100+ high-impact companies to access global network of support and resources in Boston
BOSTON, MAY 15, 2019 - MassChallenge, a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, today announced the more than 100 early-stage startups that have been accepted into the 2019 MassChallenge Boston program. Rigorously selected by a community of close to 200 expert judges, this year’s competitive cohort represents the top 9% of applications from around the world.
Through a global network of zero-equity accelerators, MassChallenge identifies the world’s highest-impact, highest-potential startups and helps them successfully launch and grow. MassChallenge Boston, the flagship program for MassChallenge, has more than 10 years of proven experience working with entrepreneurs at the leading edge of their field. To date, more than 1,900 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $4 billion in funding, generated over $2.5 billion in revenue, and created over 120,000 total jobs.
“We are thrilled to welcome a really exceptional group of startups this year. Our founders, without exception are at the vanguard of their fields, tackling complex and high-impact opportunities ranging from air pollution to rare neurological disease to network security.” said Cait Reimers Brumme, Managing Director, MassChallenge Boston. “As we celebrate our 10th year, we remain laser focused on supporting these pioneers and we are grateful for our renowned community that makes our unique model so effective.”
Since March, MassChallenge Boston’s world-class network of investors, serial entrepreneurs, corporate executives, academics, and more have evaluated applications based on each startup’s ability to demonstrate high impact and high potential in their fields. Of the more than 100 startups selected:
- 33% healthcare and life sciences
- 32% are high tech
- 20% are general, retail and consumer goods
- 10% are social impact
- 5% are cleantech and energy
Reflective of the organization’s efforts to foster a more inclusive ecosystem, MassChallenge is also proud to share that 49% of the Boston cohort has at least one female founder and 20% of startups have at least one founder of color.
As part of the 2019 cohort, startups will have unrivaled access to expert mentorship, top corporate partners, and more than 18,000 square-feet of co-working space in Boston’s dynamic Innovation and Design Building all at zero cost and for zero equity. Startups will also engage in evidence-based curriculum, which has been designed to address key challenges throughout each phase of the early-stage lifecycle, including discovery, development, deployment, and distribution. At the close of the program, startups will compete for more than $1M in cash prizes at the 2019 MassChallenge Boston Awards held on October 24.
Safety and Security Focus Area
Select startups will receive specialized support and resources as part of the program’s first-ever Safety and Security focus area. Launched with support from BAE Systems, Draper, MITRE, the National Security Innovation Network (previously MD5), and the U.S. Air Force, the Safety and Security focus area will expose select startups to an ecosystem of experts, including government and military organizations, research and development centers, and defense innovation groups with deep expertise in the space.
2019 MassChallenge Boston Cohort
HEALTHCARE/LIFE SCIENCES
Ashored Innovations (Canada): Developing sustainable fishing technology to reduce/prevent marine entanglements, ghost gear, and ocean waste in commercial fishing.
Audiolex LLC (Arizona, USA): Building tools that help people develop their expression to become the orator they’ve always wanted to be.
Axonis (Massachusetts, USA): Translating breakthrough regeneration research to groundbreaking paralysis therapy, to transform lives of spinal cord injury patients.
CareZoom (Massachusetts, USA)
Beacon Inc (Massachusetts, USA)
Dynamic Boundaries (New York, USA): Developing an effective treatment for osteoarthritis, one of the most debilitating and prevalent diseases.
EMet NanoTech (Massachusetts, USA): Replacing conventional cryo-EM sample preparation to reduce cost and time in structure-based drug discovery.
Encapsulate (Connecticut, USA): Developing an automated tumor-on-a-chip system that can grow patients cancer cells outside the body, and test the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs.
EnVision Endoscopy, Inc. (Massachusetts, USA)
Fluent BioSciences Inc (Massachusetts, USA)
ForagerOne (Massachusetts, USA): Boosting academic research and education by facilitating student-faculty interactions for research through a centralized web platform.
g.Root Biomedical Services, Inc. (Massachusetts, USA)
Gateway Biotechnology Inc. (Missouri, USA): Creating novel solutions to prevent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and cure tinnitus.
Healthcare Leadership Academy (Nigeria): Transforming healthcare in Africa by developing a generation of healthcare leaders who excel in governance and service provision.
Hikma Health (California, USA): Creating health data systems for refugees to empower them to manage their health, and offer clinicians data-driven tools for quality care.
Knot (Massachusetts, USA)
Koldchain (Massachusetts, USA)
Lactation Innovations LLC (Connecticut, USA): Developing a home use medical device that measures breast milk intake of the breastfeeding infant to support and guide breastfeeding mothers.
Legacy (Massachusetts, USA):Legacy Solving the 50% decline in male fertility w/ consumer experience-focused, at-home solution for men to have sperm tested & frozen.
MedicSen (Spain): Developing a learning algorithm that predicts future glucose levels and recommends insulin intake based on the information received by third party wearable devices.
MD Ally (Pennsylvania, USA): Enabling EMS-provider collaboration, at scale, to optimize community-based medical services and establish new patient-provider relationships that improve access to routine care and long-term outcomes.
