Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E)

Evan Ehrenberg PhD '16 co-founded Waterlily, a company that “uses artificial intelligence to predict a family’s future long-term care needs and costs” with the right care and financial planning, reports Mary Ann Azevedo for TechCrunch. “Ehrenberg — who had previously founded and sold Clara Health — helped with early research and was struck by the industry’s response,” writes Azevedo. “Curious, he tested the platform and was shocked by his long-term care predictions — so much so that he changed his diet, hired a personal trainer, and updated his financial plans.” 

Georgina Campbell Flatter SM '11 has been named the chief executive of Greentown Labs, the “nation’s largest clean-tech incubator,” reports Jon Chesto for The Boston Globe. “This is a pretty critical time for energy and climate, and we all need to lean in,” says Flatter. 

Forbes reporter Nina Bambysheva spotlights Michael Saylor '87 and his professional career after co-founding MicroStrategy and his company’s approach to investing in Bitcoin. “We adopted bitcoin out of frustration and desperation, and then it became an opportunity, and then it became a strategy, and then it became an identity, and then it became a mission,” says Saylor. 

Former postdoctoral associate Wen Shuhao and postdoctoral fellows Ma Jian and Lai Lipeng co-founded Xtalpi, a biotech startup that “uses AI and quantum physics-based calculations to find suitable structures that are fit for drug making,” reports Zinnia Lee for Forbes. The company plans to expand their technology to other industries such as solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. 

Prof. Desirée Plata speaks with C&EN reporter Prachi Patel about her work “trying to make our chemical processes and industries compatible with human and ecological health.” Says Plata of what she is most proud of in her work: “As professors, we produce papers and patents, but people are the most important thing we produce. The faculty of the world are training the next generation of researchers. There’s a perception right now that AI is going to solve all of our problems, but it cannot without good physical science information. We need a trained workforce. We need patient chemists who want to solve important problems.”

Shiv Bhakta MBA '24, SM '24 and Richard Swartwout SM '18, PhD '21 co-founded Active Surfaces, a solar tech company that has developed “a new kind of solar collector so thin and flexible it can be attached to anything under the sun,” reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “The company prints solar cells onto a plastic sheet, using methods not too different from those used to print newspapers,” explains Bray. “The resulting cells can generate electric power nearly as efficiently as today’s heavy, thick silicon panels.” 

Drew Houston '06, founder and CEO of Dropbox, speaks with NBC Boston reporter Ashton Jackson about his work creating and developing the cloud storage platform. "I started Dropbox more out of just personal frustration," says Houston. "It really felt like something only I was super interested in as far as file syncing, and focusing on one customer, which was myself." 

Ministry of Supply, a clothing brand founded by MIT alumni, has developed a machine-washable, heated jacket, reports Rebecca Barker for Fast Company. “The issue with a lot of heated garments is that they want you to know that they’re heated garments,” says co-founder Gihan Amarasiriwardena '11. “The controller is on the outside, for example, they’re often times made out of kind of cheap shell material, so it doesn’t look as high quality. We think of the heating system as a secondary element, because we think the design of the garment can stand on its own.”

Prof. Pierre Azoulay speaks with Next Avenue reporter Chris Taylor about the issues associated with the stereotypical image of an entrepreneur. "People thinking about founding a company might select themselves out of entrepreneurship, because they feel they don't conform to what is expected," says Azoulay. "My advice is, don't select yourselves out. You can found a firm at any age, and great companies are being founded every day by middle-aged people."

NeuroBionics, an MIT spinoff, has developed bioelectric fibers that could deliver neuromodulation therapy aimed at helping people who live with neurological conditions like depression, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease, reports Connie Loizos for TechCrunch. “The fibers are powered by a fairly standard implantable battery that’s shaped like an AirPod case, designed to last five to 10 years, and is used by other medical device makers for spinal cord stimulation, among other things,” writes Loizos. 

Alumnus Andrew Clare has been named CEO of Elory Air, an aircraft company that has developed an “autonomous and hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft,” reports Ed Garsten for Forbes.  “My big goal on the technical side for the company is flight envelope expansion as well as autonomous capability expansion of our full-scale aircraft,” Clare explains. “You will see in the coming months that we will start to do full mission envelope work with our full-scale aircraft.”

MIT Profs. Angela Belcher, Emery Brown, Paula Hammond and Feng Zhang have been honored with National Medals of Science and Technology, reports Michael T. Neitzel for Forbes. Additionally, R. Lawrence Edwards '76 received a National Medal of Science and Noubar Afeyan PhD '87, a member of the MIT Corporation, accepted a National Medal on behalf of Moderna. The recipients have been awarded “the nation’s highest honors for exemplary achievements and leadership in science and technology,” explains Neitzel. 

Newsweek reporter Tom Howarth spotlights MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems as they announced plans to “build the world's first grid-scale commercial nuclear fusion power plant” in Virginia. “The plant is expected to generate 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 150,000 homes or large industrial facilities,” writes Howarth. 

In a wide-ranging interview with NHK (broadcast in Japanese), President Sally Kornbluth discusses MIT’s innovation ecosystem, the MIT Climate Project and how MIT faculty work to help nurture their students’ creativity. "We give students the opportunity to research real-world projects and see their impact on society," says Kornbluth. “We should focus on bringing out the creativity of students, their individual creativity. Almost everyone you meet at a place like MIT wants to start a company. Nurturing this kind of talent is essential in the long run to the incredible success we see at American universities.” 

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinoff, plans to build “the nation’s first grid-scale fusion power plant in Virginia by the early 2030s,” reports Laura Vozzella and Gregory S. Schneider for The Washington Post. “Fusion is a long-sought source of power that can generate almost limitless energy by combining atomic nuclei,” they write. “It is unlike fission, the more common form of nuclear energy, in which the nucleus is split, and which generates large amounts of radioactive waste.”