Exhibit 99.1

                      RAND CAPITAL CORPORATION NEWS RELEASE

                                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                 JULY 17, 2003
                                                 CONTACT:  ALLEN F. GRUM
                                                 716-853-0802

            RAND CAPITAL ANNOUNCES THREE INVESTMENTS AND QUARTER END


BUFFALO, NY, Rand Capital Corporation [NASDAQ: RAND] announced that its net
asset value for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 is $1.65 per share, including $2
million in cash at, ($0.37 per share).

During the quarter, Rand Capital SBIC, L.P. participated in a buyout of TOPPS
MEAT COMPANY, LLC (Elizabeth, New Jersey). Rand invested a total of $259,000 in
a combination of preferred and common stock. The transaction was led by an
affiliate of Strategic Investments & Holdings, Inc. TOPPS is a producer and
supplier of premium branded frozen hamburgers and other portion controlled meat
products for supermarkets and mass merchandisers.

During the quarter, ULTRA-SCAN CORPORATION (Amherst, New York)
(www.ultra-scan.com) finalized an $18 million financing led by Tom Golisano, CEO
of Paychex [NASDAQ: PAYX]. Rand had previously lent ULTRA-SCAN $200,000 as a
short term loan and elected to reinvest the repayment of this loan and purchase
shares of Preferred stock as part of the new financing. This financing will be
used to expedite marketing efforts of this break through technology in the
Biometric Field.

Subsequent to quarter end, Rand Capital SBIC, L.P., participated with a
syndicate of current investors in a round of financing for KIONIX, INC. (Ithaca,
New York) (www.kionix.com), with Rand funding $250,000. This money will be used
to further enhance their commercial opportunities in the MEMS field. KIONIX
previously announced supplier relationships with Keifco Corporation of Seoul,
Korea, for state-of-the-art electronic control systems for the automotive
industry and its selection by Eastman Kodak Company, to provide sophisticated
micromachining (MEMS) services.

KIONIX has also recently been awarded other contracts with tier one automotive
suppliers, with Greg Galvin, KIONIX'S President and CEO stating, "Customer
response to KIONIX'S technology has been excellent, and we are excited about
expanding our automotive market presence."

Rand also announced that it continues to repurchase shares under its stock buy
back program that was previously announced, and have repurchased a total of
42,600 shares through the date of this release.

This release may contain forward-looking statements and reports the consolidated
operations of Rand Capital Corporation and Rand Capital SBIC, L.P; all
statements are pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the 1995 Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act; and are subject to uncertainties in predicting
future results. These statements reflect the Corporation's current beliefs, and
many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from this release.
See Rand's Form 10-Q's filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a
detailed discussion of the risks associated with the Corporation's business,
including but not limited to, risks associated with venture capital investing
and other factors that could affect actual results.






Except as required by Federal securities laws, Rand Capital Corporation and Rand
Capital SBIC, L.P. undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking
statements for new events and uncertainties.

Rand Capital Corporation is a publicly held venture capital company,
headquartered in Buffalo, New York, registered on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market
under the symbol "RAND". Rand's investment strategy is to provide venture
capital and expansion capital to emerging businesses, primarily in Upstate New
York and the Northeast, through Rand, and its SBIC subsidiary.