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BOSTON– MassChallenge, a startup-friendly accelerator, unveiled 128 finalists for the 2016 accelerator program to be held in Boston this summer. This year’s class was selected from more than 1,700 applicants, making it the most competitive cohort to date. Startups participating in the Boston accelerator program – one of the top in the country for supporting high-impact entrepreneurs – represent a diverse range of industries and geographies, including nine countries and 16 states.
“We received consistent feedback from our judges about the quality of applicants this year, and I’m confident we’ll have an incredibly high-caliber class of entrepreneurs joining us in Boston,” said MassChallenge Boston Managing Director Scott Bailey. “These entrepreneurs will be challenged throughout the program to impact communities and provide disruptive solutions across a wide range of industries. Be on the lookout for them this summer!”
MassChallenge’s unique model leverages an outside pool of judges from the community to help select the finalists. Representing a diverse mix of perspectives and backgrounds, this year’s group of experts included more than 800 investors, serial entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and academics.
Startups from a wide range of industries were evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate impact and potential, ranging from scientific breakthroughs to industry disruptions.
The top industries for finalists include medical devices, enterprise software, and internet & web. Of the 128 startups selected:
- 32.0% are high tech
- 20.3% are general, retail and consumer goods
- 29.7% are healthcare and life sciences
- 10.9% are social impact
- 7.0% are cleantech and energy
As part of the accelerator, the 2016 cohort will have the opportunity to engage with high-profile speakers, expert mentors, and a global network of support throughout the four-month program in Boston. Startups will also have access to co-working space, industry resources, and the MADE@MassChallenge research and development lab for zero cost and zero equity. Since launching in 2015, MADE@MassChallenge has supported more than 30 startups, including eight program winners.
The accelerator program will culminate on November 2, 2016, at the MassChallenge Boston Awards Ceremony, where entrepreneurs will pitch their startups with the chance to win a share of $1.5 million in zero-equity awards.
Now in its seventh year, MassChallenge Boston has has helped early stage startups from around the world successfully launch and grow their businesses. To support this year’s program, MassChallenge recently announced new partnerships with MassMutual, PTC, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Draper Laboratory, Swiss Re, Boston Consulting Group, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute, and PwC.
As in previous years, seven startups from Israel will join this year’s class to take advantage of the strong community in Boston that supports Israeli innovation. Since the MassChallenge launch in 2010, there have been 32 startups from Israel that have taken part in the MassChallenge accelerators, 27 of which have come to Boston.
“There’s a universal need and responsibility to help early stage startups across all industries and backgrounds succeed as they set out to solve some of society’s biggest problems,” said John Harthorne, Founder and CEO of MassChallenge. “Communities that focus on creating an environment that’s open, collaborative, and supportive will drive more value, opportunities, and wealth as a result. We’re proud to continue advocating for this movement and fueling innovation around the world through our global accelerators.”
To date, MassChallenge’s global network of 835 alumni startups have had widespread impact, raising over $1.3 billion in funding, more than $575 million in revenue and creating over 8,500 jobs as of April 2016.
2016 MassChallenge Boston Cohort:
Energy / Clean Tech
ABA Power
USA – Massachusetts
ABA Power, an MIT clean power generation tech. It’s energy dense and reliable as fuel, compact and convenient as Li-Ion and safer than both.
Battery Resourcers, LLC
USA – Massachusetts
Battery Resourcers, LLC recycles spent li-ion battery, to directly synthesize new cathode materials, which can be used in new batteries.
Catalyst for World Water
USA – Massachusetts
Catalyst for World Water catalyzes sustainable solutions for the global water crisis by harnessing solar energy for water purification.
CoolComposites, Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
CoolComposites is using materials chemistry to make buildings more energy efficient without making them more expensive.
Electra Vehicles, Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
LeakSpotter
USA – Massachusetts
Toilet leaks are huge water wasters and are mostly detected only after getting a huge water bill. Our thumbsized device solves this problem.
Modvion
Sweden
Modvion develops modular tall wind power towers in composite material, generating increased output and decreasing costs.
Surge Hydro
USA – Maine
80,000 dams in America don’t produce electricity. The potential waiting to be tapped is enough to power 4.8 million homes. It’s time to tap.
uLink
USA – Massachusetts
We enable developing world energy service providers to quickly develop and easily manage low-cost, modular microgrids in off-grid areas.
General
3DFortify
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
A.day
USA – Massachusetts
A.day is a technology company that designs your favorite workday, every day. A.day fuses your favorite workday with that of your coworkers into a singular day.
Analytical Space
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Archer Roose, LLC
USA – Massachusetts
Archer Roose is disrupting the wine industry through innovative sourcing model that delivers an artisan quality wine at an affordable price.
