MassChallenge, the zero-equity accelerator founded in Boston 11 years ago, has announced the early-stage startups in this year's MassChallenge Boston program. Of those startups, 52 are based here in Massachusetts—more than half of the 100 total startups in the cohort.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, MassChallenge has pivoted to an all-virtual model. The accelerator is not new to this. In March, MassChallenge’s HealthTech and FinTech programs went virtual mid-program, taking their meetings and events to Zoom.
MassChallenge Boston's 2020 cohort represents a diverse array of startups. About one-third are in the "high tech" category, and another third are in health care and life sciences. One-fifth are categorized as "general," which includes materials, hardware, retail and consumer goods. Eleven percent of the startups are social impact-driven, and just 4 percent fall into the cleantech and energy category.
MassChallenge is working to ensure its startups are diverse in other ways, too. This year, 58 percent of the Boston cohort has at least one female founder. As part of its response to racism in the startup community, MassChallenge’s 2020 programs will also include anti-bias and anti-racist trainings for their mentors, startups and teams, and MassChallenge will create a formal cross-cohort networks of founders from diverse backgrounds.
"MassChallenge's mission is to solve massive challenges by unlocking the power of entrepreneurs and innovators," MassChallenge Boston managing director Cait Brumme said in a statement. "This cohort is leveraging frontier technology to take on the challenges of our time—affordable housing, Alzheimer’s disease, the extreme cost of clinical trials and climate change."
Read about the Massachusetts-based startups in each category below. Descriptions, where provided, come from MassChallenge.
High Tech
PaperCrane: Saas product that takes physical location data and automates the process of joining 1st & 3rd party datasets enabling business insights.
CACTIVATE: Maximize your online store’s return on ad spend for $99 / month.
evergreens: Reshaping the agricultural supply chain with efficient and scalable indoor farming technology.
FindOurView: Developing a dynamic survey product that summarizes and prioritizes the most important open-ended consumer responses.
Fractal: Streams GPU-powered, low-latency Windows computers from the cloud to any Windows, OS X, or iOS device.
FreightFlows: Predictive analytics for global trade.
Hakkiri: Enables software organizations to deliver their products with speed and clarity from strategic planning through customer delivery.
Hatchtrack: IoT chicken egg and app that helps novice and expert chicken keepers have more successful and informed hatches.
IndustrialML, Inc.
Iron Sky: Online platform that seamlessly connects companies with commercial contractors, simplifying the bidding process for projects.
LeaseUp
matilda*: Democratizes the future web with no-code development of interactive, immersive, intelligent projects to propel businesses and ideas.
Out of the Box: Mobile, modular classroom-in-a-box with accompanying software (in the form of a web app) for preschool children.
Presser Surveillance Solutions and Technologies (PSST)
Quatromoney: Simplifies the purchase & payment of college via user-driven platforms that empower via transparency, simplification and personalization.
Rhymella: Machine learning enabled tech platform that creates custom children's storybooks using real-life photos and content.
SammyOps: AI driven virtual fleet manager for commercial fleets to eliminate downtime, cut costs, and increase customer satisfaction.
Spatio Metrics
SpotlightAI
TeamLift: TeamLift helps businesses collaborate smarter. We quantify and visualize collaboration, helping you use it as a strategic asset.
Tee Commerce: Builds and manages online pro shops for golf courses, country clubs, and charity golf tournaments.
TireTutor Inc.: As the first marketplace site for tires, TireTutor connects consumers with the best deals on tires from local tire dealers.
Tunnel: A unique global, real-time payments network with an initial product representing the only P2P app for ages 13+ in the US.
Health Care / Life Sciences
Adaptilens, LLC: Will mimic the natural human lens so that patients will have clear distance and near vision without eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Bloomer Health Tech: Accelerating women's cardiovascular health by tailoring care to her unique body and lifestyle via a patented, medical-grade bra & platform.
CathWear: Strives to improve the patient’s quality of life by alleviating the stressors of managing a patient's leg bags.
Coalesenze Inc.: Develops elegant and low-cost solutions to detect clotting disorders and prevent life-threatening hemorrhage and thrombosis in patients.
Convallo Bio: Developing the next generation of beneficial bacteria.
Encora
Lucidity Health
Mantle Biotech
MatchLab AI: Helping Dermatologists provide better care through remote monitoring of patients.
mente
myBiometry: Platform to monitor/manage patients with chronic disease using biomarker data and ML to identify patients at risk of treatment failure.
Ocular Technologies: Ocular creates hardware and software solutions leveraging telemedicine and AI to ensure access to eye care for patients all across the world
RBI Medical
Soshe: A digital health & wellness program for new and expecting moms that complements the care of physicians.
VERI Nano Inc.: An innovative bionanotechnology company with novel encapsulation and antimicrobial nanotechnologies for human and animal health
General
Awayte Inc.: Provides Pet Owners an innovative service to pre-select and fund a Pet Foster Parent to care for their pet after they die.
Blastème: Leveraging the perfectly regenerating axolotl salamander and synthetic biology to extract to molecular factors for skincare.
Boston Meats: Creating better texture in alternative meats through a sustainable, scalable process.
Bridger: Aims to redefine the way that people use their helmets, by building one which can be used year-round, for both biking and snow sports.
BusWays: A user-friendly platform, BusWays works with schools to increase the safety, efficiency, and transparency of their transportation systems.
Moxie Apparel Inc.: Disrupting the 5-billion U.S. medical uniform market with patent-pending products for nurses.
Naya Studio: Digital studio for industrial design. We take anyone, anywhere from an idea to a fully realized product delivered to their door.
RLP: The first 3D printing company manufacturing large scale flexible products out of industrial materials at fast print speeds.
Tactus: Creating a wearable device that allows deaf and hard of hearing individuals to experience music through vibrations on the body.
Upwell Cosmetics: High performance ocean safe ingredients and products for the cosmetic industry, made from algae wax.
Viv for your V: Earth-friendly period care delivered to your door. Plastic-free & biodegradable products that are better for the Earth and better for your V.
Social Impact
Obaggo Recycling, LLC: Lets you recycle your plastic bags and packaging film in the comfort and convenience of your curbside bin.
USEFULL: The reusable cup equivalent to bike sharing.
Cleantech / Energy
Graviky Labs Inc.: Turning air-pollution/carbon emissions into industrial grade pigments, inks, and coatings.
