Massachussetts startups keep growing

NPA Insights, August 2024

Hi all!

OpenAI is about to release its own search engine in a direct challenge to Google. Why google your concerning health symptoms when you can “SearchGPT” them?

Jokes aside, Google should be worried, as Chatgpt and other AI solutions can offer direct, tailored answers based on your specific needs and context — without ads and irrelevant results.

Also, with “SearchGPT”, you can do follow-up questions and engage in deeper discussions.

I'm curious to see the results and how Google will adapt!

The Manufacturing PMI Index contracted for the fourth consecutive month in July, with 46.8%, down 1.7% points compared to June’s reading.

The New Orders and the Production index remained in contraction territory.

The Backlog of Orders remained the same as in June.

Boston was selected to expand access to curbside EV charging.

itselectric, an electric vehicle curbside charging company, just closed a contract to install more EV chargers and promote EVs in the Boston and greater Boston area.

The company will equitably deploy hundreds of chargers over the next five years, with the opportunity to deploy more across the Boston area as utilization grows. The chargers are part of the city's Zero-Emission Vehicle Roadmap, established in 2020, a set of policy goals that aims to increase electric vehicle adoption.

The CrowdStrike software bug that crashed Microsoft operating systems and caused the largest IT outage in history caused disruptions at U.S. and global ports, with highly complex air freight systems suffering the heaviest hit, facing days and weeks to recover.

Rise of the Restaurant Robots: Chipotle, Sweetgreen and others bet on automation. Chains experiment with machine helpers like Flippy, Chippy and Autocado as they face increasing labor costs.

After a slow June, VC funding for Boston startups grew in July, with $744.4 million raised – mostly for the medical startups.

Check out all the Mass. company's July mergers and acquisitions.

Flux Marine has introduced a new center console boat package to its lineup to further help electrify the industry.

Farmblox raised $2.5 million. The startup created a solar-powered connected monitor that allows farmers to track things like soil moisture levels and water waste in a less-manual way.

The information is translated back to an AI-powered automation platform that farmers can check from anywhere.

Perceptive, a Boston based startup, announced the completion of the world’s first fully automated dental procedure on a human using its advanced robotic dentistry system. Perceptive has raised $30 million in funding to date, including from Mark Zuckerberg’s dad.

2024 Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up on September 25: Connect with industry leaders and explore cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of manufacturing. Register here.

Startup Boston Week is back from September 9-13. There are fifteen specialized tracks where you can learn and network with like-minded people and investors. Sign-up here.

In our July survey, we asked whether you use ridesharing/delivery services and your opinion on their employment status.

With 22.2%, the majority of our respondents said that yes, they use rideshare/delivery regularly.

Real-time decision-making is crucial for maintaining efficiency, quality, and competitiveness in manufacturing and engineering. Leveraging generative AI in these sectors offers transformative potential, enabling faster and more informed decisions.

However, despite its promising benefits, there are concerns about adopting this technology. 

So we'd like to know:



Researchers at MIT developed a system that uses Artificial Intelligence to help predict future risk of developing breast cancer. TheRealPowerOfArtificialIntelligence

(Source: CNN)

Robots revolutionize construction: a new era of building efficiency and safety. From drilling to roofing: how cutting-edge robotics are transforming job sites and collaborating with human workers. AtAJobSiteNearYou

(Source: Architect Magazine)

A robot gets a face of living ‘skin’ that allows it to smile. DataFromStarTrekIsEnvious

(Source: NPR)