ALBANY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. celebrated the success of the SUNY Startup Summer School Demo Day (S4), a competitive program designed to showcase the most promising technologies and startups. This year’s participants included 222 SUNY students, faculty, and staff, from 30 different SUNY campuses, with 15 teams selected for the demo day event.
The SUNY Startup Summer School, now in its sixth year, offers entrepreneurial education and training to help students and faculty secure the initial funding needed to get their technology to market. All S4 participating teams will continue to receive coaching and mentoring from successful entrepreneurs and seasoned executives included in SUNY Venture Advisors to support business development and commercialization.
“SUNY is the home to groundbreaking and life-saving research, and our campuses are filled with talented and innovative researchers ready to apply what they learn in the classroom into real life solutions for our society’s most complex issues,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “The SUNY Startup Summer School Demo Day is an opportunity to showcase innovators from throughout the SUNY system, and provide support for these entrepreneurs to unleash their full potential. Congratulations to the three winners of this year’s Demo Day, and to all of the participants for being a part of this challenging and competitive program.”
SUNY Trustee Courtney Burke, Chair of the Research and Economic Development Committee, said, “SUNY innovators help power New York State, and we are proud to support the next generation of entrepreneurs through programs like the SUNY Startup Summer School Demo Day. Congratulations to the winners and participants in this year’s program. We look forward to providing a launching pad for even more SUNY innovators and researchers through initiatives that help them bring exciting ideas to market to help improve lives and move New York State forward.”
As part of the program, three teams were selected to win a total of $100,000 in startup seed funding. The S4 winner for 2025 was “REMIX” from Binghamton University, which received $50,000. The two additional winners were “sxRNA” from University at Albany and “Vasocure” from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and each received $25,000. The selected startups are:
- REMIX, Binghamton University – $50,000
- Led by Binghamton University Assistant Professor Dr. Jayson Boubin, REMIX is developing a real-time hyperspectral imaging technology that enables rapid processing of high-volume remote sensing data, with initial applications in humanitarian landmine detection and broader potential across ecology, agriculture, prospecting, and energy sectors.
- sxRNA Technologies, University at Albany – $25,000
- Founded by University at Albany Professor Dr. Scott Tenenbaum, sxRNA Technologies is commercializing a groundbreaking RNA nanoswitch platform that enables RNA therapeutics to be activated only in targeted cells by using structurally interacting RNA “locks” and “keys,” offering a versatile platform with the potential to target and treat a wide range of diseases including cancer and Alzheimer’s.
- Vasocure, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University – $25,000
- Founded by SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine Dr. Moro Salifu, Vasocure is a novel therapeutics company with over 60 drug candidates in nephrology, cardiology, and oncology that had developed the world’s first peptide to directly treat neointimal disease and atherosclerosis.
