New York State is missing out on job and revenue opportunities by failing to provide adequate seed capital to bolster its emerging start-up companies, according to a new study.

Excell Partners, a seed-stage venture capital fund with ties to the University of Rochester, said New York State fares well in attracting billions of federal research dollars for its universities. But the state should do more to capitalize on business opportunities that emerge from the research, said Judy Albers, the author of the study and chief operating officer of Excell.

“Nobody seems to understand that you can’t just back the research and development and, poof, there’s a company,” Albers said.

Companies at this earliest level of development, she said, are usually not generating revenue, and are instead busy with their business plans, filing patents and assembling management teams.

So they need financial support to cross what is known as the “Valley of Death,” as they move from university spinoff to early-stage revenue-generating company, when venture capitalists tend to take an interest, the study said.

Albers applauded so-called “angel” investors for making investments in seed-stage companies. “But they really can’t be expected to shoulder the entire burden,” she said.

Albers suggested New York should follow the example of other states in creating a fund that would focus on investments in seed-stage companies.

The Excell report said startup companies in New York State drew just 4 percent of the nation’s venture capital, while California’s start-ups attracted 48 percent. And only 9 percent of the venture capital deployed by New York City firms was invested within the state, the report said.

The state Comptroller’s Office highlights the investments it has made in developing companies in New York state through the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s In-State Private Equity Investment Program. But those investments are in companies farther along in their development cycle.

“Despite the comptroller’s efforts, it’s not solving the seed stage problem,” Albers said. What’s more, she doesn’t think that is where retirement fund resources should be directed.

The comptroller’s office says it has $528 million remaining from the $931 million committed to the program It is using a statewide tour, including a stop in Buffalo on Thursday, to drum up interest.

On Monday, the office announced a $15 million investment in Invenergy’s High Sheldon Wind Farm in Wyoming County, through Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group. Its 75 wind turbines began generating power in March and feed energy to the state’s electrical grid.

The office has heard from entrepreneurs about the lack of funds available to seed-stage and early-stage companies and plans to commit some dollars to those investments, said Emily DeSantis, a spokeswoman for the office. Details will be announced in a few months.

Albers said New York State’s universities and academic research centers drew an impressive $4.5 billion in primarily federal R&D spending in 2006, second only to California. New York State should use a dedicated fund to capitalize more on the spinoff opportunities, she said.

“We’re behind the power curve. Other states are way ahead of us,” Albers said. She estimated a program with $30 to $40 million a year in funding could support five or six emerging startups a year in each of five Upstate New York areas, including Buffalo.

Anthony Mancinelli, president of the Western New York Venture Association, said startup companies often lament a lack of financial support available at their earliest stages. “Many of these ventures are, of course, pre-revenue,” he said.

Mancinelli said he expects to see the state place more of a focus on seed-stage investments, especially as it reviews its economic development programs.

The success of these startups could benefit the state’s economy by generating growth from within, said Mancinelli, who is a partner with the Harter Secrest & Emery law firm. “You’ve got opportunities here and you basically want to keep them here.”

Buffalo Niagara is trying to stimulate job and industry growth from high-tech startups, as some recent examples show.

Earlier this month, a “Pre- Seed Workshop” was held at the University at Buffalo’s downtown campus. Experts helped teams of inventors evaluate the business prospects for their ideas.

And on Thursday, the “Explore Buffalo Niagara Investor and Entrepreneur High-Tech Forum” will be held at the Albright- Knox Art Gallery, focusing on the growth potential of high-tech industries.