MassChallenge

United States

United States

Beyond Silicon Valley

The U.S. based locations in Boston, MA; Providence, RI;  and Austin, Dallas, and Houston, TX provide access to the tools, resources, and funding ecosystems for cutting-edge founders working to solve massive challenges. From food to FinTech, from energy to aerospace, the U.S. locations host a variety of accelerators and programs that lean on the different strengths of the regions.

 

 

In addition to MassChallenge’s flagship industry-agnostic early-stage accelerators, there are more specialized accelerators for late-stage startups in FinTech and HealthTech, as well as programs for ClimateTech and Safety and Security, to just name a few.

“If you had asked me before MassChallenge if I thought that NASA could be one of our bigger funders or partners, the answer would have been no.”

 

– Dr. Nicole Wagner, President and CEO of LambdaVision, U.S. Early Stage 2016

“I learned so much in that four-month period. I was able to greatly build upon my business acumen, increase my confidence to sit at the bigger tables and have access to those nuanced cheat codes that are more available to the typical white cis-male entrepreneur. It was a game-changing experience.”
Janice Omadeke
Janice Omadeke
Founder and CEO of The Mentor Method, MC 2018
"Our mentors really pushed us to take the next step with our company. As MassChallenge grows, they have a bigger and bigger network that we can leverage. Making that step and seeing the impact our product had was incredible."
Erin Keaney
Erin Keaney
COO of Nonspec, MC 2017

Locations

Boston, MA

Boston is MassChallenge’s global headquarters since it was founded in 2009. Boston’s major industries include health technology, biotechnology, and financial services.


The Innovation roots are deep with the rich number of universities, including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and their associated business schools. Boston is home to some of the most advanced hospitals in the world like Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The city is also headquarters to State Street, General Electric, MassMutual, and Reebok.


The FinTech, HealthTech, and Early Stage programs are significant contributors to the thriving Boston industry ecosystems, working to make connections and drive innovation.


Providence, RI

With close proximity to both Boston and New York, Providence is uniquely positioned as an up-and-coming innovation Hub. Home to two of the countries most renowned universities, Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence offers strong access to young talent and an infrastructure to support development. Providence is specifically home to MassChallenge’s Blue Tech Sprint accelerator. 


Austin, TX

Austin is the Texas capital and home to the University of Texas and Army Futures command – an initiative that is transforming innovation in defense readiness. In addition to defense, the Austin innovation industry includes consumer packaged goods, consumer software, and health care innovation with the voter created Central Health District.


Dallas, TX

Dallas is part of the rapidly growing North Texas innovation ecosystem. It is the most recent hub to launch in Texas, completing what’s known as the Texas Triangle. The Texas Triangle creates throughlines for founders to access resources to test and strengthen their solutions. There is substantial growth in the biotech industry as well as 5G, Human Potential as related to sports and security; and the region has a large defense and logistics sector.


Dallas is in the top 10 among cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters.


Houston, TX

Houston is home to the “Innovation Corridor,” a 4 mile-stretch that includes the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center, and top-ranked Rice University. Houston is the fourth largest city in the U.S. and is known as the energy capital of the world. The city has realized exponential growth in innovation over the last six years and is now one of the fastest growing tech ecosystems for early-stage companies in the country.


Houston is a major hub for space commercialization and is expected to be the home of the first commercial space system with the development of the Houston Spaceport.