Asarasi Sparkling Tree Water
USA – Connecticut
Asarasi is pioneering the recovery of a newly discovered byproduct of maple processing; bottling pure, biological, waters from maple trees.
Cnature
Israel
Not public at this time.
De-Ice
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Farmer Willie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer
USA – Massachusetts
Farmer Willie’s Alcoholic Ginger beer is ginger with soul. Our all natural recipe is the best ginger beer you will ever find.
Fetch Park
USA – Rhode Island
Fetchpark is a transponder-based, app-complemented, automated parking service that alleviates the stress of city parking.
Force SV, LLC
USA – Virginia
Force SV Technologies, LLC aims to develop safe, effective, and environmental methods to further advance the fire protection industry.
Hive Maritime, Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
Hive Maritime is revolutionizing the shipping industry, using predictive analytics and machine learning to save billions in inefficiencies.
Lumit Audio
USA – Massachusetts
Lumit, a professional, affordable, and easy-to-learn music recording application for the modern mobile musician.
Lux Labs
USA – Massachusetts
Advanced optical materials company using nanomaterials to control light, improve optics, and reduce energy consumption.
New Grounds Food
USA – Massachusetts
New Grounds Food created the CoffeeBar: an organic, vegan, and gluten-free energy bar infused with a full cup of coffee.
Personal Mattress Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
Personal Mattress is the only customizable sleep system that combines crowd sourced & your unique body data to let you sleep healthier.
Pzartech
Israel
Pzartech contribute to reducing unplanned downtime through spare parts recognition and 3D printing of spare parts.
Safi Organics
Kenya
Not public at this time.
Spyce
USA – Massachusetts
The Spyce Kitchen is the world’s first automated restaurant. It autonomously cooks and serves healthy, delicious meals w very low overhead.
Stokes All Natural Firestarters, LLC
USA – Massachusetts
All natural, non-chemical firestarter made with recycled pulp, wax and sustainably harvested wood sawdust. Use with wood/charcoal.
Tellus Labs
USA – Massachusetts
We turn satellite imagery into signals built to drive better decisions. Our customers are in government, finance, insurance and business.
The Optimist Co.
USA – Massachusetts
Disrupting the cleaning aisle with recognizable ingredients and products, The Optimist Co. teaches you to make yourself DIY.
Tranquilo, LLC
USA – Massachusetts
Tranquilo is a portable, soothing mat that calms crying babies in seconds by mimicking the sounds and motions of the womb.
Whole Heart Provisions
USA – Massachusetts
Whole Heart Provisions is a fast casual, plant-based culinary startup serving delicious, fast, and environmentally conscious food.
Yonward
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Zasaka Agro Limited
Zambia
We focus on increasing small-scale farmer incomes through, extension training, sustainable production and marketing of quality legume seed.
Zombait
USA – Massachusetts
Zombait lures save fishermen time and money by putting the life back into fishing bait! Live bait effective. Dead bait easy.
Healthcare / Life Sciences
#1
USA – Massachusetts
We combined wireless muscle activity detectors and moisture sensors to provide a revolutionary solution for urinary incontinence.
Adhesys Medical
USA – Texas
Next generation surgical glue based on polyurethane: Fast, strong flexible and biodegradeble it can be used in unprecedented surgeries.
Angiex Inc
USA – Massachusetts
Angiex is pioneering a vascular therapy for solid tumors. In preclinical studies, an Angiex antibody-drug conjugate regressed solid tumors.
Antera Therapeutics
USA – Massachusetts
Antera is preventing allergy development in infants – ask your doctor about Aralyte today.
bosWell
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
BRAINCO
USA – Massachusetts
With brainwave controlled robotic prosthesis, BrainCo brings the control back to you and empowers you to live life to the fullest.
CareHood
Israel
CareHood is where caregivers & their loved ones can discover what can help them & let their friends & family pitch in.
Coeo Labs Private Limited
India
Not public at this time.
ConquerX
USA – Delaware
ConquerX develops a minimally invasive blood test that can detect up to 18 types of cancer based on cutting-edge microRNA sensor technology.
Courageous Parents Network
USA – Massachusetts
Courageous Parents Network empowers and supports parents caring for children with life-threatening illness via web and mobile.
D&P Bioinnovations, LLC
USA – California
D&P Bioinnovations is focused on repairing damaged organs. We are developing an implantable medical device to regrow a damaged esophagus.
Dover Lifesciences
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
enginologi Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
B2B SaaS company offering analytical engines that optimize the message, offer, and channel mix to achieve higher sales.
EVA: EMR-Virtual-Assistant
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Herald
USA – Massachusetts
Herald is on a mission to make healthcare safer by offering clinicians real-time access to clinical data exactly when and how they want it.
