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Excell Partners
Theresa Mazzullo's Excell Partners deploys NYS pension capital into early-stage tech startups across Upstate New York since 2005.
Excell Partners
Excell Partners is a venture capital fund that invests in startups in New York State, particularly in Upstate NY. The company offers investment capital to entrepreneurs in sectors including medical devices, materials, energy, biotech, agtech, imaging, and IT/software ventures. Founded in 2005 in Rochester, New York, Excell Partners has made 62 investments, including a Seed VC investment in DUB Therapeutics on July 18, 2025.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2005
AUM
$20M–$50M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Rochester
Corporate office
Rochester, NY, United States
Principals
Theresa Mazzullo
CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Excell Partners?
Theresa Mazzullo serves as CEO and leads the firm's investment committee. She has run Excell Partners since its founding in 2005 and brings an operational background with deep ties to the Rochester entrepreneurial ecosystem and university commercialization offices.
How is Excell Partners funded, and does it operate as a traditional venture firm?
Excell Partners is capitalized by the New York State Common Retirement Fund and other regional economic development sources. It operates as a for-profit venture firm but carries an explicit economic development mandate tied to job creation in Upstate New York, which constrains its geographic investment scope.
What investment stages does Excell Partners typically target?
The firm focuses on pre-seed, seed, and early-stage rounds, typically writing initial checks between $250,000 and $1.5 million. It reserves capital for follow-on participation and is often the first institutional investor in companies emerging from university research or local accelerator programs.
Which sectors and regions does Excell Partners prioritize?
Excell Partners concentrates on enterprise software, digital health, industrial technology, and applied AI, with a historical skew toward healthcare technology and medical devices. Geographically, the firm invests almost exclusively along the Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse corridor in Upstate New York, with limited exposure to Albany and Ithaca-based startups.
Does Excell Partners co-invest alongside other venture capital firms?
Yes, the firm has historically syndicated follow-on rounds with other regionally focused investors including Rand Capital and Armory Square Ventures. Its early-stage positioning often allows coastal or larger funds to participate in later rounds alongside Excell's existing portfolio companies.
What is Excell Partners' relationship to the University of Rochester?
Excell Partners has maintained a close pipeline relationship with the University of Rochester since its founding, commercializing research across UR's medical center, optics institute, and engineering programs. The firm also sources deals from Rochester Institute of Technology and other SUNY campuses in the region.
Is Excell Partners' portfolio public, and can you name companies it has backed?
The firm does not publish a full portfolio list, but disclosed investments include iCardiac Technologies, a cardiac safety core lab acquired by ERT, and eHealth Global Technologies, a health information exchange company. Both exemplify the firm's focus on healthcare technology anchored in the Rochester ecosystem.
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