Buffalo to Host 2026 New York State Innovation Summit October 27 – 28

Regist atio is  ow ope fo multi-day eve t o ga ized a ually by FuzeHub to champio i ovatio a d d ive tech ology-led eco omic developme t ac oss the Empi e State

BUFFALO, N.Y., Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The New Yo k State I ovatio Summit will be held i Weste New Yo k this yea at the Buffalo Co ve tio Ce te o Octobe 27 – 28. Hosted by FuzeHub, i pa t e ship with Empi e State Developme t’s Divisio of Scie ce, Tech ology a d I ovatio (NYSTAR), the I ovatio Summit is the p emie eve t facilitati g collabo atio amo g the state’s tech ology leade s, ma ufactu e s, esea che s, e t ep e eu s, i vesto s a d eco omic develope s who togethe a e shapi g the ext e a of Ame ica i ovatio .

With ove 550 pa ticipa ts a d mo e tha 50 exhibito s a ually, the Summit p omotes tech ology-led eco omic g owth while p ovidi g a u ivaled oppo tu ity fo New Yo k compa ies to showcase dis uptive p oducts, fo ge st ategic pa t e ships a d accele ate the comme cializatio of tomo ow’s game-cha gi g tech ologies.

The i th a ual New Yo k State Comme cializatio Competitio —backed by FuzeHub’s Jeff Law e ce I ovatio Fu d—will also be held du i g the I ovatio Summit with i e sta tup compa ies competi g fo $430,000 i fu di g. The fi m that best demo st ates the comme cializatio pote tial of its tech ology o p oduct will eceive $150,000, the u e -up will be awa ded $110,000 a d $85,000 p izes will go to two additio al compa ies.

I additio to se vi g as a lively, welcomi g ve ue fo e t ep e eu s to co ect with pote tial custome s, i vesto s a d suppo t p ofessio als, the New Yo k State I ovatio Summit will gathe leadi g i dust y expe ts to explo e u ge t tech ology topics i cludi g qua tum, AI, adva ceme ts i healthca e esea ch, eme gi g applicatio s fo glass-based mic oelect o ics, ve tu e capital, ae ospace systems, eme gi g ma kets a d much mo e.

Summit Sessio s Set Age da fo NY’s I ovatio Futu e

Key ote add esses—delive ed by leade s of GE Ve ova a d NYSTAR—will u pack high p io ities fo i ovatio statewide, a d two headli e-maki g pa el talks will dig i to what comes ext i the qua tum evolutio a d how ve tu e capital fi ms a e shapi g ei dust ializatio i New Yo k a d beyo d.

This yea ’s key ote speake s a e:

• Be Ve schue e , Executive Di ecto , NYSTAR. At NYSTAR, Ve schue e se ves as a leade i i ovatio with expa sive expe ie ce co ecti g tech ology to eal-wo ld outcomes a d effectively motivati g a d ma agi g i te discipli a y teams. Ve schue e , who ca ies mo e tha 20 yea s of i dust y expe ie ce f om his time i Ge e al Elect ic’s esea ch divisio , established a i cubato lab at GE focused o fu di g p ojects a d buildi g p ototypes fo i dust ial ecosystems.
• Ma co Aimi, Ph.D., Di ecto of Resea ch Ope atio s, GE Ve ova. With ove 20 yea s of expe ie ce at GE, i cludi g se vi g as I ovatio Leade fo Adva ced Elect o ics, Aimi b i gs a depth of ha ds-o k owledge a d u ique i sights i to the latest adva ceme ts out of GE Ve ova’s Adva ced Resea ch Ce te , a 500-pe so global o ga izatio headqua te ed i Niskayu a, New Yo k. Aimi also led the build-out of the ece tly lau ched F o tie Campus, a mo e tha $110 millio i vestme t by GE Ve ova with suppo t f om New Yo k State that b ought 75 ew esea ch positio s.

Headli e pa els at the New Yo k State I ovatio Summit will be:

• The Qua tum Revolutio : What Comes Next. This leade ship discussio , mode ated by NYSTAR’s Ve schue e , will featu e Cha les (Chuck) Black, PhD, Deputy Associate Lab Di ecto , E e gy a d Photo Scie ces, a d Di ecto , Co-desig Ce te fo Qua tum Adva tage (C2QA), at B ookhave Natio al Labo ato y; Ede Figue oa, PhD, Sto y B ook P eside tial I ovatio E dowed P ofesso , Di ecto of the Qua tum I stitute, Joi t Appoi tme t at B ookhave Natio al Labo ato y; a d A a W. Topol, PhD, Chief Executive Office , Qlithic Tech ologies I c.
• VCs Shapi g Rei dust ializatio . Hosted by New Yo k Ve tu es, a divisio Empi e State Developme t that se ves as a ea ly-stage ve tu e capital fu d i vesti g i high-g owth sta tups statewide, this pa el will featu e B ya a Samuels, Di ecto , NY Ve tu es; Zak Schwa zma , Ge e al Pa t e , MetaP op; Jea e Casey, Head of Nuvee Real Asset Ve tu es; a d Lisa Mo ales-Hellebo, Fou de & Ma agi g Ge e al Pa t e , REFASHIOND Ve tu es.

The New Yo k State I ovatio Summit’s welcome add ess will be delive ed by Hope K ight, P eside t, CEO a d Commissio e of Empi e State Developme t. New Yo k State Se ato Ap il N.M. Baski , who se ves as the Chai of the Se ate Committee o Comme ce, Eco omic Developme t a d Small Busi ess, will offe special ema ks ahead of the Comme cializatio Competitio awa ds ce emo y.

