We’re thrilled to introduce this year’s MassChallenge Boston cohort, which was selected from more than 1,600 applications from around the world, including 11 countries and 16 U.S. states. Representing the top 8% of all applicants, these 128 early-stage startups have the potential to create widespread impact across industries. 

This year’s cohort—our most competitive and diverse to date—was evaluated by more than 800 investors, serial entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and top academics. Of the startups selected: 

 

 

•    29% are general, retail, and consumer goods 
•    28% are high tech   
•    27% are healthcare and life sciences 
•    9% are social impact  
•    7% are clean tech and energy 

We are also proud to share that 51% of startups have at least one female founder, up from 48% in 2017. This growth is reflective of our efforts to foster a more inclusive ecosystem, where women from all backgrounds have the opportunity to turn their ideas into a reality.  

As part of the 2018 cohort, entrepreneurs will have unrivaled access to top corporate partners, expert mentorship, tailored curriculum, co-working space in the Innovation and Design Building, and scholarship opportunities through support from BNY Mellon, Cydan Development, Microsoft, MassCEC, and EYP – all at zero cost and for zero equity. Entrepreneurs developing physical products also have an opportunity to take advantage of MADE@MassChallenge, the organization’s 5,000 square-foot research and development lab.   

In addition, startups in the social impact and food & beverage spaces will have the opportunity to participate in the program’s first-ever industry tracks, which offers specialized support, additional resources, and access to Boston’s impact ecosystem based on new demand in those areas. 

On October 17, 2018, the accelerator program will culminate at the MassChallenge Boston Awards, where the most-promising startups compete for shares of more than $1.5 million in equity-free awards.      

A Note from Kiki Mills Johnston, Managing Director: 

“MassChallenge firmly believes that the best ideas can come from anyone, in any industry, from anywhere around the world. This cohort is reflective of that vision and is well on its way to creating widespread impact. We’re looking forward to working closely with our corporate partners, mentors, and of course, the Boston entrepreneurial community to help these startups launch and grow throughout the summer and beyond!” 

Meet the 2018 Cohort

GENERAL / RETAIL / CONSUMER GOODS 

Abridge News 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Gets people out of their news echo chambers and makes it easy for them to understand a wide spectrum of opinions on important stories

Abstract
U.S. | Massachusetts
IoT system for manufacturers to identify and prioritize process improvements while providing real-time visibility into production status

AKUA
U.S. | New York
Creates food in the right way – healthy and delicious with a positive impact on the planet

Arable
U.S. | Massachusetts

befree, LLC
U.S. | Massachusetts
Creates zipOns® pants, which are stylish and functional so that people with disabilities or in the recovery/rehab process do not have to sacrifice fashion

Bluelaces Theater Company 
U.S. | New York
Creates immersive, multi-sensory theatrical experiences for audiences with autism and other developmental differences

Boston Materials LLC
U.S. | Massachusetts
Creating a revolutionary three-dimensionally reinforced carbon fiber composite

Candorful 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Matches transitioning Veterans with Mock Interview Practice via a double-sided platform so they can “nail the interview”

cleancult
U.S. | Massachusetts
Makes household green cleaners that actually clean

DetraPel
U.S. | Massachusetts
Makes nanotechnology protective coatings that protect any materials from any liquid

Dreamweaver Intimates 
U.S. | Massachusetts

EchoMe
U.S. | Massachusetts

Eleis Farm
Guinea
Cultivates, processes, and exports palm oil for the African diaspora and farmer, while simultaneously empowering women and promoting socio-economic development

FarmSense Inc.
U.S. | California

findSisterhood
U.S. | California 

HALL+HAVEN
U.S. | Texas
Creates right-sized rentals with the right rent, right where you want to be

Hypnap
U.S. | Massachusetts
An innovative way to improve the health and comfort of airplane passengers

IQ Bar
U.S. | Massachusetts
Democratizes brain food by creating grain-free, non-GMO energy bars that are packed with healthy fats and fortifying compounds

