MassChallenge Boston Awards $1.5M in Zero-Equity Prizes to Top Startups
MassChallenge Boston Awards $1.5M in Zero-Equity Prizes to Top Startups
Awards celebrate winning companies, the impact of ecosystem-wide collaboration, and new global milestones for the organization
BOSTON, NOV 2 - MassChallenge™, the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet, tonight awarded more than $1 million in zero-equity prizes to 16 of the highest-impact startups from the 2016 MassChallenge Boston accelerator program. In addition to this funding, CASIS & Boeing also allocated $500,000 to three startups to fund research projects on the International Space Station.
The seventh-annual MassChallenge Boston Awards brought together more than 1,500 leaders and supporters from the Boston entrepreneurial community to celebrate the MassChallenge entrepreneurs at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The night also featured a showcase of the 128-startup cohort, on-stage pitches from the top 26 companies, and speeches from Governor Charlie Baker and Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who keynoted the event.
“I’m so proud to announce this year’s winning startups, which have leveraged our global network of resources, mentors, partners, and more to truly change the world,” said Scott Bailey, Managing Director of MassChallenge Boston. “Tonight is not only a celebration of them, but of all of our startups and key players across the ecosystem who have made a commitment to work together in order to create enormous impact.”
MassChallenge also celebrated passing a milestone of accelerating over 1,000 alumni, bringing the total to 1,211. In total, these 1,211 startups have raised over $1.8 billion in funding, generated over $700 million in revenue, and created 60,000 direct and indirect jobs. Notable alumni include Gingko Bioworks (Boston, 2010), Handy (Boston, 2012), Localytics (Boston, 2010), Cambridge Bioaugmentation Systems (UK, 2015), and Turo (Boston, 2010).
“We have come a long way since 2010 when we ran our first accelerator in Boston,” said John Harthorne, Founder and CEO of MassChallenge. “We now have accelerators in five countries and growing, and have helped accelerate over 1,200 startups. They are truly making an impact on the world – addressing some of the world’s biggest problems through innovation and creating jobs of the future. This is only the beginning and I’m excited to watch what our alumni continue to accomplish in the years to come.”
The MassChallenge Boston Awards marks the end of a high-growth year in Boston. In addition to welcoming the 128-startup cohort in June (from more than 1,700 applications -- our most competitive to date), MassChallenge also launched two new initiatives with the support of its generous partners. PULSE@MassChallenge brings a startup-friendly approach to accelerating digital health innovations, while the Newton Innovation Center offers a community-driven collaborative workspace to catalyze a global startup renaissance, starting on a local scale.
MassChallenge also saw continued growth for MADE@MassChallenge, its startup-friendly R&D lab. Since launching in 2015, MADE@MassChallenge has helped 64 startups from the Boston accelerator bring their ideas to life for zero equity, including 33% of this year’s cohort.
$100K Diamond Winners
Adhesys Medical
USA - Texas | Healthcare/Life Sciences
Next generation surgical glues based on polyurethane: Fast, strong flexible and biodegradable it can be used in unprecedented surgeries
http://www.adhesys-medical.com/
EYL
Korea | High Tech
Secures Internet of Things with an affordable micro quantum random number generator using radioisotope to replace less secure software.
http://www.eylpartners.com/
TellusLabs
USA - Massachusetts | General
Applied science company that turns satellite imagery and other Earth data into the basis for better decisions.
http://www.telluslabs.com/
