POTSDAM -- Start-up businesses throughout the North Country Innovation Hot Spot, led by Clarkson University, could benefit from the grant awards announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

$5 million has been awarded to three upstate investment firms to spur new business and create jobs in communities across upstate.

Clarkson is one of the co-applicants on a proposal for a seed fund for early stage start-ups for companies and projects working with the Hot Spot.

The funding will be matched by at least $5 million in private sector investment capital to enable new businesses to work with colleges and universities to accelerate the research and development and marketing of their technologies. Investment firms in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse will strategically invest the funds, according to the announcement.

Investment of funds by each firm will be leveraged with matching private sector investment capital at a ratio of at least 1:1. Recipients of the venture funding will receive pre-seed stage investments of up to $100,000.

The program is part of the $50 million New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund program which supports transition from ideas and research to marketable products or services, accelerates seed and early-stage business formation and provides investment funding, and aims to attract high growth, technology-based companies to New York State. It is hoped the fund will leverage at least $100 million in private capital to support high growth areas including advanced materials, clean technology, life sciences/biotechnology and information technology.

Grants for Growth, managed by CenterState CEO, was approved for $1.5 million in NYS Innovation Venture Capital funding to manage the technology commercialization and pre-seed stage company investment by leveraging the support, mentoring and commitment of the state-funded Innovation Hot Spots in Central New York, the North Country and Southern Tier regions. The fund will cover 22 counties of upstate New York, including leading regional sources of innovation, incubation and commercialization, plus research and technology transfer at institutions like Clarkson University, Cornell University, Syracuse University and upstate SUNY campuses.