MassChallenge CEO Cait Brumme has been named one of MassLive’s 25 Most Influential Innovators of 2026, joining leaders shaping what comes next across biotech, AI, robotics, clean energy, quantum computing, and more.

Massachusetts has long been home to people pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. The breakthroughs that change industries start with rare founders willing to take on problems others might consider impossible. But helping those breakthroughs reach the real world takes an ecosystem built to move them forward.

That’s the work Brumme has championed at MassChallenge: building the infrastructure, expertise, relationships, and pathways founders need to move breakthrough ideas toward commercialization and impact.

Under Brumme’s leadership, MassChallenge has continued to bring founders together with the people and institutions that can help breakthrough ideas move forward, from industry experts and corporate partners to investors, policymakers, and innovation leaders. The work reflects a simple idea: founders create breakthroughs, but bringing those breakthroughs into the world requires an ecosystem willing to help make them possible.

The recognition comes during a year of significant momentum for MassChallenge. In August, TIME and Statista ranked MassChallenge the #2 accelerator in the United States and #1 in Massachusetts in their 2026 ranking of America’s Best Startup Incubators & Accelerators. The ranking was driven primarily by evaluations from founders who participated in accelerator programs between 2020 and 2025.

Together, the recognitions point to something Massachusetts has long understood: innovation does not happen in isolation. It takes ambitious founders willing to pursue what others might consider impossible, and an ecosystem capable of helping those ideas make the leap from possibility to impact.

Brumme joins 24 other leaders recognized by MassLive for their influence on the ideas, industries, and technologies shaping what comes next across the Commonwealth.

Read MassLive’s full list of the 25 Most Influential Innovators of 2026.