UPNY Ventures

Mission

UPNY Ventures bridges the commercialization gap by transforming university-developed technologies into venture-scale businesses through a structured commercialization system and staged venture investment. We help highly technical founders — PhD researchers, scientists, and engineers — become commercially successful companies. Commercialization before capitalization.

Get Funded →

Incubated University-Developed Technology

UPNY Ventures The UPNY Venture Commercialization Engine™

Phase 1 — GTM Strategy Course Free to Public

Phase 2 — 100-Day Challenge GTM Commercialization Engine

Phase 3 — Pre-Seed Investment $50–100K · Top Performers

Phase 4 — Follow-on Investment $100K · Scaling Companies

Scale Revenue Growth & Market Expansion

Seed-Ready Institutional Seed Round

The Gap

$7B+

Annual University Research Spending

New York State produces world-class innovation across engineering, AI, biotech, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

<5%

Technologies Reach Commercial Scale

Most university-developed technologies never successfully transition into scalable companies or market adoption.

18–36 Mo

Average Commercialization Timeline

Technical founders — PhD researchers, scientists, engineers — typically need structured commercialization support before institutional funding becomes accessible.

New York State produces world-class innovation across engineering, AI, biotech, energy, and advanced manufacturing — yet most university-developed technologies never become commercially scalable companies. The bottleneck isn't the science. It's the go-to-market.

The UPNY Venture Commercialization Engine™ is built specifically to close that gap — systematically reducing commercial risk and transforming research into revenue.

Invest

$5M Fund Target = 100+ Activated Startups & 30+ Investments

Investment Model →

Investment in UPNY Ventures Fund I is available to accredited investors only, as defined under SEC Rule 501(a). This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.

Angel

Individual investors seeking early-stage access to university-developed technology companies validated through a structured commercialization process. We target investments of $10K–$50K alongside experienced operators and advisors who contribute mentorship, guidance, and strategic support within portfolio companies. Our goal is to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem through active participation and founder development.

Institutional

Family offices and institutional LPs seeking exposure to a structured pre-seed investment vehicle where capital is deployed only after commercial risk has been systematically reduced. Our approach is to establish validation through a growing network of angels, founders, and statewide partnerships that create the foundation for long-term institutional participation and scalable fund growth.

Partnerships

New York State programs and economic development organizations focused on translating publicly funded research into commercially scalable companies and regional economic growth. We're actively looking to foster aligned partnerships that support entrepreneurship, accelerate innovation, and strengthen the long-term startup infrastructure across Upstate.

About

UPNY Ventures

Albany, NY

UPNY Ventures is a commercialization platform with integrated venture capital. We transform university-developed technologies into venture-scale companies through The UPNY Venture Commercialization Engine™ — a structured, repeatable, measurable system for reducing commercial risk and building investable companies. The commercialization platform creates better companies. The venture fund captures the value.

Allan Von Schenkel

Founding Partner

Allan is a five-time founder with experience spanning software, e-commerce, hospitality, retail, and nonprofit organizations. Beginning his career as a Federal Program Manager, he later transitioned into the startup ecosystem where he spent the last twenty years helping build and scale early-stage companies. His experience spans the full startup lifecycle — from pre-seed and seed-stage formation through venture-backed growth and Series A+ expansion — working across strategy, commercialization, operations, and go-to-market execution.