It’s that special time of year when BostInno takes a look back at our coverage from the previous year — at launches, funding rounds, new deals and partnerships, awards and more — and tries to identify the startups that are on the verge of something big.
This year, we’ve compiled a list of startups whose names you need to know across different industries, from agetech to consumer goods to toilet technology.
Here are our 24 startups to watch in 2024:
Amherst Intelligent Security
Founded by University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate Joshua Rousseau, Amherst Intelligent Security is building AI-powered security software. The company’s platform combines various security components, like AI-powered video analytics and security camera compatibility. Amherst Intelligent Security was part of this year’s Techstars Boston cohort.
Attn: Grace
2023 was a big year for Attn: Grace. The women-led, Boston company bent on disrupting the incontinence products category for women launched its products in retail giants Walmart and Target.com. Then it secured $2 million in new funding to fuel further growth. Attn: Grace said it plans to use the latest fundraise to further expand its distribution network. The company has created new kinds of incontinence products that can be delivered discreetly and aims to run an environmentally responsible company.
Boundless Robotics
Boston-based Boundless Robotics is testing Annaboto, an AI-powered robot that uses vision and sensor data to optimize plant growth and automate the production process. While the company initially focused on helping people grow their own food, they’ve expanded to serving customers who want to grow cannabis plants at home.
Cleana
Cleana is selling a self-raising toilet seat for commercial use to improve cleanliness and a self-lowering toilet seat for the home to prevent people or objects from falling in the bowl. The company said the first of its products are finishing production. Co-founder Kevin Tang is a graduate of Boston University and was named to the BostInno 25 Under 25 class of 2022. In 2023, the company had tested the self-raising seats at places like Lucky Strike in Fenway and the YMCA and pre-sold the seats to such customers as MIT, Stanford University and the Roche Bros. grocery chain. Expect to see Clean’s seats in a home or store near you soon.
ClearMotion
If ClearMotion isn’t already on your radar for local companies making a splash in 2024, go ahead and add it to your list. The Billerica-based company is designing technology to improve the in-car experience for drivers and passengers. At the tail end of 2023 ClearMotion secured its first production order — a roughly billion-dollar contract with Chinese electric vehicle company NIO. This partnership with NIO doesn’t preclude ClearMotion from working with other original equipment manufacturers. Expect more announcements in 2024 from ClearMotion about new partnerships.
Coblrshop
This startup was founded on a very unique premise: Bringing cobblers into the 21st century. Co-founders Leslie Bateman, a former Uber executive and head of business development at Duckbill, and Emily Watts, of Sling and Toast, launched the Boston startup last year to make repairing items like shoes and other leather goods easy through technology. In the future as the business grows, Bateman said they want to create a training and recruitment program to bring talent into this industry.
Crop Diagnostix
Co-founded and led by Harvard Business School MBA candidate Brandon Chi, Crop Diagnostix is building an AI platform to help farmers understand plant health. Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary awarded Crop Diagnostix the top prize at the "An Evening in the Shark Tank" pitch competition last year. The startup received a $100,000 investment prize from Searchlight Capital Partners.
Eden
The Somerville startup Eden is developing new technology to replace traditional hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, which uses high-pressure water injection to break apart underground rock to extract natural gas and oil. In 2023, the company raised an oversubscribed $12M seed funding round. CEO Paris Smalls said in 2024 Eden will be fulfilling some early contracts with companies and raising a Series A.
eSki
Founder and CEO Jack Duffy-Protentis is legally blind and describes himself as someone “born a car guy and can’t drive a car.” But, he found refuge in tinkering with recreational vehicles. In 2021 Duffy-Protentis graduated with his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He then founded eSki to create the first electric powered personal watercraft. In 2023 eSki completed its first functional prototype and is in the process of raising funding to get pre-production units in the hands of consumers and setting up manufacturing. The company has a space in Worcester, but Duffy-Protentis plans to open a manufacturing site in Pittsfield.
FarmboxRx
While Ashley Tyrner founded a company 10 years shipping fresh food via FedEx, in 2020, she made a big pivot when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began to allow food and produce as benefits. Now FarmboxRx services around 90 health plans and plans to keep expanding, while maintaining strict quality standards in a highly regulated, new market. The proof is in the numbers: Last year, FarmboxRx was No. 100 on the 2023 Inc. 5000.
Growbie
As its name suggests, Growbie is growing. The startup offers a career development platform for international students that focuses on networking. Growbie wants its customers to overcome challenges like language barriers and cultural gaps to land their dream jobs in the U.S. In 2022, Growbie had 20 people participate in its programming. A year later, Growbie ended 2023 with 200 customers.
HelloPrenup
HelloPrenup soft-launched in 2020, but this startup that simplifies the prenup process is picking up steam. The company’s investors include the one-and-only Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank. Co-founders Julia Rodgers and Sarabeth Jaffe landed a deal with O'Leary after pitching HelloPrenup on the show. Most recently, HelloPrenup partnered with Divorce.com to become the exclusive source for all prenuptial agreements originating from Divorce.com.