High Q Imaging
USA – Massachusetts
Through cost-first engineering and advanced algorithms, our portable MRI aims to substantially reduce the price of medical imaging
Hyasynth Bio
Canada
Hyasynth Bio is making cannabinoid-based therapeutics possible by changing the supply from the crude plant source to industrial yeast.
LambdaVision, Inc.
USA – Connecticut
LambdaVision is developing a protein-based retinal implant to restore vision to the millions blinded by retinal degenerative diseases.
Luminopia
USA – Massachusetts
Luminopia is bringing revolutionary virtual reality technology to the treatment of underserved visual disorders.
mDoc
Nigeria
We are a digital health company that aims to dramatically improve access to high quality healthcare by leveraging technology interfaces.
MiMecore Therapeutics, LLC
USA – Massachusetts
MiMecore Therapeutics is developing a novel therapeutic approach to disrupt age-related change to skin.
NangioTx
USA – Texas
NangioTx aims to create the latest in materials-based tissue regenerative therapies.
NanoTechGalaxy
USA – New York
Deep learning in medical imaging to create smart diagnostic assistants for radiologists.
Neuromotion
USA – Massachusetts
Digital mental health through mobile bioresponsive videogames.
New View Surgical, Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
Minimally invasive surgical imaging firm that redefines and simplifies laparoscopic surgery with our novel,cost-effective VisionPort device.
Noex
USA – Massachusetts
Noex is turning any ordinary orthopedic brace into a smart brace, bringing data to at-home physical therapy.
Nuri I/O
Israel
Not public at this time.
Optimede
Korea
Endoscopic related Healthcare-Associated Infections impact 130,000 patients annually. Optimede we help to eliminate this source of HAI.
PathoVax
USA – Massachusetts
PathoVax is transforming the multi-billion HPV vaccine market with RGVax to target all cancer-causing HPVs neglected by current offerings.
PICCPerfect
USA – Massachusetts
We help chronically ill patients by creating stylish and functional medical accessories that build confidence and ease treatment.
Precise Portions
USA – Virginia
Precise Portions produce Turnkey Portion Control Dinnerware Systems for all ages; includes visual guides for portion mgmt. & dietary needs.
QSM Diagnostics Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
QSM Dx uses a proprietary instrument-sensor to identify common infectious bacteria in bodily fluids within 1 minute at the point-of-care.
Signature Orthodontics
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Sonique
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Spriteli
USA – Massachusetts
Spriteli is a digital health company seeking to improve outcomes and lower cost for mental healthcare.
Therapeutic Innovations
USA – Massachusetts
We aim to redesign and reduce the cost of medical devices and hope that someday ALL children will have access to modern healthcare.
Tympanogen, Inc.
USA – Virginia
We are commercializing the first gel patch for nonsurgical repair of eardrum perforations.
XenoTherapeutics, Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
XenoTherapeutics is a nonprofit entity seeking to further xenotransplantation by bringing xenoskin graft technology from the lab to patients.
High Tech
AR Spirit
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Bansen Labs
USA – Pennsylvania
Our Xogo platform unlocks the world of consumer technology for 1 billion people worldwide with disabilities who desperately want access.
BeautyLynk
USA – Massachusetts
BeautyLynk is an on-location hair and makeup service for women of color.
Boréas Semiconductor
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Buttery
USA – Massachusetts
Discover & order craft beer & premium spirits from top local stores. Get it delivered in under 60 minutes.
ClimaCell
USA – Massachusetts
ClimaCell creates the world’s most accurate weather forecasts using the power of cellular networks.
Cyclops
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Describli
USA – District of Columbia
We give self-publishing authors the sales and marketing tools and data they need to find, connect with, and sell to their readers.
Ekko Audio, LLC
USA – Florida
HUB by ekko is the world’s first Hi-Fi Wi-Fi hub for headphones and speakers.
EMBR Labs
USA – Massachusetts
EMBR Labs is harnessing the power of temperature and changing the way people think about personal comfort.
EYL Inc
Korea
EYL secures Internet of Things with an affordable micro quantum random number generator using radioisotope to replace less secure software.
Franklin Robotics
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Gadfly Legal Technologies
USA – Massachusetts
LeasePilot streamlines the documentation of commercial leases and converts them into data to deliver value to property owners and law firms.
Geopredict
USA – Massachusetts
Mission-critical solution that enables better exploration decisions, improves the odds of finding viable deposits, and avoid wastefulness.
Gravyty
USA – Massachusetts
Superior nonprofit fundraising from major donors through accessible predictive analytics. Created by a strong team with a meaningful vision.
KonnecTo
Israel
Not public at this time.
