Partner News

Gov. Cuomo Signed "Hotspot Fix" This Past Friday

The HotSpot Fix Legislation was signed into law this Friday. This new law will bring a sigh of relief to startup companies and incubator operators that support them statewide. A big thank you to Governor Cuomo, Senator Razenhoffer and Senator Golden, and Assemblyman Schimminger who passed the Legislation in the State Assembly. Thank you to Steve Taylor in Senator Golden's office and Matt Watson at ESD for their patient advice, and all of our members who advocated with their respective legislators. A special thank you to Bob Herz and the rest of our Legislative Committee.

 

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The New York State Innovation HotSpot Program has been an extremely successful program in attracting and retaining start up tech companies to New York State. The Hot Spot Program is sometimes confused with another program in New York State, StartUP NY, but it is in fact a completely separate program. In order to create a Hot Spot Regional Program, it has to be initiated by an incubator that is in the Certified Incubator Program of ESD. The Certified Incubator can sign memorandums of understanding with other incubators in their region to extend some of their program and benefits of the HotSpot program to those incubators and the companies in those incubators.

Due to human error there were companies all across the State who moved into a Certified Incubator specifically to be part of the program and were denied entry. This new law (Chapter 246 of 2018) fixes this issue and helps the start up companies in the Certified Business Incubators of New York State.

CEG partners with Upstate Black Chamber of Commerce for Event for Women and Minorities

On Tuesday, August 21st, the Upstate Black Chamber of Commerce hosted an event alongside the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region and the Excelsior Growth Fund focusing on women and minority small businesses. The three local groups are a part of the initiative JumpStart, an organization that works with small business owners and entrepreneurs. This past year, Jumpstart received around $24 million from the KeyBank Foundation to help support women and minority business owners in upstate New York as well as in Ohio. Through KeyBank's Business Boost and Build program, the group then used the funds to award grants to partner organizations.

The recent mixer was an introduction to all of the benefits the initiative will have to offer. Including events, workshops and technical assistance courtesy of the CEG, micro-loans up to $50,000 from the Community Loan Fund and larger loans ranging $50,000 to $500,000 from the Excelsior Growth Fund.

Learn more about the KeyBank Jumpstart Program and their services here.

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Gov. Cuomo Supports Capital Region's Upcoming "Video Game Development Cluster"

The Albany County-Based Video Game Developer, Vicarious Visions, an developer to the popular video game development brand Activision, who is responsible for video games such as the Call of Duty Franchise, will be expanding in the area creating over 100 new jobs.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the company will be investing more than $7.3 million to move into over 44,000 square feet of studio space in Colonie.

" The Capital Region has become a hub for video game development, thanks in part to local game developers and world-class degree programs available at nearby colleges and universities," Governor Cuomo said. " With companies like Vicarious Visions choosing to remain and expand in the Capital Region, we will continue to support their growth and the creative talent they help attract to the region."

(Quote via governor.ny.gov)

Vicarious Visions has been growing in the Capital Region for years, and an excellent addition to the local tech economy, creating a number of high-tech job opportunities for the region. The company will invest more than $7.3 million in a new, state-of-the-art studio, which includes professional audio suites, a virtual reality room, 80s and 90s style arcade machines, as well as collaboration spaces designed to enhance creativity and the employee experience. The company is expected to move in late September to early October, and believes the amenities will attract talented new employees, while supporting its existing workforce of more than 200 developers and staff. Empire State Development has agreed to support this expansion with up to $2 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program Tax Credits.

"Our studio has been a key member of the Albany video game development community for over 25 years. Our staff are thrilled to continue calling this area our home. The move is a big step in our evolution and our future is brighter than ever. We're confident that the new space will creatively inspire our ever-growing team. I'd like to thank our team at Vicarious Visions, the team at Activision, and Empire State Development for their efforts in helping to make this happen."

-Jennifer Oneal, Vicarious Visions Studio Head

"We welcome Vicarious Visions and their talented staff of developers to the Town of Colonie, and are excited for the jobs they will create. This project complements our efforts to create an engaging place for people to live, work and play. I thank Governor Cuomo, Empire State Development and Vicarious Visions for making this possible."

-Colonie Town Supervisor Paula Mahan

Stay on the look out for more news and updates on the Vicarious Visions expansion in our future newsletters!