Kestrel Agritech
U.S. | Massachusetts
Reducing crop loss through automated pest detection & control using real-time thermal surveillance from unmanned drones

Kushae by BK Naturals
U.S. | Florida
All-natural solution to feminine hygiene and care, created by women for women to rescue women from chemicals and MAN-dated options

MAKOMAS, LLC.
U.S. | Massachusetts
Excites palates with hibiscus, baobab and ginger, all authentic, delicious, nutrient-rich beverages

Mobile Pixels
U.S. | Massachusetts
Lets you pack your productivity anywhere you go, whether you’re working in a hotel room or in a café

MTonomy, Inc. 
U.S. | Massachusetts

Natured
U.S. | Massachusetts
Brings groceries from local food makers to your doorstep, making the farmer’s market experience convenient and affordable

OURgrain
U.S. | Rhode Island
Creates sustainable consumables that have a significant impact on food waste while delivering quality and healthfulness

Partrunner
U.S. | Massachusetts
An on-demand delivery service for home service technicians

Proventus
U.S. | Massachusetts
Providing affordable loans to financially marginalized farmers through an innovative lending platform and risk assessment system

reBLEND
U.S. | Illinois 

Rootastes
U.S. | Massachusetts
Creates experiential lunch programs as a perk for the staffs of fast-growing and culture-centric companies

SecurSpace
U.S. | Indiana 

Soliyarn
U.S. | Massachusetts
Develops a unique method to coat textiles with electrically conductive polymer, which enables smart garments without metals or bulky wires

The 1854 Cycling Company 
U.S. | Massachusetts
A premium electric bicycle & apparel brand that creates living wage jobs targeted towards formerly incarcerated women

Tuverl
U.S. | Massachusetts

Unruly Studios 
U.S. | Massachusetts

Unsize
U.S. | Massachusetts
Eliminates the question of “will this fit me?” for online shoppers while making fashion more inclusive

walkli
U.S. | Massachusetts
Transforming how travelers explore cities by providing free, crowdsourced walking maps created by local experts from around the world

WarmUp LLC
U.S. | Massachusetts
An all-natural, gluten-free, and high-protein coffee containing 15 grams of protein per serving that can be served hot or iced

HIGH TECH 

A.I. Capital Management 
U.S. | Massachusetts
As Google’s AlphaGo A.I. has solved the game of Go, we are using the same algorithm to solve the game of quantitative trading

addapptation 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Provides user experience-as-a-service for Salesforce.com customers

Awaymo
United Kingdom    

Biofire
U.S. | Massachusetts
Building the future of firearms to prevent gun violence

BitHoop
U.S. | Massachusetts

BlocksCAD
U.S. | Massachusetts
An easy to use, 3D modeling tool, designed for education, to help teachers improve student learning and engagement when working

Cleo Robotics Inc.
Canada

D-Fend Solutions 
Israel
Detects, identifies and safely intercepts rogue drones in urban environments

Dig
U.S. | Louisiana 
The Dog Person’s Dating App is the best way for dog lovers and dog owners to find a compatible date

Dondoctor
Colombia 
An Airbnb-like online service to find doctors and medical centers in Colombia and Latin America

Fieldmotion Ltd.
United Kingdom 
Mobile workforce management platform designed to improve communication between service & maintenance fieldworkers and office staff

FinWeGo
India

Fisherman
U.S. | Massachusetts

Fit Tech Wearables
U.S. | Massachusetts

Food for All 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Dine for as little as $3 and save the planet – app connecting users to surplus food from restaurants at a deep discount one hour before they close

Heepsy
Spain
People search engine

Inkrypt
U.S. | Massachusetts
Creating a censorship-resistant distributed global network for content storage and retrieval geared towards journalism firms

Labber Quantum
Sweden
A toolkit for experimental quantum computing

Labby
U.S. | Massachusetts
An IoT analyzer that uses AI and spectroscopy for food, beverage & agro testing

