Award
Visit: biophotonicsresearch.com
Nominate Now: https://biophotonicsresearch.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee
#MeatAnalysis #FluorescenceTech #FoodQuality #FoodSafety #SpectroscopyInFood #MeatAuthentication #RapidDetection #FoodScience #MeatFreshness #MolecularDetection #FoodIndustryInnovation #NonDestructiveTesting #FoodMonitoring #SpectroscopyApplications #QualityControl #AdvancedSpectroscopy #MeatSpoilageDetection #FoodIntegrity #SmartFoodTesting #RealTimeAnalysis #FoodAuthenticity #FoodSafetyInnovation #SpectroscopyResearch #NextGenFoodSafety #InnovativeFoodScience,
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