News

Cellino Biotech has concluded a $16 million seed financing round that will further advance technology that ultimately seeks to generate autologous induced pluripotent stem cells at scale.

Companies

• Cellino

Boston Metal, which previously raised $20 million back in 2019, uses a process called molten oxide electrolysis (“MOE”) to make steel alloys — and eventually emissions-free steel.

Companies

• Boston Metal

In a society where speed is of the essence, startups are tackling large, urgent problems that quick fixes can’t solve.

The Engine has completed a $230-million funding round, including Harvard as an important new partner in the venture, and bringing its total capital commitments to $435 million.

The Engine has raised $230 million toward the firm’s second fund, which on top of the firm’s first fund brings it to a total of $435 million under management.

During a year when venture capital firms are chasing hyped software and artificial intelligence startups more than ever, Harvard University is joining MIT to invest in less-sexy — and research heavy — companies aiming to fix more existential problems.

The Engine has raised $230 million in its second round of funding, and will begin making investments in additional startups focused on conceiving and commercializing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

WoHo (short for “World Home”) is trying to rethink how to construct a modern building by creating more flexible “components” that can be connected together to create a structure.

Companies

• WoHo

New peer-reviewed papers predict SPARC, a compact fusion device designed and built by Commonwealth Fusion Systems and MIT will achieve net energy from fusion.

Companies

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Zapata Computing has released software designed to make it easier for companies to use algorithms invented for quantum computing to improve business processes.

Companies

• Zapata AI [NASDAQ: ZPTA]

At WIRED25, Arlan Hamilton and Katie Rae shared their insights on investing in companies that help humanity, and what's stopping other organizations from doing the same.

People

• Katie Rae

Michael Kosta talks to Biobot Analytics co-founder Newsha Ghaeli about her company's national campaign to fight America's coronavirus pandemic by studying samples of human excrement.

Companies

• Biobot Analytics

Sericulture startup Mori raises $12m Series A to preserve food with silk.

Companies

• Mori

The Engine had companies working on COVID-related research, and continued to stay open as an essential business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Katie Rae shares that The Engine is “rewriting some of our policies to be more proactive, to hold ourselves to account there” and holding open forums with its community of founders.

People

• Katie Rae

About 400 U.S. wastewater-treatment facilities have turned to Biobot Analytics for help assessing the pandemic’s prevalence.

Companies

• Biobot Analytics

Quaise developed a millimeter wave drilling technology to access deep geothermal energy and raised $6 million in seed funding.

Companies

• Quaise

Mori (formerly Cambridge Crops) develops an edible, imperceptible coating that might replace plastic packaging to preserve meats and produce.

Companies

• Mori

Biobot has been gathering wastewater from around the country and analyzing it for the coronavirus.

Companies

• Biobot Analytics

With coronavirus testing still lagging behind targets, health officials are searching for other ways to assess the spread of the outbreak. One possibility? Looking at what we flush.

Companies

• Biobot Analytics

Minnesota utility Great River Energy will use new storage technology from the Bill Gates-backed startup to replace coal power with dispatchable wind.

Companies

• Form Energy

Dr. Mariana Matus, co-founder and CEO of Biobot, joins “Squawk Alley” to discuss how her company is testing wastewater to track the spread of coronavirus.

Companies

• Biobot Analytics

General Partner Ann Dewitt recently shared her thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on the VC and tech communities.

People

• Ann DeWitt

The Engine is a bright spot in the world of investing.

Companies

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems

People

• Ann DeWitt

Lilac Solutions and the Australian company Controlled Thermal Resources announced they’re partnering to develop a lithium-extraction facility at the Salton Sea.

Companies

• Lilac Solutions

Congratulations To Zapata Computing — named a key player in the breakthrough technology of “quantum supremacy” by MIT Technology Review!

Companies

• Zapata AI [NASDAQ: ZPTA]

Financial Times’ John Thornhill interviews Katie Rae to learn more about The Engine’s unique venture model for investing in Tough Tech companies.

People

• Katie Rae

If you happen to bump into Bill Gates or Tim Cook in Central Square, odds are good that they’re heading to The Engine, writes Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner in his profile about the firm.

Companies

• Boston Metal
• Syzygy Plasmonics
• Cellino
• Form Energy
• Mori
• Commonwealth Fusion Systems

People

• Katie Rae

Oakland-based Lilac Solutions says its ion exchange technology will enable a “massive increase in lithium supply needed for electric vehicles” from brine-based deposits.

Companies

• Lilac Solutions

Lilac Solutions has developed a process for extracting lithium that drastically cuts water use, writes Bloomberg.

Companies

• Lilac Solutions