Accelerate Long Island (ALI), a non-profit founded in 2011, has an extensive and committed track record of accelerating growth for Long Island based high technology startups. ALI leads a unique collaboration among Long Island’s world class research institutions and its business community to commercialize research and create an entrepreneurial ecosystem. ALI focuses on high-technology companies emanating from the region’s research and academic institutions. The majority of ALI’s portfolio are high-growth companies in the biotech and health tech space, including Codagenix, DepYMed, Envisagenics, Playback Health, and more. Over the past decade, ALI successfully encouraged coalition-building and cross-sector partnerships. Accelerate Long Island has managed two Seed Funds:
Fund I: The Accelerate Long Island Seed Fund, a $500,000 grant seed fund awarded through ESD and the LIREDC process. This was matched by $500,000 in private investment from the Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund (LIETF) backed by Topspin Partners and Jove Equity Partners. The Accelerate Long Island Seed Fund/LIETF invested in 10 high technology companies on Long Island, seven of which are still active and growing. The fund has created more than 32 Full-Time jobs and $34 million in follow-on funding.
Fund II: The Accelerate New York Fund is a $2.4 million equity investment with New York State Innovation Capital Fund as LP with 21 portfolio companies. Accelerate Long Island was selected through an RFP process to manage the Accelerate NY Seed Fund as part of the ESD New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund and it supported science and technology-based early-stage ventures on Long Island, in New York City, and the Hudson Valley. The portfolio companies have created more than 80 jobs and secured more than $72 million in follow-on funding to date.
ALI’s activities are implemented by an experienced team who have shown a strong track record of providing network and mentorship to high-technology companies, supporting commercialization efforts of our region’s research and academic institutions, and serving as a vehicle for our region’s academic and business leadership to identify barriers to growth on Long Island for early stage companies and develop regional solutions. ALI’s Board Members include the Presidents of Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Hofstra University, Northwell Health, and Stony Brook University, as well as the Long Island Association, Topspin Partners, Jove Equity Partners, the Rauch Foundation, EY, and Farrell Fritz.
ALI’s unprecedented relationships among all the region’s incubators and accelerators transcend the geographic dispersion that has always challenged Long Island collaborations into a strength. As a regional leader responsible for curating an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem, ALI recognizes the need to cultivate a growing community of BIPOC and women entrepreneurs igniting social changes in underserved areas. A more equitable ecosystem will support overall economic development on Long Island.
As we emerge from the pandemic the need to cultivate innovation and startups is critical, and ALI will continue to provide productive networking and instructional events for entrepreneurs and serve as an innovation broker to commercialize technology and connect startups with sources of capital, jumpstarting Long Island’s economic growth.
