BRIDGEWATER – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration and the MassCyberCenter at the MassTech Collaborative announced two new initiatives to promote the development of a diverse cybersecurity workforce and improve local cyber resiliency in the Commonwealth, supported by over $3.7 million in state grants. The announcements were made during the 6th Massachusetts Cybersecurity Forum at Bridgewater State University, which brought together 100 executives from companies, municipalities, and leading universities.
BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration yesterday announced a new $820,000 innovation grant to UMass Boston from the Seaport Economic Council (SEC), which will invest in new research and development tools on the waterfront campus and to spur engagement with innovative BlueTech startups. The SEC’s Innovation Grant program, managed by the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), will also boost increased engagement between UMass Boston and the local BlueTech community through an expanded partnership with Boston-based SeaAhead, an organization launched in 2018 to support startups focused on innovation and sustainability in the world’s oceans.
WESTBOROUGH – The Innovation Institute at the MassTech Collaborative has awarded four $25,000 awards from the Strong Entrepreneur Ecosystems program, grants that will boost efforts to grow sustainable startup ecosystems across Massachusetts. The grants, awarded in August, are designed as ‘strategic planning’ awards, which have allowed the lead organizations to convene advisory groups of local entrepreneurs and key ecosystem stakeholders to understand the unique needs of entrepreneurs in their regions, map existing entrepreneurial resources, and develop a strategic plan to address ecosystem gaps and increase access to startup resources.
BOSTON, MASS. – The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has officially declared October as ‘Massachusetts Cybersecurity Month,’ issuing an official proclamation signed by Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. Governor Baker also taped a video message to celebrate the Month, and spotlighted the importance of cybersecurity to “citizens and communities throughout Massachusetts…businesses, schools, government agencies, and so many more organizations” that rely on safe and secure connections.
On Friday, September 16th, the second Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up attracted over 1,000 attendees to Polar Park, the home of the Worcester Red Sox, to celebrate the Commonwealth’s manufacturing sector. The day-long event featured hands-on STEM challenges for students, plus special sessions on robotics in manufacturing, award presentations, and a startup pitch competition.
BURLINGTON, MASS. – On Wednesday, September 7th, the Baker-Polito Administration visited Northeastern University’s Innovation Campus in Burlington for the announcement of a new $3.5 million grant for the Experiential Quantum Advancement Laboratories (EQUAL), a nearly $10 million project to advance the emerging quantum sensing and related technology sectors in the state. The Northeastern-led project will establish new partnerships and leverage several ongoing ones with academic institutions and industry partners. The aim is to develop next-generation quantum technologies, boost training in quantum information science and engineering for students and workers, and establish greater partnerships among industry and government around quantum sensing and related technologies.
BOSTON – Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy joined leaders from the tech and innovation sector at Rapid7 in Boston today for the announcement of three new grants from the Commonwealth’s Tech Talent Diversity Initiative, an effort aimed at boosting diversity hiring and training opportunities for diverse candidates. The three grants, totaling $494,947, were awarded to Hack.Diversity in Boston, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology in Boston, and Tech Foundry in Springfield.
Burlington — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced a new grant of $681,631 to Burlington’s SiPhox Inc. to support the development of a first-of-its-kind facility that will mass-produce pluggable photonic biochips, boosting output from 100 biochips per month to roughly 5,000 per month to help meet growing demand from biotech verticals such as distributed diagnostics, drug discovery, and vaccine development.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. – The Baker-Polito Administration joined healthcare and technology leaders to celebrate the legacy of the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative, a statewide effort launched in January 2016, and to celebrate the finale of the 2nd Massachusetts Digital Health COVID-19 Recovery Challenge, a pitch competition supported by the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
BOSTON – The echoes of the COVID-19 global health crisis were apparent in the latest edition of The Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, a report that tracks the strength of the Commonwealth’s tech and innovation sectors. Even with net job losses in nine of 11 key tech sectors in 2020, the Massachusetts tech and innovation economy continued to be a top state in terms of total R&D investment ($36 billion in 2018, second only to California), record venture capital investment ($15.8 billion in 2020), and increased investment in higher education per student (up 29.4 percent since 2015).