MyA Health (Massachusetts, USA): Developing a platform to manage all aspects of financial health planning.
Nanochon (District of Columbia, USA): Developing an implantable medical device. Based on 3D printing and a novel nanomaterial it will treat cartilage damage in joints.
New England Vascular Access (New Hampshire, USA): Creating a cost-effective solution to improve access to care, increase patient satisfaction, decrease length of stay and prevent rehospitalization.
Nextiles (Massachusetts, USA)
OLGS, Inc. (Massachusetts, USA)
Reboot Medical (Massachusetts, USA)
RevMedica (Connecticut, USA): Leveraging advanced technology to develop better surgical solutions and reduce the overall cost of healthcare.
S-There (Spain): Developing the world’s first smart toilet device that tracks your health.
SiNON Therapeutics (North Carolina, USA): Creating a tunable target drug delivery platform technology to treat neurological diseases.
Strand Therapeutics (Massachusetts, USA): Leveraging synthetic biology and RNA therapeutics to treat cancer by activating the immune system against the disease.
The Sukhi Project (District of Columbia, USA): Curating culturally tailored mental health telemedicine and wellness services.
Tellus Therapeutics (North Carolina, USA): Developing novel small molecules derived from human breast milk to reverse the neonatal brain injury that leads to cerebral palsy.
VenoStent (Texas, USA): Creating a bioresorbable shape memory polymer wrap for venous collapse in dialysis patients.
Voyant Diagnostics (Illinois, USA): Automating point-of-care urine diagnostics with a smart toilet platform.
HIGH TECH
ADOPETS (Maine, USA): Developing an easy to use platform to manage pet adoption, from start to happiness. Pet adoption made easy.
Aerospec Technologies (Massachusetts, USA)
Awayr (Massachusetts, USA)
Aisling Organics (Massachusetts, USA): Developing a revolutionary line of high-performance and organic makeup.
CrowdPlay (Massachusetts, USA): Developing an in-stadium app where fans compete by answering live questions about the game they are attending, playing for prizes.
CoCode (Massachusetts, USA): Developing an A.I.-powered assistant which supercharges a software developers productivity.
Considdr (Massachusetts, USA): Bringing reliable and relevant insights to researchers, marketers, and business strategists through a patented, AI search platform.
Dyad Medical Inc. (Massachusetts, USA): Providing an automated, intelligent medical image analysis cloud platform that makes medical image analysis data driven and more accurate.
Emerging Response (Massachusetts, USA): Increasing accuracy, faster incident turnaround, and a customizable interface for public and campus safety officials.
ForagerOne (Maryland, USA)
GoPeer (Rhode Island, USA): Building an online platform and mobile app that connects K-12 students with nearby college undergraduates for in-person tutoring lessons.
Home Outside, Inc. (Vermont, USA)
InstaKin (Massachusetts, USA)
JobGet (Massachusetts, USA): JobGet reduces the time to hire a staff down to less than 24 hours.
Lab Grown Source (Massachusetts. USA): directly connecting buyers and sellers of lab grown diamonds.
Let Us Calculate (Massachusetts. USA):
Easy Mortgage Apps LLC (Massachusetts, USA): Helping banks and lending institutions close the gap between today’s mortgage technology and borrowers’ expectations to use smartphones in the home buying process.
LOU (Massachusetts, USA): Upgrading lengthy help centers with interactive tutorials that reduce training time, boost adoption, and simplify customer success.
Lukkap Data & Analytics (Spain): Continuously measuring experience (employee, customer and supplier) to improve business results.
MuukTest (North Carolina, USA)
Nimble Network Inc. (Massachusetts, USA): Unleashing the potential of applications to make them scalable, distributed, and programmable.
Oort (Massachusetts, USA): Delivering Network-Security-as-a-Service from a federation of globally-distributed data centers at the Edge of the Internet.
PerkZilla (Massachusetts, USA): Creating a network of micro-influencers through goal-oriented campaigns that virally increase brand awareness and grow your audience.
Pison (Massachusetts, USA)
Protolith (Massachusetts, USA)
Qwally (Massachusetts, USA)
RESONADO (Indiana, USA): Redefining the shape of sound with its patented speaker technology which can replace all existing speakers in the world.
Sixpence App (Massachusetts, USA): Disrupting crowdfunding. Through Sixpence, users can support causes through roundups on their daily purchases.
smileML (Indiana, USA): Analyzing user emotion in videos, transcribes speech, and provides collaborative tools to share insight across teams.
Sophya (Massachusetts, USA)
Swipe Inc (Massachusetts, USA): Streamlining MFA for any online/offline cashless payment by pushing real-time authentication requests to your phone to pre-empt fraud.
Tennibot (Alabama, USA)
Westlight Networks (California, USA)
GENERAL / RETAIL / CONSUMER GOODS
All Yoga Pants (Massachusetts, USA): Making athleisure fashion accessible to multi-cultural women (non-plus and plus).