Kinsome
In 2023 Kinsome launched an app that connects grandparents and grandkids in a free-to-use public beta. Kinsome uses Kinzey, an AI chatbot, to prompt kids into talking about their activities at school, sports or their friends. These updates are then sent to grandparents, who can respond to their grandchildren. The company is currently targeting a raise of $1 million and is gathering feedback on its app.
knownwell
This Boston-based healthcare company is on a mission to destigmatize healthcare for people with obesity. In late 2023, knownwell secured a $20 million Series A fundraising round. The company plans to use this funding to expand its hybrid care offerings geographically; introduce B2B offerings for health systems, payers and employers; and enter clinical trials with major pharmaceuticals. Knownwell will also use the money to boost product development, in an effort to incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence into its care model to find the best treatments for patients.
Liquid AI
With all the hype around AI, it’s hard for a startup to stand out. Yet Liquid AI, founded by AI and machine learning scientists from the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, is doing just that. The recently launched company uses liquid neural networks, which means the systems are able to stay adaptable even after they’re trained and are very capable even at a small size, which has speed and cost benefits for customers. Investors are taking note of its benefits for customers — the startup launched with $37.5 million in seed capital from Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, Shopify co-founder Tobias Lütke and Github co-founder Tom Preston-Werner, among others.
Machinery Partner
Keep an eye out for Machinery Partner’s national and international growth in 2024. Machinery Partner is a Boston startup that offers procurement, financing and other support for builders and contractors that need heavy machinery. Led by Clement Cazalot, former managing director of Techstars Boston, the startup raised an $8 million Series A financing in 2023. Machinery Partner operates in 35 states and plans to expand throughout the country and internationally with its new funding.
Markit
Since its founding in 2021, the Boston-based startup Markit Social has supported startup events, college parties, fundraisers, art galleries, hackathons and nightclubs. Markit is more than a platform to find events. It also uses texting to help event organizers engage with their attendees and keep them in the loop about future events. CEO Jonathan Chang says Markit has over 100,000 users a month on the platform and continues to grow, largely via word of mouth.
Piction Health
Piction Health is a virtual-first dermatology practice that says it provides patients with personalized care plans for skin issues within two days. In 2023, Piction launched its practice in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida and New Hampshire, including adding insurance coverage for more than 3 million people in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The company recently saw its 1,000th patient and plans to continue scaling into 2024.
Renavest
This Boston startup is building an app to connect people with a community of experts to teach you about money, investing and building a business. Renavest recently launched its app on the Appstore and Google Play store after running a closed beta in the second half of 2023. Founder Stanley Rameau is active in the Boston startup scene, speaking on panels for Boston Startup Week, Boston Fintech Week, BECMA’s Mass Black Expo and others.
Rooted Living
Northeastern University student Rachel Domb is the founder of Rooted Living, a sustainable food brand. Since being named to BostInno’s 25 Under 25 in 2022, Domb has been scaling Rooted Living. The company produces and supplies close to 1,000 pounds of granola a month to Northeastern University. In 2024, Domb said she plans to expand to at least three more universities and look into supplying bulk granola to nearby hospitals. The company also plans to raise funding in 2024.
SolaBlock
Pittsfield-based SolaBlock is developing a solar panel wall system that allows an entire building to be used for renewable energy production. In 2023, SolaBlock was accepted into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Initiative, started its $3 million Series A raise and signed term sheets with all its major vendors. In 2024, the company plans to move into its new light assembly building in Pittsfield and have two to four customer installations during Q2.
SpadXTech
Founded in 2020, SpadXTech wants to reduce CO2 emissions through the manufacturing of various carbon-negative, cellulose-based materials. The company believes that its technology can impact the packaging, textiles, transportation, filtration, and the construction industries. SpadXTech took part in the Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders program run by Greentown Labs and Browning the Green Space.
STAT Health
Started by two former leaders of audio giant Bose's Health Product Innovation Group, STAT Health launched in 2023 with an in-ear wearable to better understand illnesses like long Covid and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. STAT Health is backed by $5.1 million in seed funding. Co-founder Daniel Lee says they plan to launch their first small production batch and shipments early this year.
Sublime Systems
This Somerville startup raised a $40 million Series A round in 2023 and has been growing rapidly ever since. Sublime Systems is developing a new way to decarbonize cement. In early 2024, the company announced it had secured the site for its first commercial manufacturing facility in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Sublime Systems plans to commission its Holyoke facility as soon as 2026 to produce tens of thousands of tons per year of its low-carbon cement.
Sign up for The Beat, BostInno’s free daily innovation newsletter from BostInno reporter Isabel Tehan. See past examples here.