Nodar
U.S. | Massachusetts

Novo
U.S. | New York

paerpay Inc.
U.S. | Massachusetts

Painting with Data
U.S. | Massachusetts

PERCH
U.S. | Massachusetts

Phood
U.S. | Massachusetts

Reason8
U.S. | California
AI-powered service for collaborative transcription, analytics and summarization of in-person business meetings

RFIDGenome
U.S. | Massachusetts

Sensii
U.S. | Massachusetts

Seoul Robotics 
South Korea 
Builds intelligent Lidar robotic perception software for autonomous robots, self-driving cars, and security systems

SiLAS
U.S. | Connecticut
Improves children’s social skills by combining technology with proven social skills training techniques

SPLITFIT
U.S. | Massachusetts
The easiest way to get quality personal training in reputable gyms & studios near you on-demand for $20

STEMgem
U.S. | Massachusetts
Provides wearable device toolkits that engages girls and allows students to build real, useful, and relevant technology

Tacit Motion Inc. 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Utilizing a network of wearable sensors, Tacit Motion provides kinetic monitoring and personal sports coach, whenever, wherever

ThermoBionics
U.S. | Massachusetts

Wagmo
U.S. | Massachusetts

Zoba
U.S. | Massachusetts
Uses machine learning to predict human behavior in cities

HEALTHCARE / LIFE SCIENCES 

1upHealth
U.S. | Massachusetts
Patient data aggregation platform for app developers, providers, and patients

ApreX Biotech
U.S. | Massachusetts
Develops a new generation of organs-on-chips systems to advance the development of pharmaceutical, and personalized medical products

Asparia Glycomics
Spain

AUGMENTx, Inc.
U.S. | Massachusetts

BioBind
Ireland

BioTrak Therapeutics 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Digital behavioral therapy program for headache & migraine sufferers which improves quality of life through headache reduction

BMSEED LLC
U.S. | Arizona
Develops technology that helps patients with brain and spinal cord injuries and diseases

Breegi Scientific, Inc. 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Medical device company developing disposable infant incubators for low resourced countries

Canomiks 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Developing dietary supplements to support the management of chronic conditions based on the genomic signature of such conditions

CathBuddy
U.S. | Massachusetts
Handheld catheter sterilizer that empowers intermittent catheters users to regain agency and reduce their carbon footprint

Cellular Preservation Technologies LLC
U.S. | Massachusetts
Revolutionary technology for safe preservation of biological cells and tissues with hyperbaric xenon gas and refrigeration

EBT Medical, Inc. 
Canada

Ejenta
U.S. | California

ImmunArtes LLC
U.S. | Illinois 

Kernal Biologics
U.S. | Massachusetts
Developing onco-selective mRNA technologies for cancer

LuminDx
U.S. | Massachusetts

Lumme Inc.
U.S. | Massachusetts
Smokers increase annual corporate spending by $70M on an average, Lumme helps reduce that by 54%

Medical Surface, Inc.
U.S. | Massachusetts
Develops innovative surface coating technologies that improve the biocompatibility and performance of implanted devices and biosensors

Meter Therapeutics
U.S. | Massachusetts
Developing awareness and treatments for rare respiratory disorders with unmet need, starting with chronic hiccups

MicroQuin
United Kingdom
Targeted delivery of chemotherapy with a fast time-to-market

Neurescence Inc.
Canada
We combine the power of AI with our patent pending brain imaging technology to cure brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, depression

noP
U.S. | Massachusetts
Over 800 million needles are used per year in the US for drug administration. “noP” aims to make drug delivery painless

OrthoFit Inc.
U.S. | New York
Makes the workplace safer by preventing musculoskeletal injuries and automating ergonomic evaluation

Oxalo Therapeutics, Inc.
U.S. | Illinois 
Biotech company developing a novel drug to prevent kidney stones using breakthroughs in microbiome research

Pilleve
U.S. | North Carolina 
An integrated pill bottle that prevents prescription opioid abuse, misuse, and addiction using real time data and security.