MARKABLE, Inc.
USA – Wisconsin
See it. Mark it. Shop it. We promise to satisfy fashionistas who see products they want in magazines, in videos and in the streets.
Parachute Teachers
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Parkloco
USA – Massachusetts
Parkloco increases revenue for parking facilities by providing data analytics and sharing the data with multiple consumer channels.
PiraShield
USA – Massachusetts
PiraShield is an anti-piracy search engine, that scans the web to identify and tactically remove pirated links of any eLearning video course.
Polis
USA – Massachusetts
Easy and scalable door-to-door outreach software for campaigns and organizations.
RateGravity
USA – Massachusetts
RateGravity is redefining the mortgage qualification process and delivering lower rates to borrowers through its local lender marketplace.
Retouch
USA – California
Not public at this time.
Rover Development
USA – Minnesota
Rover develops new IoT concepts focused on consumer engagement with their everyday things.
RoyalRoadL
Israel
Not public at this time.
SalesBrief
USA – Rhode Island
SalesBrief is a software platform that helps a company execute a repeatable sales process and provide a frictionless buying experience.
Sea Machines Robotics
USA – Massachusetts
Sea Machines Robotics is a Boston-based startup developing Autonomous Control & Navigation Systems for marine vessels.
Searchin
Israel
Not public at this time.
SherpaDesk
USA – Georgia
The complete help desk, time tracking and invoicing solution for professional service organizations.
Sonic Bloom
USA – Massachusetts
We’re bringing the emotional impact of music to software-driven experiences on the web and beyond.
Spaces to Go
USA – Massachusetts
Spaces to Go is the airbnb for recreational space. Our platform turns idle athletic space into cash for private rec facility owners.
Spero Devices, Inc.
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Spots
USA – Massachusetts
Spots is a real-time engagement platform that connects businesses and customers.
StreetInfoTech LLC
USA – Massachusetts
ParkWise is a crowd-sourcing mobile app providing drivers with real-time info about free and soon-to-be free street parking spots nearby.
Suspect Technologies
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
TapLink
USA – Massachusetts
TapLink’s technology, called “blind hashing” is a completely new way to secure passwords, and protect customer data.
The NewsCoin
USA – North Carolina
The NewsCoin is a micropayments aggregator for media companies, using blockchain technology to allow direct monetization of pageviews.
VRDoodler
USA – Massachusetts
VRDoodler is a browser-based 3D drawing platform that offers low-level content creation for Virtual Reality.
Water Hero
USA – Massachusetts
Plumbing catastrophe avoidance for everyone. Stops pipe bursts & small costly plumbing leaks. SmartPhone controlled & easy to install.
WERK
USA – New York
WERK is a platform of innovative, career advancing, flexible work arrangements from top companies for professional women.
Wise Systems
USA – Massachusetts
Wise Systems provides enterprise software to help companies make realtime delivery decisions.
Social Impact
Apprendis
USA – Massachusetts
Apprendis gives educators a GPS on kids’ science and critical thinking skills as they experiment with virtual labs.
Donii
USA – Massachusetts
Donii is the smart city’s answer to alleviating material need. We make it easy to donate stuff directly to the people who need it most.
Health Advocacy Innovations, Inc
USA – Massachusetts
Solving neglected global health issues in a low-tech, high impact way.
Joulez
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Movia Robotics LLC
USA – Connecticut
Movia provides collaborative robotics for a variety of markets, assistive teaching of Special Ed, STEM and other service areas.
SaveOhno.org
USA – Massachusetts
SaveOhno.org is a gamified platform for environmental activism. Help shape your great granddaughter’s future by taking action today.
Skylight Games
USA – Massachusetts
Skylight Games is a social enterprise aiming to inspire a love of learning through play. Lyriko: Learn Languages with Music is our first app.
Solstice
USA – Massachusetts
Solstice grows the market for clean energy by providing community-shared solar power to Americans that cannot install it on their own roof.
SpectrumVR
USA – Massachusetts
Not public at this time.
Technologies Against Assault (TAA)
USA – Rhode Island
Not public at this time.
Tembo Education
USA – Florida
Tembo created a Home Educator network using mobile phones to educate 0-6 year old children in slums.
The Happy Hope Factory
USA – Massachusetts
The Happy Hope Factory, 501c3 charity, inspires communities nationwide to share HOPE packaging “Happy Hope Bags” for hospitalized children.
Ubuntu Capital
USA – Massachusetts
Ubuntu Capital is a marketplace for contract-based services; we facilitate, document, and grow the informal economy in urban Africa.
WeThrive
USA – California
An entrepreneurial mentoring program pairing college students with middle school and high school students of low-income households.
