Q2 2025 Investment Report
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the Q2 2025 installment of startup investment activities in the Southern Tier region of New York.
Entrepreneurs in the Southern Tier region continue to attract attention from a wide variety of sources. One example of a company that highlights this ability is Simplifed. Recently, the company closed on the final phase of a $10.8 million of seed funding in a deal led by Morningside Group and The Venture Collective.
What makes this deal particularly unique is the number of participants and the variety of interests they represent. This includes the American Heart Association, New York Ventures, Elizabeth Street Ventures, Waterline Ventures, The Artemis Fund, Cultivation Capital, Social Impact Partners, KID Venture Capital, 3CC | Third Culture Capital, Impact Assets, Empire State Development and unnamed angel investors. This mix spans nearly every type of investor imaginable, showcasing the creativity and reach of our entrepreneurial ecosystem. Well done Andrea and your team at Simplifed!
Thank you for providing these leads and for your support of entrepreneurs in our region. We encourage you to reach out to us through our contact page with any tips, corrections, or comments, including colleagues you’d like us to add to our mailing list. Your input is invaluable!
Best regards,
Brad Treat
Program Director, Southern Tier Startup Alliance
Investment in the Southern Tier will be distributed on a quarterly basis to highlight the significant startup investment activity in the Southern Tier. Note: while some information is made publicly available in real time, certain fundraising activities may be reported later, leading to potential fluctuations beyond the reporting timeframe. $20,000 is the threshold for determining which funding events to include.
Grants
- Indian Milk & Honey, headquartered in Freeville, received a $150,000 grant from The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center in June 2025. Read more about Indian Milk & Honey’s grant.
- LiBAMA Power, headquartered in Binghamton, received a $25,000 grant from ChargeUp Accelerator in April 2025. Read more about LiBAMA’s grant.
- LiBAMA Power, headquartered in Binghamton, received a $100,000 grant from U.S. National Science Foundation in April 2025. Read more about LiBAMA’s grant.
Total: $275,000
Investments
- Carbon Upcycling, headquartered in Ithaca, raised $18,000,000 of funding in a deal led by Builders Vision in May 2025. Read more about Carbon Upcycling’s funding here.
- *Clearleaf, headquartered in San Jose, raised $3,500,000 of funding in a deal led by Hawthorne Food Ventures in May 2025. Read more about Clearleaf’s funding here.
- *Hempitecture, headquartered in Jerome, ID, raised $6,175,175 of equity crowdfunding via WeFunder in May 2025. Read more about Hempitecture’s funding here.
- Simplifed, headquartered in Ithaca, completed a final close of $10,830,000 of funding in a deal led by Morningside Group and The Venture Collective in May 2025. Read more about Simplifed’s funding here.
Total: $38,505,175
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
- Ultinat, headquartered in Ithaca, was awarded a Phase I STTR grant totaling $305,000 through the U.S. National Science Foundation in January 2025. Read more about Ultinat’s grant here.
Total: $305,000
*Note: Companies marked with an asterisk (*) may not be headquartered in the region, but they operate in and contribute to job creation in the Southern Tier.
Investment in the Southern Tier will be distributed on a quarterly basis to highlight the significant startup investment activity in the Southern Tier. Note: while some information is made publicly available in real time, certain fundraising activities may be reported later, leading to potential fluctuations beyond the reporting timeframe. $20,000 is the threshold for determining which funding events to include.