List of Current Cornell Startups

Recently Cornell published a list of startups that use patents and intellectual property develop at the university. They highlight Achronix, Novomer, and Tetragenetics. Those are great companies to profile. However, I want to highlight a few more:

Afrik!: Fritswa's designs merge imagery from the countries of the African Diaspora with modern hip hop fashion, serving as a way for young hip hop minds to consider their heritage.

BinOptics: Alex and his team are making lasers that are smaller, cheaper, and more precise than anything out there.

Colinsworth: They have created a suite of technologies and services that allow people to safely buy high valued items on eBay without fear of fraud or counterfeiting. Disclaimer: #1: I am on the advisory board.

e2e: Makers of a cheaper, better version of particle board; all from bio-friendly materials. Fiberboard is a $7BB industry that creates a product from petroleum (bad) that pollutes offices with formaldehyde gas (also bad).

Fingerlakes Aquaculture: They grow fish. Indoors. You would be blown away by how high tech this operation is. The technology is around how well they clean the water, allowing them to reuse 99% of it. Next time you order a fresh, delicious tilapia filet in the northeast, there is a good chance it came from these guys.

Kexster: Find your next house or apartment on a map. This free service lets you see prices and availability.

Mezmeriz: Revolutionary new miniature high-definition video projection system which is based on proprietary new microelectronic mechanical (MEMS) mirror technology. That is tech lingo for "awesome new TV's". Disclaimer #2: This is my current startup.

Gene Network Sciences: Colin and his team are helping make drug discovery better and faster.

Mitegen: Tiny scoops for picking up tiny fragile crystals. If you are moving crystals around at a micro-scale, these guys are the only game in town.

Pure Yummies: Delicious organic health drinks naturally sweetened with pure miel de agave. Berry Beautiful is my favorite.

Scrimple: Matt and his team are collecting free coupons for all the things a college student could want.

Simply Audiobooks: Rent, buy, or download your favorite audiobooks. I love listening to books in the car, and these guys do it better than anyone.

SightSpeed: The world's best video conferencing software. The software rocks and is free. And the "World's Best" claim is courtesy of PC World, who have given SightSpeed that award for the past four years. Disclaimer #3: I am the founder of this company too.

Systanix: They have developed a way to revolutionize the way drugs are manufactured. They will enable new pharmaceuticals to come to market cheaper and faster than ever before. And they will drive the cost of generics even lower. These guys are the epitome of "disruptive technology".
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These companies are just the tip of the iceberg. I carry with me a sheet of over 70 Cornell startups in progress. The entrepreneurial spirit emitting from Ithaca and the Cornell community couldn't be stronger. Go Big Red Entrepreneurship!

Comments

Ellen said…
It is always wonderful to read about the great entrepreneurial spirit at Cornell. And it sounds like that spirit definitely complements your own business goals and efforts - judging by the number of disclaimers, ha ha. I used to work for Cornell Corporate Relations (several years ago) and was impressed with the seemingly endless ingenuity of some of these local companies.
Burton Lee said…
Hi Brad,

You are not the only one to rave about the most recent Cornell entrepreneurship event in Ithaca...its making waves all the way to Silicon Valley...

Until your posting above, I had never considered university alumni-student networks a potentially serious source of quality deals and dealflow (with the possible exception of Stanford). The mere idea of over 70 Cornell startups is fantastic! I would like to see similar numbers for Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc...Keep up the good work.