United States
Boston
"Boston's ecosystem is a force to be reckoned with. Fueled by top-tier universities, experienced entrepreneurs, and a supportive community, it's no surprise it continues to produce innovative startups and attract significant funding."
Highlights
With its incredible strength in Life Sciences and Robotics and world-leading universities, Boston is a startup powerhouse. Boston's government has a reputation for being startup- and innovation-friendly, and there is a range of incubators and accelerators in the city. The ecosystem is consistently among the global leaders in the GSER rankings, a result of its strong talent, funding, and experience, among other factors.
Although the tech sector as a whole saw a decline in venture capital investment in 2022, several Boston startups pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars, including renewable energy company Longroad Energy’s $500 million raise, battery company Form Energy’s $450 million Series E, and crypto company Circle’s $400 million in funding. Volition Capital closed its $675 million Volition Capital Fund V in January 2023.
The Boston ecosystem is notable for its friendliness to diverse founders. In January 2023, female and Latinx-founded VC firm Mendoza Ventures secured the first close on its third fund at $100 million to invest in early growth-stage startups with diverse teams. VC firm Visible Hands, which is focused on otherwise often overlooked founders, kicked off its first fund with $10.5 million. In January 2023, MassChallenge, in partnership with MITRE, announced a new cohort of under-represented founders participating in the MITRE Social Innovation Mentorship Program.
The 2022 MIT Startup Ecosystem Conference was held in May, and Startup Boston Week happened in September 2022. RESOLVE: The MassChallenge 2023 Awards took place in February 2023, and Women in Tech Boston is scheduled for October.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
Sub-Sector Strengths
Life Sciences
Despite a general slowdown in VC funding, the 2022 Massachusetts-based biopharma companies had their second best fundraising year ever, raising a total of $8.72 billion. A Massachusetts Life Sciences tax program provides tax incentives for expansion and job creation. CARB-X, a not-for-profit investment firm led by Boston University, supports companies through the early stages of product development. Biotech company Biofourmis raised a $320 million Series D in July 2022. In January 2023, genomic medicines company Ensoma raised $85 million.
AI, Big Data & Analytics
Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics are investing $424 million to establish an AI research center, the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, in Cambridge. AI-powered contract management platform LinkSquares was named to Forbes' Next Billion-Dollar Startups list for 2022. It also won Best Natural Language Generation Platform in the AI Breakthrough Awards in 2022. In June 2022 AI-powered discovery experience platform Zoovu raised a $169 million Series C.
Fintech
Home to many financial institutions, hedge funds, and private equity firms, Boston has both a robust financial industry and lively Fintech ecosystem. In March 2022, the Mass Fintech Hub established an advisory board of leaders from across the state and also announced a new Fintech Forum, career fair, and Fintech Bootcamp. In April 2022, Circle Internet Financial, raised $400 million in funding.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Boston
Educated Talent
Home to some of the best universities in the world, Boston offers companies a rich pool of educated talent. There are over 100 colleges and universities in the area, including MIT, Tufts, Northeastern, Boston College, and Harvard. Massachusetts has the highest concentration of individuals with bachelor’s and master’s degrees of any U.S. state. Boston ranked #7 in CBRE’s 2022 Scoring Tech Talent report.
Support & Mentorship
With its large, established ecosystem, Boston offers founders a vibrant community and a host of startup-focused events. SCORE Boston provides free business workshops and business mentoring from experienced advisors. Startup Boston events are a platform through which innovators can learn from one another, build partnerships, and strengthen ties.
Convenient Location
One of Boston’s greatest strengths is its accessibility. Travelers can get to major business hubs New York and London with ease, making the city an ideal base for entrepreneurs managing multiple teams and time zones.
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