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The Engine announced the first seven companies in its program this week, launching its unique investing experiment in “Tough Tech."

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• C2Sense
• Form Energy
• Suono Bio
• Via Separations
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If you think that too many VCs these days are playing it safe and only looking to back sure bets rather than moonshots and more ambitious ventures.

The Engine announced its first batch of seven investments on Tuesday, and revealed that it has raised $200 million, with plans to back 40 to 50 Tough Tech companies over the next few years.

Boston’s notoriously unfriendly drivers and chaotic roads may be the perfect testing ground for a fundamentally different kind of self-driving car.

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• ISEE

The Engine, an incubator and science and technology start-up accelerator founded last year by MIT, released Tuesday the names of the first seven companies it will invest in. The startups work in a broad range of fields, from biotechnology to renewable energy.

The C-Suite: Katie Rae, President and CEO of The Engine on raising $200m from investors and using the fund to finance its first seven companies.

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There’s often a disconnect between the pace at which investors want to recoup their money and the long lead time that tech companies in sectors like biotech and energy need to generate consistent revenue. We're here to change that.

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• Katie Rae

The Engine has opened its doors — and has announced its initial seven investments in areas ranging from alternative energy to space communications.

Companies

• C2Sense

When researchers genetically engineer bacteria or yeast to solve a problem, one of the first steps can be the hardest: getting new DNA into a cell.

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• Kytopen

A company that's come up with a way to deliver drugs using ultrasounds just became the first biotech to get funding from MIT's new $200 million* venture fund.

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• Suono Bio

Seven startups scored investments from an MIT initiative meant to secure funding for “breakthrough ideas” to develop technology in areas such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy and data obtained from outer space.

The Boston Globe talks to the founders of The Engine's first group of portfolio companies.

The Engine announced the first seven companies in its program, kicking off an ambitious experiment in patient investing.

MIT’s grand experiment in high-tech startup investing has officially begun.

If you think that too many VCs these days are playing it safe and only looking to back sure bets rather than moonshots and more ambitious ventures, take a look over at what's going on in Boston.

A venture fund started by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called The Engine has financed its first seven companies after raising $200m from investors.

The MIT-powered investment fund and venture firm The Engine is up and running, with its first seven investments in startups ranging from aerospace to genetic engineering.

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• Via Separations

People

• Katie Rae

A VC fund backed by MIT has raised $200m to support startup tech that can be a tough sell to investors — projects that traditional VC firms consider too risky.

People

• Katie Rae

If you think that too many VCs these days are playing it safe and only looking to back sure bets rather than moonshots and more ambitious ventures, take a look over at what’s going on in Boston.

The Engine named Katie Rae, a veteran tech innovator, entrepreneur, and investor, as its president and CEO and as managing partner of its first investment fund.

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• Katie Rae

“At MIT, it is our duty to bring transformative innovation to the world,” President Reif said at launch event for new enterprise.

Read President L. Rafael Reif’s op-ed in the Boston Globe introducing The Engine.