United States · Investor

Luminate

Last cheque observed Sep 2026; 127 cheques on record.

Email

Deploying nowAcceleratorWebsite unconfirmed

Pre-seedSeedSeries APhotonicsOptics

Deploying now
53%of best year17cheques in 12 months, 127 on record
Since the last cheque60days00hrs00min00sec
Median round$5.3MCheque size, as they say$100K – $1.0MRounds led0 of 127Sole investor12 roundsMostly inUnited States, 62%
Pitch Luminate

Luminate highlights

  1. 01

    17 cheques in the last 12 months

  2. 02

    Mostly Venture and Seed: 53% of its rounds

  3. 03

    Sole investor in 12 rounds, median $621K

What they do

Type
Accelerator (from a list, unverified)
Cheque size
$100K – $1.0M as they say
Stages
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries BGrowth
Sectors
PhotonicsOptics
Based in
Rochester, United States
Cold pitches
Not stated

A website was listed for this organisation, but we could not confirm it belongs to the firm that wrote these cheques. Either the site never mentions them, or it turned out to be a different company sharing the name. We show neither it nor anything read from it. Tell us the right one.

The record

Every round we can evidence, newest first127 appearances

  1. 2026

    16 rounds

  2. Sept
    Ciconia MedicalGrant · US$307KSole investor
  3. Aug
    SeeTrue Technologies OySeed · FI · Superhero Capital$2.5MWith 7 others
  4. Jul
    OculiVenture · US$3.0MWith 1 other
  5. Jun
    StraikerSeries A · TechStartups$64MWith 6 others
  6. Jun
    KartaDebt · US$125MWith 5 others
  7. Jun
    FileAIVenture · SGUndisclosedWith 5 others
  8. Jun
    Climate First BankGrowth · US$67MWith 1 other
  9. Jun
    AndlucaVenture · USUndisclosedWith 2 others
  10. Jun
    CentricalSeries D · US$39MWith 2 others
  11. May
    BunchSeries B · DE · Ventureburn$35MWith 5 others
  12. Mar
    Crossover MarketsSeries B · GB · Ventureburn$31MWith 8 others
  13. Feb
    Custom SurgicalSeed · DE$4.1MWith 1 other
  14. Feb
    TurnstileSeries A · US$29MWith 4 others
  15. Feb
    Pixel PhotonicsSeed · DE$5.7MWith 2 others
  16. Jan
    ZocksSeries B · US · Entrée Capital$45MWith 8 others
  17. Jan
    PontoroSeries A · US$5.5MWith 5 others
  18. 2025

    30 rounds

  19. Nov
    Lightspeed PhotonicsSeed · SG$6.5MWith 1 other
  20. Oct
    SNOChipGrant · US$200KSole investor
  21. Oct
    Climate First BankDebt · US$30MSole investor
  22. Oct
    EndowusVenture · SG$70MWith 5 others
  23. Oct
    Oblate OpticsGrant · US$200KSole investor
  24. Oct
    PensievisionGrant · US$1.0MWith 2 others
  25. Oct
    InteloPre-seed · US$2.0MSole investor
  26. Sept
    FloxSeries B · US · TechStartups$25MWith 5 others
  27. Sept
    cureVisionVenture · DEUndisclosedWith 1 other
  28. Sept
    LendOSSeries A · US$13MWith 2 others
  29. Aug
    AI OpticsUS · AlleyWatch$15MWith 2 others
  30. Jul
    FMXVenture · USUndisclosedWith 1 other
  31. Jul
    d1g1tVenture · CAUndisclosedWith 5 others
  32. Jul
    EMGenisysSeed · US · Tall Grass Ventures$1.5MWith 3 others
  33. Jul
    Momentum OpticsVenture · US$4.3MWith 2 others
  34. Jun
    LidrotecSeries A · DE$14MWith 1 other
  35. Jun
    Photonect Interconnect SolutionsGrant · US$1.3MWith 1 other
  36. May
    VoxelSensorsGrant · BE$73KWith 3 others
  37. Apr
    TransFICCSeries B · GB$25MWith 4 others
  38. Apr
    Reality DefenderVenture · USUndisclosedWith 5 others
  39. Apr
    Terminal 3Seed · HK$8.0MWith 4 others
  40. Apr
    PliantSeries B · DE$40MWith 3 others
  41. Mar
    DynocardiaVenture · US$675KWith 3 others
  42. Mar
    mpathic.aiVenture · US$8.1MWith 2 others

An announcement gives the size of the round, not the size of this investor's cheque: the only rounds that imply a cheque are those where they were the sole named investor.

The team

We hold 9 people at this firm from the lists this database was built from: a weaker source than the filings, since a list does not say when a title ended. Login to see them.

What the register says

From the firm's own filings with the SEC, which it must file accurately by law

4+funds on filenumbered funds in its name

Who they invest alongside

The investors most often in the same rounds as Luminate. A count of rooms they were both in, not a relationship either has claimed.

Illuminate Financial ManagementVC firm44rounds togetherNational Science FoundationGovernment18rounds togetherPlug and PlayAccelerator6rounds togetherTechstarsVC firm5rounds togetherCitibankGrowth equity4rounds togetherCleantech OpenAccelerator4rounds togetherEIC AcceleratorGovernment4rounds togetherIlluminate VenturesVC firm4rounds togetherAlbionVCVC firm3rounds togetherBDC CapitalVC firm3rounds togetherIGNIAVC firm3rounds togetherInvestibleVC firm3rounds together

Recently backed

The latest companies Luminate put money into.

Ciconia Medical$307K · Sept 2026Oculi$3.0M · Jul 2026Straiker$64M · Jun 2026Karta$125M · Jun 2026FileAIJun 2026Climate First Bank$67M · Jun 2026

Mentioned on podcasts

Episodes that name Luminate in their description, not their title.

Quick answers about Luminate

What does Luminate invest in?

Luminate invests most often at Venture and Seed (53% of the rounds on record), in sectors such as Photonics and Optics.

How active is Luminate?

127 investments on record, 17 of them in the last 12 months. The most recent was in Sept 2026.

What has Luminate invested in recently?

Its most recent investments on record: Ciconia Medical (Grant, Sept 2026), SeeTrue Technologies Oy (Seed, Aug 2026) and Oculi (Venture, Jul 2026).

How big are Luminate's cheques?

The median round it joins is $5.3M. It says it writes cheques of $100K to $1.0M.

Does Luminate lead rounds?

Rarely, if at all: none of its 127 investments on record names it as the lead.

Where does Luminate invest?

Most of the companies it backs are in the United States (62%), Germany (15%) and Singapore (8%).

Is Luminate investing now?

Yes: it is actively investing, with 17 investments in the last 12 months.

Who does Luminate invest alongside?

Most often Illuminate Financial Management (44 rounds together), National Science Foundation (18 rounds together) and Plug and Play (6 rounds together).

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Built from the rounds we watched, its filings and its own website, refreshed every night. How we count · Report a correction · Is this your firm? Claim it