Welcome to the 2024 Boston Inno Madness competition. This year, we have 64 local companies in it to win the coveted title of Inno Madness Champion.
What is Inno Madness?
Inno Madness is our friendly, bracket-style challenge where readers vote to advance companies based on one question: Who would you invest in?
Whether you believe in one mission or product slightly over the other or would prefer to back a more established company versus an early-stage startup, how you answer that question is entirely your decision. The bracket is designed to spotlight a slice of the Boston innovation community with 64 fast-growing local businesses.
The bracket was assembled based on nominations from readers, members of the innovation community and the Inno editorial team. It encompasses a broad range of private, venture capital-backed or bootstrapped firms. In some cases, startups in their earliest stages will compete against some established favorites.
Below is the full list of companies in this year's competition, and the link to vote. You can find our voting rules here.
The bracket is meant to represent a sample of the startup ecosystem in Boston. While it is a competition, think of it also as a way to get to know some new-to-you startups, and as a chance to interact with the startup community.
When can I vote?
Voting begins today, March 13, for the first stage of the competition. Inno Madness will take place over a series of stages spanning several weeks as the competition gets narrowed down. We’ll keep you posted on who’s advancing, and who’s not, right here on BostInno.com and in the Beat newsletter. Subscribe here if you're not already on the list.
Here's the voting schedule for this year's competition. Voting will close at 9 a.m. on the final day of each round to give us time to tally the votes before the next one begins.
Round 1: March 13 to March 19
Round 2: March 20 to March 26
Round 3: March 27 to April 1
Round 4: April 2 to April 5
Round 5: April 8 to April 11
Round 6: April 15 to April 19
The 2024 Inno Madness Winner will be announced the week following.
Now, it's time to get into the voting. Once each round closes, we will advance the winners to the next round.
How do I vote?
You can vote in the bracket below, which will be updated with the advancing companies after each round of the competition.
Let's go!
This year's players are split into four regions in the bracket. Let's meet the competitors!
Region A
Snyk is a cybersecurity company in Boston that has brought in over $1 billion in funding.
Gradiant develops tech systems to clean and recycle industrial wastewater, and in May became the first unicorn of 2023.
HYCU is last year’s Inno Madness winner, and is a “backup as a service” company.
Cohere Health is an AI powered health insurance authorizer that brought in a new $50 million round in February.
Osmo, a Google Research spinout, is trying to “give computers a sense of smell.”
Liquid AI is an MIT spin-off trying to build general purpose AI systems.
Paperless Parts is a software company that helps manufacturers automize quotes.
SmartBear in Somerville is a software development platform company.
Eden in Somerville is leading sustainable resource discovery.
Elemind is creating a wearable brainwave stimulation device.
Salient is using technology to make adaptive weather predictions.
Causal Labs is a software development platform.
ConnectRN uses tech to tackle healthcare staffing.
Emerald Innovations is a remote health monitoring system.
Ezly Rent is an equipment rental marketplace.
Consensus uses an AI search engine to answer scientific research questions.
Region B
Electric Hydrogen became a unicorn last fall with a $380 million series C round for its clean energy technology.
Simplisafe creates self-installed home security systems.
Elucid, a 2021 Fire Award awardee, is a medtech firm specializing in imaging analysis.
Tines is an automated workflow software company.
Sea Machines’ marine engineering technology spans several products for vessel safety.
Figur8 is using data and technology to improve musculoskeletal health an injury recovery.
Intus Care is a healthcare analytics platofrm developed by three Brown University students, one of whom was a 2023 Inno Under 25.
10Beauty is making robots that it says can give you a full manicure.
Topline Pro was founded by Harvard Business School dropouts to provide a platform for professional website development using the latest in tech.
DataCebo is a generative AI tool that can create synthetic data.
PredictAP closed its $8 million Series A in January, the first instutituional funding for the accounts payable processing startup.
3Daughters is looking to disrupt the IUD market by creating an device that is less painful to insert and remove.
Skyline Nav AI is developing AI-powered navigation tools.
Descrybe uses AI to create a legal document search engine.
Minute Kitchen is a vending machine startup founded by Babson students to eliminate food waste.
Cleana created self-raising and self-lowering toilet seats.
Region C
Lightmatter hit unicorn status in December.
PathAI is an AI-powered precision medicine company.
Author Health is a digital health comany with a platform for adults on Medicare dealing with mental illness.
Tive is a supply chain optimization platform that uses 5G trackers.
Own Up uses technology to find users the right mortgage.
Sublime Systems is manufacturing low-carbon cement, and opened its first plant in January.
PostEra uses machine learning to inform drug discovery.
Droplette used experience in the medical industry to create a skincare delivery tool and product line.
Ubicept is trying to change how machines perceive the world with image sensors and algorithms.
HourWork provides recruitment and retention tools for quick-serve restaurant franchise owners.
Aliro Quantum uses quantum computing to offer foundational technologies for companies building networks.
Housing Navigator Mass. is a search tool to assist in the hunt for affordable housing.
BOND App is an AI-powered application that helps managers connect remote teams.
Hologram Sciences is developing a way for hospitals to use AI to analyze patient nutrition and prevent malnutrition.
Adaptive Reader is using AI to rewrite literary classics for all reading levels.
rStream us using advance robotics to change the way we recycle.
Region D
ClearMotion’s technology is designed to improve the in-car experience for drivers and passengers. It ended 2023 with a $1 billion production order.
Insurify is an insurance-comparing platform headquartered in Cambridge and licensed in all 50 states.
Divert uses AI to advance infrastructure for sustainability in food.
Origin is an all-in-one money management platform.
Fortify is a 3D printing startup for the manufacturing industry.
Uwill pioneered a student and therapist matching platform, and was a 2023 Fire Awards honoree.
Clockworks Analytics is an MIT-born SaaS analytics startup. In August, it raised $16 million.
Cartwheel is a tele mental health startup partnering with schools to get students access to care.
Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal delivery service out of Needham.
Epicore Biosystems develops wearable sweat-detecting sensors for athletes and industrial workers.
STAT develops an in-ear wearable to monitor chronic conditions.
Wabbi is a security-focused software developer.
Rooted Living is a sustainable food brand founded by Northeastern student Rachel Domb.
Cephable is an accessibility technology startup, and it just won a pitch contest at SXSW.
Stepwise has developed technology to work as an intermediary between a home’s electric panel and an EV charger.
Enterra Solutions is trying to bring autonomous decision-making to the business world.
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