WESTBOROUGH, MASS. — Eight companies from across Massachusetts have been selected as finalists for the COVID-19 Health & Safety Challenge, the third in a series of innovation pitch competitions organized by the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) and Lever, Inc. to identify and grow innovations to slow the spread of COVID-19.
WESTBOROUGH – On Friday, August 21, a panel of expert judges declared CareAline Products of Danvers the winner of the second COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge, a competition focused on companies developing innovations that will help Massachusetts in its reopening processes. The Challenge featured pitches from nine established Massachusetts companies, who pitched their designs and business plans aimed at addressing the ongoing public health challenge.
CareAline Products is producing a line of reusable, FDA registered hospital gowns for Level 1 and 2 usage. CareAline received a $25,000 award to support their goal. The reusable nature of the gowns will help reduce the amount of waste generated by the increase in PPE use during the pandemic. The company has also begun production of a line of masks.
BOSTON — The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, together with key thought leaders from the region, have launched a new training program on blockchain technology targeted at government innovators, demonstrating the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting the blockchain revolution.
WESTBOROUGH - On Friday, July 24, 2020, a panel of expert judges declared Speakeasy Travel Supply of Cape Cod the winner of the first COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge, a competition focused on companies pivoting operations to produce general-use face masks. The Challenge featured pitches from 11 established Massachusetts companies, who pitched their designs and business plans aimed at addressing the ongoing public health challenge.
WESTBOROUGH, MA – Today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts launched a new project to boost the number of homegrown companies able to manufacture personal protective equipment or PPE, a critical need in the response to the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge will be managed by Lever, a North Adams-based business accelerator and innovation support organization that will activate, connect, and focus companies as they pivot production capabilities to produce the materials necessary to combat the pandemic. The new effort will be supported by a $250,000 grant from the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the organization managing the Massachusetts Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT).
BOSTON - May 21, 2020 —Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced more than $9.5 million in grants to boost production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical materials needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Reopening Massachusetts plan. The new awards were made through the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (M-ERT) to 15 grantees, including Massachusetts manufacturers, that are producing needed items such as masks, gowns, ventilators, swabs, and testing materials, and the capacity to test them.
WESTBOROUGH – In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at the MassTech Collaborative and KCST USA, the operator of the Commonwealth-owned MassBroadband 123 fiber optic network, are working with local internet service providers (ISPs) to offer new Wifi hotspots to municipalities that lack broadband access. Built off of the MassBroadband 123 network, this new service offers each unserved community a temporary 250 Megabit per second wireless hotspot, free of any monthly charge. This will allow unserved communities that do not have a completed broadband project to increase wireless broadband access for residents and students impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
On Friday, February 14th, leaders of the M2I2 program traveled to Westfield to tour Peerless Precision, a small, woman-owned company that has benefitted from the Commonwealth’s grant program for advanced manufacturers.
The visit to Peerless included State Senator Eric Lesser, co-chair of the Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus; Carolyn Kirk, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative; and M2I2 program managers Ira Moskowitz and Farhad Vazehgoo. The facility tour was led by Kristin Carlson, President of Peerless Precision, a 30-employee shop that manufactures precision machined parts for the aerospace, defense, and medical devices industries, serving clients such as FLIR Systems, Eaton Aerospace, Aircraft Component Design, Inc., Zygo Corporation, and others. Many of the components manufactured are used in advanced fuel and engine systems, as well as high-tech thermal imaging gear.
PRINCETON – Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito today joined executives from Charter Communications, Inc., Princeton town officials and residents, state and federal officials, and executives from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at MassTech Collaborative to celebrate the impact of the town’s new Charter-constructed broadband network. During a roundtable discussion with local leaders and residents, Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito heard about the impact that the increased internet connectivity is having on the community, including improvements for small business owners, public safety, and education.
SPRINGFIELD — Today, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined Assistant Secretary of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship for the Commonwealth Damon Cox, MassTech Executive Director Carolyn Kirk, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, Senator Eric Lesser, Representative and Chair of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC) Carlos González, and other state and local leaders to announce the inaugural grant recipients from the Tech Talent Diversity Initiative, an effort aimed at boosting diversity in the Commonwealth’s technology and innovation sectors. The two competitive grants, totaling $469,234, were awarded to Tech Foundry of Springfield and to the New England Venture Capital Association’s Hack.Diversity program based in Boston, both of which are programs with track records of success in training and advancing diverse candidates into technology jobs.
