Q3 2025 Investment Report
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
- Anova Biomedical, headquartered in Ithaca, received $298,400 of grant funding from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases on July 1, 2025. Read more about Anova Biomedical’s grant.
- Gallox Semiconductors, headquartered in Ithaca, joined Activate Global as a part of its Activate Fellowship program on August 19, 2025, and received a total of $200,000 in funding. Read more about Gallox’s fellowship.
- Natrion, headquartered in Binghamton, received a $1.3M grant from New York Power Authority on July 29, 2025. Learn more about Natrion’s grant.
- Persista Bio, headquartered in Ithaca, received a $2.1M grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases on September 23, 2025. Read more about Persista Bio’s grant.
- RETRN Bio, headquartered in Ithaca, joined Activate Global as a part of its Activate Fellowship program on August 19, 2025, and received a total of $200,000 in funding. Read more about RETRN Bio’s fellowship.
Total: $4,098,400
Investments
- Conamix, headquartered in Ithaca, raised $2M of venture funding from undisclosed investors on July 25, 2025. Learn more about Conamix’s funding here.
- Natrion, headquartered in Ithaca, raised $1.5M of Series 2 seed funding from LG Technology Ventures and New York Ventures in approximately August 2025. Learn more about Natrion’s funding here.
- Persista Bio, headquartered in Ithaca, closed on $3.5 million of an undisclosed targeted amount of seed funding on September 23, 2025. The funds will be used to accelerate large-animal milestones and advance development of the human system prototype. Read more about Persista Bio’s funding here.
- RETRN Bio, headquartered in Ithaca, raised an estimated $1M of pre-seed funding from Launch NY and other undisclosed investors in September 2025. Read more about RETRN Bio’s funding here.
- Ursa Space, headquartered in Ithaca, raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Sumitomo Corporation of Americas on August 20, 2025. The transaction was supported by $5M of debt financing. Learn more about Ursa Space’s funding here.
Total: $13,000,000
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
- Heat Inverse, headquartered in Ithaca, received an additional $499,999 from the National Science Foundation to supplement their SBIR Phase II award on September 15, 2025. Read more about Heat Inverse’s grant here.
- REEgen, headquartered in Ithaca, received $1.11M of grant funding from U. S. National Science Foundation as part of its Phase II on September 4, 2025. Read more about REEgen’s grant here.
Total: $1,609,999
Acquisitions
- FOSAI, headquartered in Ithaca, was acquired by Pasteur Labs for an undisclosed amount on August 21, 2025. Read more about the acquisition of FOSAI.
Total: undisclosed
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.