Andrew Zaleski writes for CNBC about the thriving robotics industry in Massachusetts, highlighting the success of MIT startups like iRobot and Boston Dynamics. "There's a domain expertise in Massachusetts that's around how you make these robots useful, practical and affordable," explains Russ Campanello of iRobot.
Wall Street Journal reporter Timothy Hay writes about the MIT Hacking Medicine program, a new MIT spin out that aims to examine whether digital technologies have made people healthier. Hay explains that the institute will produce “white papers that offer guidelines on evaluating digital-health programs.”
Scott Kirsner writes for BetaBoston about 24M Technologies, a company co-founded by Professor Yet-Ming Chiang that has produced a safer, cheaper, and more durable lithium-ion battery. “We’re reinventing the lithium ion battery,” says Chiang. “The cost of the product is too high, and the manufacturing process is too complex.”
Scott Kirsner writes for BetaBoston about 24M Technologies, a company co-founded by Professor Yet-Ming Chiang that has produced a safer, cheaper, and more durable lithium-ion battery. “We’re reinventing the lithium ion battery,” says Chiang. “The cost of the product is too high, and the manufacturing process is too complex.”
Janelle Nanos reports for BetaBoston about MIT startup Changing Environments and their solar-powered Soofa public benches that can be used to charge phones or other personal electronics. The Soofa team is launching “an early adopter program for cities and municipalities interested in their smart seating,” Nanos explains.
Nico Pitney writes for The Huffington Post about GiveDirectly, a charity founded by MIT graduate students that has found success combating poverty by providing direct cash transfers to low-income households in the developing world: “Supporters believe that cash transfers should now be the standard against which the usefulness of other programs are measured,” Pitney explains.
Cybersecurity Factory, an accelerator founded by two MIT graduate students and Highland Capital, recently announced the winning teams who have been accepted into the pilot program, reports Janelle Nanos for BetaBoston. Nanos explains that the goal of Cybersecurity Factory is to “help founders overcome the myriad challenges they often face as they try to get cybersecurity companies off the ground.”
BetaBoston reporter Dan Adams speaks with Yoel Fink, director of RLE, about the Translational Fellows Program, an initiative that provides postdocs an opportunity to commercialize technologies they developed at MIT. Fink explains that the goal of the program is to empower postdocs, “not just to find a job in an industry, but to create an industry.”
A group of MIT graduates has launched a new startup dedicated to making it easier for people to donate to charity, reports Lauren Landry for Boston Magazine. “We’re making it easier to donate to charity,” says alumnus Charles Huang. “You shouldn’t have to think about how to do it, just why.”
Team Raptor Maps received the top prize in MIT’s annual $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. Founded by three MIT students, Raptor Maps “proposes to use camera-carrying drones to survey farmland and pinpoint damage before pests and diseases can decimate crops.”
OptiBit, a startup that aims to make data centers more energy efficient, won this year’s MIT Clean Energy Prize, reports Vijee Venkatraman for BetaBoston. The OptiBit team explains that their technology offers “10 times more throughput, two times lower latency, and 95 percent less energy use” compared to copper-based chips.
BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman writes about the history of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. Subbaraman writes that the competition “pioneered the college pitch contest, a style that now dominates the startup landscape.”
Lindsay Kalter writes for The Boston Herald about PicnicHealth, a California-based startup founded by MIT alumnus Troy Astorino that allows patients to store all their medical records in one spot. One day “patients will really have ownership of their own medical info and have it all in one place,” said Astorino.
Jon Christian of The Boston Globe reports that MIT startup Accion Systems has developed a thruster technology that will allow satellites to adjust their orbits. “Eventually, we hope to be able to scale up the performance to address the really large, school bus-size satellites,” explains Accion co-founder and MIT alumna Natalya Brikner.
In an article for BetaBoston, Janelle Nanos writes about Jana, an MIT startup that allows mobile phone users in developing countries to access the Internet for free. “We’re empowering people with connectivity and we’re not limiting how they’re using that connectivity,” explains Jana founder and MIT alumnus Nathan Eagle.