Five start-up companies and businesses have relocated to Stony Brook University just ten months after the initial launch of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s START-UP program.
The five companies are a part of a new group of ten New York companies that will invest nearly $40 million and have committed to create upwards of 267 new jobs over the next five years in tax-free areas sponsored by Stony Brook, SUNY Cobleskill, Rochester Institute of Technology and Hudson Valley Community College, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
Since the launch of the START-UP NY program, a total of 93 companies have joined the program and created over 2,800 new jobs, according to the press release.
Brite Home LLC, AJES Life Sciences LLC, Theragnostic Technologies Inc., STS Global Inc. and SynchroPET Inc. have all found a home in and around the Stony Brook community.
“They’re involved in a lot of things we’re involved in, like next-generation networks and cyber securities,” STS Global CEO David E. Hershberg said. “It’s good for a company that’s just getting started to have the capabilities that the university has for us to take part in.”
Hershberg’s company is a new telecommunication and media solutions business that aims to provide custom products, networks and services that leverage known applications with wireless technologies. Located in the Center of Excellence for Wireless and Information Technology in Stony Brook’s Research and Development Park, STS Global develops customized systems to help wireless technology companies broaden their capabilities with a strong focus on satellite-based technologies.
He founded Globecomm Systems Inc. in 1994 and was CEO of the company for 19 years before it was sold for $340 million. He has given lectures at the College of Business and is also a member of one of the committees of the dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate gave plenty of credit to Yacov Shamash, who is vice president for economic development and the dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Stony Brook.
“I think [the engineering department is] second to none on Long Island and, as far as I’m concerned, in the entire state,” Hershberg said.
Long Island native Marc Alessi is bringing his company, SynchroPET, under Cuomo’s program as well.
“It helps give a company an edge in an environment where sometimes you have some competitive disadvantages on Long Island,” Alessi, a former state assemblyman, said. “You have a startup that has a better chance of succeeding.”
His company is an existing pre-revenue biomedical device manufacturer that specializes in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners. This technology was invented at Brookhaven National Laboratory, so Alessi jumped at the opportunity to commercialize this product.
“Here I found products that could be really helpful and they were sitting on a shelf,” Alessi said. “Our products can help with cancer research, Alzheimer’s research, Parkinson’s research and also diagnostics and treatment.”
The company, which will be located in the Long Island High Technology Incubator, will target small animal research
companies first. Alessi lost his third general election by a half of a percentage point in 2010, but he said his true calling has always been in start-up businesses.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” Alessi said. “I’ve always had the mindset that I like taking a problem and get a tremendous amount of satisfaction when I know I solved it and did a great job at doing it.”
Along with Alessi’s company, AJES Life Sciences and Theragnostic Technologies will also be located in the Long Island High Technology Incubator. AJES’s mission is to provide preclinical and toxicology services for new pharmaceuticals, while Theragnostic will focus on commercializing new biomedical and healthcare technologies developed at Stony Brook.
BriteHome LLC will join STS Global in the CEWIT building, developing a new home automation system that will encompass new secure wireless networking technologies that are already in use by most Wi-Fi hotspots and routers, which are common devices in households across the United States.
