September 19, 2018, BOSTON – MassChallenge, a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, today announced the top startups from its 2018 Boston and Rhode Island programs, which together accelerated more than 150 startups across industries (128 in Boston and 30 in Rhode Island) and from regions around the world. Selected startups will now move into the final judging round, where they’ll compete for cash prizes that will be awarded at the MassChallenge Awards on October 17, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.
“It’s incredible to see just how much our 2018 Boston and Rhode Island cohorts have grown in such a short amount of time,” said Kiki Mills Johnston, Managing Director, MassChallenge Boston. “With support from the local innovation communities and our network of mentors, experts, and corporates, each entrepreneur has taken what they’ve learned to create real impact across industries. I’m looking forward to celebrating their achievements at the 2018 MassChallenge Awards and seeing all they achieve long after our program closes.”
Over the course of the program, the Boston and Rhode Island cohorts have leveraged expert mentorship, tailored programming, corporate engagement, and industry resources to launch and grow their companies. In addition, entrepreneurs developing physical products have also had the opportunity to bring their ideas to life at MADE@MassChallenge, the accelerator’s research and development lab located in Boston.
To select this year’s prize winners, MassChallenge will tap the expertise of industry visionaries who will evaluate each startup based on their ability to demonstrate growth and impact. During this final judging round, top startups will apply what they’ve learned to compete for shares of $1.5M in equity-free prizes in Boston and $50,000 in Rhode Island.
More than 1,600 leaders and innovation enthusiasts are expected to celebrate this year’s winners at the MassChallenge Awards, which are being held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. To register for #MCAwards18, go here.
MassChallenge Boston Top 26:
Massachusetts | High Tech
Provides user experience-as-a-service for Salesforce.com customers.
Massachusetts | High Tech
Building the future of firearms to prevent gun violence.
Massachusetts | General
Creating a revolutionary three-dimentsionally reinforced carbon fiber composite.
Massachusetts | General
Makes household green cleaners that actually clean.
Canada | Healthcare / Life Sciences
Develops novel, discreet, non-invasive neurostimulation therapies for the enormous un/under treaded Overactive Bladder market.
Massachusetts | High Tech
Connects users to surplus food from restaurants at a deep discount an hour before they close.
Texas | General
Creates right-sized rentals with the right rent, right where you want it to be.
Massachusetts | Energy / Clean Tech
Disrupts the way power plants use water by capturing and recycling evaporative losses in cooling towers.
Massachusetts | General
Makes and sells brain fuel nutrition bars packed with six functional nutrients and hit the Keto + Paleo + Vegan trifecta.
Massachusetts | General
Reduces crop loss through automated pest detection and control using real-time thermal surveillance from unmanned drones.
Massachusetts | High Tech
IoT analyzer that uses AI and spectroscopy for food, beverages, and agro testing.
Massachusetts | Social Impact
Creates magnetic markers for zero waste plastic packaging.
England | Healthcare / Life Sciences
Creates targeted delivery of chemotherapy with a fast time-to-market.
Massachusetts | General
Lets users pack their productivity anywhere you go – whether you’re working ina. Hotel room or in a café.
Massachusetts | General
Empowers media artists and businesses with a complete blockchain infrastructure to publish, license, and monetize their content directly.
Rhode Island | General
Creates sustainable consumables that have a significant impact on food waste while delivering quality and healthfulness.
Illinois | Healthcare / Life Sciences
Biotech company developing a novel drug to prevent kidney stones using breakthroughs in microbiome research.
Massachusetts | High Tech
Web-based tool that introduces a visual programming language for the analysis and visualization of spatial data.
Massachusetts | Healthcare / Life Sciences
Revolutionizing treatment of ear infections with minimally invasive, antifouling, drug delivery ear tube implants.
Massachusetts | Social Impact
Fills the rural education gap in Nicaragua by building, developing, and staffing robust primary schools on privately-owned coffee farms.
Maine | Social Impact
Social app and global community connecting breastfeeding women over milk, motherhood, and the best places to nurse and pump.
Massachusetts | Healthcare / Life Sciences
Creates the Operating Room in a Backpack, protecting patients and providers any time, any place.
Massachusetts | High Tech
Provides affordable loans to financially marginalized farmers through an innovative lending platform and risk assessment system.
New York | Healthcare / Life Sciences
Provides fast, accurate, and mobile nutrition deficiency testing.
Massachusetts | High Tech
Uses robots to help water pipe operators find leaks, save water, and protect infrastructure.
Massachusetts | High Tech
Uses machine learning to predict human behavior in cities.
MassChallenge Rhode Island Top 6:
AirWorks
Massachusetts | High Tech
Stealth
Rhode Island | Energy / Clean Tech
Cost effectively produces renewables, resilient power in built environments, including urban and coastal area.
Massachusetts | General
Makes the global aquaculture industry more profitable with a SaaS-based farm management system.
Rhode Island | Social Impact
Creates software for social workers that creates cost savings, builds capacity, saves time, and improves professional quality of life.
Rhode Island | Social Impact
Designs and sells devices that teach children of all abilities how to read.
Connecticut | General
Makes plant-based eating a part of people’s everyday lives by making plant-based foods tasty and convenient.
About MassChallenge:
MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, 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, Bose, BNY Mellon, The Boston Consulting Group, The Boston Foundation, CASIS, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, CVS Health, Deshpande Foundation, Draper, FM Global, GE, GlaxoSmithKline, Henkel, Honda, Jamestown, Microsoft, MITRE, PAN Communications, PepsiCo, PTC, PwC, Stanley, Black & Decker.
MassChallenge Rhode Island Partners:
Altus Dental, Amica Mutual Insurance, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, FM Global, Rhode Island Foundation, Verizon Foundation.