The collaboration combines University expertise with industry to develop technologies for faster, more energy-efficient computing.
The University of Rochester has launched its first NY THRIVE Innovation Voucher project under the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub. The project establishes a new collaboration between Era73 Technologies and the laboratory of Eby Friedman, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, made possible through a Tier 2 NY THRIVE Innovation Voucher awarded via the NY SMART I-Corridor’s Commercialization and Collaboration Center (C3). The award of up to $250,000 over 12 months will support joint efforts to explore advancements in next-generation computing technologies that address growing demands for performance and energy efficiency.
As the inaugural NY THRIVE project at URochester, the collaboration reflects the growing momentum of the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub and highlights the role of university-industry partnerships in advancing technology development, commercialization, and regional innovation.
The NY SMART I-Corridor is one of 12 federally designated Tech Hubs selected to receive implementation funding through the US Economic Development Administration’s Tech Hubs Program. Spanning Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, the initiative aims to position Upstate New York as a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, innovation, and workforce development. NY THRIVE (Technology Hub Resources and Innovation Vouchers for Enterprises) is a key initiative of the NY SMART I-Corridor’s C3, providing companies with innovation vouchers to access research expertise, facilities, and technical capabilities at participating universities, accelerating semiconductor technology development and commercialization.
“Access to the University of Rochester’s research expertise, facilities, and collaborative ecosystem is helping Era73 accelerate the development of energy-efficient, ultra-fast, and resilient systems for high-end-computing.”
As computing demands from artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, advanced sensing, and quantum technologies continue to accelerate, conventional semiconductor scaling is increasingly constrained by power consumption and thermal limitations. Superconducting electronics offer a promising path forward by enabling digital logic and signal processing with dramatically lower energy dissipation and extremely high switching speeds. SFQ-based architectures can operate at cryogenic temperatures with orders-of-magnitude improvements in energy efficiency compared to traditional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) approaches for targeted workloads. This power-performance-profile makes them especially attractive for scaling future AI infrastructure, quantum computing interfaces, defense-relevant and related high-end-computing systems.
Friedman’s lab is internationally recognized for its contributions to integrated circuits, electronic design automation, and high-performance computing systems. This collaboration brings that expertise together with Era73 to commercialize innovations across the temperature hierarchy—from room-temperature semiconductor interfaces to low-temperature electronics and deep-cryogenic superconducting logic. Developing integrated systems that can efficiently bridge these temperature domains is increasingly important for scalable high-performance computing systems, advanced sensors, and future heterogeneous computing architectures. By combining device innovation, circuit design, packaging, and systems integration, this effort aims to help establish foundational technologies for the next era of energy-efficient computing.
“Access to the University of Rochester’s research expertise, facilities, and collaborative ecosystem is helping Era73 accelerate the development of energy-efficient, ultra-fast, and resilient systems for high-end computing,” says Messac Che Neba, founder and CEO of Era73 Technologies. “Our goal is to advance computing infrastructure that can support meaningful real-world applications, from scaling advanced AI models to deepening our understanding of human biology, enabling better treatments for diseases, such as cancer, and strengthening national defense capabilities. We are grateful to the NY SMART I-Corridor, C3, the University of Rochester, and our regional partners for supporting innovation that can help position Upstate New York as a leading hub for advanced semiconductor, AI/ML, quantum, and low-temperature computing technologies.”
This collaboration between Era73 and Friedman’s laboratory represents an important step in advancing innovations in superconducting computing and semiconductor technologies. Era73 is also a client at NextCorps, an affiliate of the University of Rochester and the nonprofit business incubator and innovation hub for the Finger Lakes region.
With additional projects already in development, this award also reflects growing momentum for university-industry partnerships as the THRIVE program expands, underscoring what many see as the beginning of a broader wave of collaborative research and commercialization activity across the region. The effort has been supported by the NY SMART I-Corridor and C3, the region’s congressional delegation, and regional partners working to strengthen upstate New York’s position as a hub for advanced semiconductor technologies.