PionEar
U.S. | Massachusetts
Revolutionizing the treatment of ear infections with minimally invasive, antifouling, drug delivery ear tube implants

Prapela Inc.
U.S. | Massachusetts
Award winning baby box helps newborns breathe, relax, and sleep

Remora Therapeutics 
U.S. | Massachusetts

Somax Systems
Spain

Spiro Therapeutics 
U.S. | Indiana
The first therapeutic treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, restoring lung function with nano polymer surfactant technology

SurgiBox
U.S. | Massachusetts

TREND Community
U.S. | Pennsylvania 
Turns anecdotes into evidence on a platform for those living with rare disease who can engage in community powered science

VitaScan
U.S. | New York 

X-COR Therapeutics
U.S. | Massachusetts

SOCIAL IMPACT 

Black Girls Nutrition 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Geo-social network culturally customized for black women & daughters battling obesity

Blue Water Metrics 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Solves the gaps in ocean health monitoring by crowdsourcing data collection through ocean-going vessels

Colletteys Cookies
U.S. | Massachusetts
Born with down syndrome, Collette could not find a paying job – so she opened her own homemade cookie company and is employing people with disabilities  

Enlightened Shadowing 
U.S. | Massachusetts
Designed a method for coaching real world social skills in a child’s daily life environment such as playgrounds, schools, and museums

Forward F1rst
U.S. | Massachusetts
Creating resources and community to empower first generation college students to thrive on the road to graduation and beyond

Green Gas (Global Citizens Imperative) 
U.S. | Massachusetts

Learning Beautiful
U.S. | Massachusetts
Create timeless, Montessori-inspired toys for young children to learn about computer science, without computers

Magnomer
U.S. | Massachusetts
Magnetic markers for zero waste single-use plastics

MEANS Database
U.S. | Washington, D.C.
Fights food waste and hunger throughout the US by connecting retailers and restaurants with unsold food to nearby hunger nonprofits

Project Alianza
U.S. | Massachusetts
Fills the rural education gap in Nicaragua by building, developing, and staffing robust primary schools on privately-owned coffee farms

pumpspotting
U.S. | Maine
A social app and global community connecting breastfeeding women over milk, motherhood, and the best places to nurse & pump

Tarjimly
U.S. | California
Solves the language problem for NGOs, immigrants in need, and the 23 million refugees worldwide

CLEAN TECH / ENERGY 

ADS
U.S. | Massachusetts

eCeptacle
U.S. | Indiana 
An IoT company offering an intelligent waste management platform that increases efficiencies, reduces cost, through deployment of smart tech

Flux Marine LTD
U.S. | Massachusetts

Global Water Labs
U.S. | Washington 

Infinite Cooling 
U.S. | Massachusetts

Kinetic Batteries LLC
U.S. | Massachusetts

NovoMoto
U.S. | Wisconsin 

Takachar
U.S. | Massachusetts
Uses decentralized biomass upgrading technology to bring a larger fraction of biomass energy to cost parity

WatchTower Robotics
U.S. | Massachusetts
Pipe Management System for early detection, accurate mapping, and actionable maintenance recommendations for pipe leaks

 

About MassChallenge
MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, Texas, and the UK, MassChallenge is committed to strengthening the global innovation ecosystem by supporting high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world. To date, more than 1,500 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $3 billion in funding, generated over $2 billion in revenue, and created over 80,000 total jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at masschallenge.org.

Top MassChallenge Boston Partners
Altria, Autodesk, The Boston Consulting Group, The Boston Foundation, CASIS, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, CVS Health, Deshpande Foundation, Draper, Bose, BNY Mellon, Fidelity Investments, FM Global, MITRE, GE, Henkel, PwC, Honda, Jamestown, Microsoft, Molex, PAN Communications, PepsiCo, PTC, Stanley, Black & Decker.