Sta tup Fou de s Show Path to Ve tu e I vestme t

Access to fu di g ca u lock sta tups’ g owth pote tial—which is why FuzeHub a d its pa t e s New Yo k Ve tu es a d Lau ch NY have expa ded the New Yo k State I ovatio Summit’s focus o ve tu e educatio fo fou de s.

Fa mo e tha “VC 101” talks, the I ovatio Summit will show fou de s the fast t ack to ve tu e i vestme t, equippi g them with eed-to-k ow i sights that will make thei sta tups mo e att active to i vesto s.

• The Impe fect Pitch: Sto ytelli g at P e-Seed is a i te active wo kshop fo fou de s to pitch out loud a d get di ect feedback o how to lead with thei most mea i gful st e gths a d p ese t thei weak esses as isks they’ e al eady ma agi g.
• The Met ics that Matte : How I vesto s Evaluate Seed & Se ies A Sta tups will show fou de s how to p ese t eve ue g owth, custome acquisitio , ete tio , e gageme t, bu efficie cy, capital efficie cy a d mo e without lea i g o va ity met ics.
• Rou di g Out the Capital Stack will i t oduce fou de s to sou ces of fi a ci g they ca combi e to b i g p oducts to ma ket—a d explai why that’s att active fo i vesto s.
• Co cept to Co t act: How to Captu e Fi st Mo ey & Fi st Pilots i DeepTech will featu e i vesto s a d ecosystem-builde s who ca explai fi st-ha d how to secu e a pilot a d ea ly capital befo e a p oduct is fi ished.
• Te Dysfu ctio s of a Sta tup will tu to e t ep e eu -tu ed-i vesto Da Goldsmith of P oofpoi t Capital to b eak dow te commo ea ly-stage mistakes f om chasi g volume too soo to ove hi i g, a d how to avoid them.
• Lau chNY I vesto Co ect will co ect sta tups aisi g equity to eleva t i vesto s fo i itial co ve satio s a d futu e follow-up meeti gs.

Each of these ve tu e-fo -fou de s sessio s have atte da ce limits to allow fo ha ds-o guida ce a d i st uctio — egiste fo the I ovatio Summit a d equest to atte d usi g the li ks o the Age da page.

I ovatio Summit is Movi g the Needle, O ga ize s Explai

“FuzeHub is p oud to b i g the New Yo k State I ovatio Summit to Buffalo, a histo ic hotbed of i ovatio dati g back to the ope i g of the E ie Ca al. It’s the ight city fo us to gathe the Empi e State’s i ovatio leade s to look fo wa d to what’s ext a d shape the visio fo what’s possible i this g eat state,” said FuzeHub Executive Di ecto Ele a Ga uc. “New Yo k’s b ightest mi ds do ‘t just discuss the futu e of i ovatio at this eve t—they actively c eate it, foste i g p og ess, buildi g pa t e ships a d positio i g the Empi e State as a global leade i the tech ologies that matte most.”

FuzeHub, which se ves as the statewide ce te of the New Yo k Ma ufactu i g Exte sio Pa t e ship (NY MEP), has o ga ized the New Yo k State I ovatio Summit fo the last seve yea s. Bo f om the lo gsta di g t aditio of u iti g NYSTAR-suppo ted i ovatio esou ces, the Summit has g ow i to a dy amic fo um whe e c itical co ve satio s about tech ology co ve ge ce, eme gi g ma kets a d ma ufactu i g excelle ce take ce te stage.

“Yea afte yea , this Summit b i gs togethe b illia t i ovato s a d i spi i g leade s i pu suit of a commo goal: to adva ce New Yo k i ovatio s that have pote tial to imp ove lives a d livelihoods a d st e gthe ou state’s eco omy,” said NYSTAR Executive Di ecto Be Ve schue e . “Alo gside ou pa t e s at FuzeHub, NYSTAR looks fo wa d to co ve i g New Yo k’s i ovatio ecosystem eve y yea a d celeb ati g the latest a d most p omisi g tech ological adva ceme ts New Yo k State has to offe .”

Fo the latest o 2026 New Yo k State I ovatio Summit a d to egiste fo the eve t, visit ysi ovatio summit.com.

About FuzeHubFuzeHub is a ot-fo -p ofit o ga izatio that co ects New Yo k’s small to medium-sized ma ufactu i g compa ies a d tech fi ms to the esou ces, p og ams, a d expe tise they eed fo tech ology comme cializatio , i ovatio , a d busi ess g owth. Th ough its custom assessme t, matchi g, a d efe al platfo m, FuzeHub helps compa ies avigate New Yo k’s obust etwo k of i dust y expe ts at Ma ufactu i g Exte sio Pa t e s ce te s, u ive sities, eco omic developme t o ga izatio s, a d othe p ovide s. FuzeHub is the statewide New Yo k Ma ufactu i g Exte sio Pa t e ship P og am (MEP) ce te , suppo ted by Empi e State Developme t’s Divisio of Scie ce, Tech ology & I ovatio . Fo mo e i fo matio o FuzeHub, visit www.fuzehub.com.

A photo accompa yi g this a ou ceme t is available at https://www.globe ewswi e.com/NewsRoom/Attachme tNg/3881ebe9-bb92-42bf-8c96-452d55ada2ac

CONTACT: Media Co tact
Joh Mackowiak
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