Clean Crop Technologies (Virginia, USA): Combining air and electricity to remove molds, toxins, and pests from peanuts and grains, reducing crop loss and improving food safety.
GleTech (Massachusetts, USA): Developing a mobile first platform, to help farmers access market, request on-demand transportation, including warehouse space.
HINTS (Massachusetts, USA): Providing a solution for social media companies to instantaneously detect the spread of fake news of any medium: text, audio, or video.
Jamber (Massachusetts, USA)
mobius (Tennessee, USA): Building a future where waste is not a burden on society or the planet, but instead, a valuable resource for new materials.
Multiscale Systems, Inc. (Massachusetts, USA)
Project Daredevil (Massachusetts, USA): Developing virtual reality for the blind: 3D radio-dramas with motion simulation and smell.
Radian (Massachusetts, USA): Making women’s jeans with deep yet subtle pockets, performance stretch, temperature regulation & much more.
SimpleSense (Pennsylvania, USA): SimpleSense speeds emergency response with sensors and apps that securely share key information between security operators and first responders.
SheChef (Massachusetts, USA): Networking & development organization for women chefs of color and our allies.
smoodi (Massachusetts, USA): Building fully automated smoothie-machine for offices allowing employees to create their own, customized and fresh smoothie every day.
SPECTER HOCKEY (Slovakia): Introducing a next generation material for the blade of the hockey stick that makes you a better player.
The Feel Good Lab (Connecticut, USA): Giving the pain relief aisle a much-needed makeover with products rooted in functional medicine composed of only clean ingredients.
United Aircraft Technologies, Inc. (New York, USA): Developing a novel lightweight solution for aircraft to improve fuel economy and reduce work injuries.
Uplift (District of Columbia, USA): Helping companies advance working moms by turning motherhood into an advantage, not a setback.
VerdiLife (Iowa, USA)
Waku (Massachusetts, USA): Making a refreshing gut-health herbal drink infused with 20 herbs and flowers from the Andes Mountains.
Yad (Guatemala): Empowering people with disabilities by allowing them to express themselves through art.
Zappeal (Massachusetts, USA): Allowing homeowners to appeal to their property taxes quickly and inexpensively by automating the process using data analytics.
ZeoVation (Ohio, USA): Making functional additive products for the consumer, environmental and chemical industries.
SOCIAL IMPACT
EatWell (Massachusetts, USA): EatWell makes healthy eating more available to families living in food insecure communities with our affordable, nutritious meal kits..
Cures Within Reach for Cancer (Massachusetts, USA): Transforming the treatment of cancer with available, safe, and affordable repurposed therapies.
HERA App (Massachusetts, USA): Using reminders and financial incentives to improve the health of Syrian refugee women and children in Turkey.
Mayday Alarm (Illinois, USA): Automating emergency dispatch by alerting and rapidly deploying nearby first responders to help victims.
PraeSpero Farms (Massachusetts, USA): Offering a path to recovery to persons experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder.
Proud Pour (Massachusetts, USA): Creating Exceptional wines, beers, and spirits that support local environmental restoration.
PUP Reading (Massachusetts, USA): Helping parents make it easy and fun to support their children’s developing reading skills.
QuantAQ (Massachusetts, USA): Combining machine learning with atmospheric chemistry expertise to deliver local, actionable insights about your air.
repurpose Global (Pennsylvania, USA): Building a community of conscious consumers and brands going plastic neutral by supporting waste workers around the world.
Skip the Small Talk (Massachusetts, USA): Hosting events and are in the process of producing materials to help reduce loneliness and improve quality and quantity of social connection.
Women Who Drone (New York, USA): Inspiring, educating and empowering women and girls to join the UAV industry through an online community.
CLEANTECH / ENERGY
AeroShield (Massachusetts, USA)
Anuel Energy Inc (Massachusetts, USA)
Camberline Technologies (Massachusetts, USA): Developing a low-cost, fast, scalable, flexible platform to enable time of use electricity rates without smart meters.
Gencores (Massachusetts, USA)
Petrichor (Massachusetts, USA)
Celebrating 10 Years
Now in its 10th anniversary year, MassChallenge Inc. has continued to scale its high impact model around the world, with operations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, Switzerland, and Texas. In addition, the organization experienced significant industry growth with its later stage vertical accelerators MassChallenge FinTech and MassChallenge HealthTech.
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, and Texas, 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 1,900 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $4 billion in funding, generated more than $2.5 billion in revenue, and created more than 120,000 total jobs.
Top MassChallenge Boston Partners
Altus Dental, Chewsi, Amica Mutual Insurance, Analog Devices, Arrow Electronics, Autodesk, BAE Systems, BNY Mellon, The Boston Consulting Group, The Boston Foundation, Brex, the ISS National Lab, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Cydan, Deshpande Foundation, Draper, FM Global, GlaxoSmithKline, Halliburton, Henkel, John W. Henry Family Foundation, Jamestown, Microsoft, MITRE, PTC, PwC, Sanofi, Stanley Black & Decker, the National Security Innovation Network, and the U.S. Air Force.