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MassChallenge Hosts Resolve Summit and Names Winners at the 2023 Resolve MassChallenge Awards

The Global Network for Innovators hosts nano conference and Awards over $1.1 M in Equity Free Cash and Prizes

Boston, MA – MassChallenge awarded over $1.1M equity-free cash and investment prizes to 22 startups from the 2022 early-stage cohort and MassChallenge alums.

Before the awards reception, MassChallenge hosted the Resolve Summit, an invite-only nano-conference that featured specialized sessions on industries like climate, healthcare innovation, and biosecurity, to name a few. The Boston Globe and MIT REAP partnered with MassChallenge to serve as content curators, hosting sessions investigating subjects like 2030 Exploration, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, and Entrepreneurial Strategy.

James Rhee, Founder of Red Helicopter, provided the Summit Keynote to an audience of innovators, founders, and key industry leaders. Special guests included Congressman Jake Aichencloss, ISSNL CEO Ray Lugo, Matt McKnight from Ginkgo Bioworks, Dr. Wiljeana Jackson Glover Babson College, Dr. David Gastfriend, DynamiCare Health, Saar Safra, Beewise, Jaya Tripathi MITRE; Senator Mo Cowan, Dr. Phil Budden, MIT; Scot Kisner, Boston Globe; David Chang, Hunt Club.

After the Summit, the Awards recognized and celebrated those at the frontier of innovation. MassChallenge Board Chair and Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer at Devoted Health, Senator Mo Cowan, opened the reception to welcome an audience of 550 guests. During the reception, MassChallenge and its partners awarded $1.1M in prizes to 22 MassChallenge alums and startups from the U.S.- based early-stage cohort. 2023 is the first year that MassChallenge announced a Community Choice Award, which activated the organization’s global community of experts, partners, and alumni to identify five finalists during the Startup Showcase last fall. The competition received unanimous positive support and over 35k votes naming two finalists as the winners of the Community Choice Award.

“The MassChallenge summit and awards brought together speakers, alums, and innovators who showed how purpose could be unapologetically woven into the efforts to launch and build a startup. We are at an amazing moment in which technological innovation is happening at an unprecedented rate.” said Cait Brumme, MassChallenge CEO. “The 250 startups we celebrated during awards and from the 2022 early-stage cohort are shining examples of the untapped innovation potential. We must work, think, act, build, and partner differently to fully realize this potential of innovation and entrepreneurship. Congratulations to the winners.”

Of the 250 startups who participated in the 2022 early-stage cohort, founders from 175 startups were first-time founders – the highest number of first-time founders to date. The cohort makeup included founders from 28 countries; 37% of startups had at least one female or non-binary founder; 43% were BIPOC founded.

MassChallenge continued its traditional program offering of a hyper-focused zero-equity model, providing entrepreneurs with a digital curriculum, residency at MassChallenge regional offices, and access to curated, industry-based mentorship and an investor community. New this year, the Market Access Program enabled founders to connect with key stakeholders in MassChallenge’s physical communities. Collectively, these offerings introduced founders to resources and tools necessary to move the needle on producing positive outcomes that impart solutions and create meaningful change.

Resolve | The MassChallenge Summit and Awards were free to attend thanks to the generosity of the MITRE Corporation, the Host Committee, and Sponsors.