Mass High Tech News
Boston startup uses AI-powered headsets to bring historical figures to life
The company works with tourism groups in places from Lexington to Venice and can now launch headsets at a new location within a couple of months, compared with over a year when it first started.
Cambridge robotics startup hits $1.1B valuation with Toyota, Nvidia backing
The Cambridge company is led by MIT professor Russ Tedrake and named after Walden Pond in Concord. Toyota Motor Corp. and Nvidia co-led the funding round.
Two cybersecurity firms cut jobs as AI drives tech layoffs
Nearly a third of all U.S. job cuts announced this year happened in the tech space, according to a report released on July 1.
Boston marketing tech firm taps CyberArk veteran as CFO
Erica Smith joins from CyberArk Software, the Newton cybersecurity firm acquired by Palo Alto Networks last year. She starts Sept. 1.
The National Beat: A new path to payday for startups
Read about a new path to payday for startup founders who are keeping their companies private longer. Plus, another industry hub for AI companies is emerging outside of Silicon Valley.
Two Massachusetts biotechs team up to bring American chestnut trees back from extinction
A fungus in the early 1900s killed most of what was once the most common tree in Eastern forests. The partnership aims to restore the American chestnut at scale.
The National Observer: What are 'AI skills,' anyway?
Companies want their workers to have AI skills. Recruiters say there's not a lot of shared definitions for that term.
MIT's The Engine splits into two sister companies as tough-tech accelerator turns 10
The Engine was born to solve a problem: Supporting "tough tech" startups amid Silicon Valley's crazy for software. Ten years after making that risky bet, The Engine has earned a place in the origin story of countless successful Bay State technology companies. Now, a new phase is beginning for The Engine.
Behind the deal: Why Battery Ventures invested in one of Boston's AI 'unicorns'
Battery Ventures general partner Neeraj Agrawal explains why the firm joined a funding round that valued the Cambridge startup at $1.4 billion.
Private school in former Bose HQ to open this fall, incorporate AI
Masters Academy International paid $2.3 million for the property in 2024. The brothers spent 10 years developing the program before securing backing from a London-based schools group.
Former Nike exec joins Whoop as chief marketing officer
Dirk-Jan van Hameren spent over 30 years at Nike before joining the Kenmore Square company. Whoop is aiming to hire 600 new employees this year.
Former CyberArk CEO snags chairmanship at agentic security firm after record-breaking deal
After leading his Newton-based identity security firm to one of tech’s biggest deals last year, CyberArk founder Udi Mokady has found his next opportunity: chairman of CHEQ, a New York and Tel Aviv-based agentic security company.
Defense giant snags Massachusetts undersea defense company in $3.45B deal
The Braintree company will be rolled into Lockheed's rotary and mission systems unit, which posted $17.3 billion in revenue last year and employs roughly 35,000 workers.
The National Beat: AI certifications are on the rise — and so are most paychecks
Catch up on the latest AI and startup business news in this week's Beat newsletter.
Fears over AI job losses abound. New data tells a different story.
Survey data shows most businesses aren't adopting AI yet, and those using it aren't cutting jobs despite widespread automation fears.
Schneider Electric to acquire Cognite in $3.1 billion deal
Boston-based Schneider Electric has proposed an all-cash deal to acquire Tempe-based industrial software firm Cognite, which recently surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
Commonwealth Fusion joins UK government program to test fuel production
The Devens-based company will test tritium blanket technologies at a new UK facility. Experiments are expected to begin in late 2029.
Pickle Robot partners with Ambi as Fortune 500 clients demand more scale
Pickle Robot will unload packages from trailers while Ambi's system scans and stacks them. The companies plan to remain financially independent.
The National Observer: Major universities eye West Coast
Several prominent universities are setting up shop in the Bay Area, in part to help bridge a venture funding gap being experienced in many regions of the country.
AI certifications can boost paychecks. But there is a catch.
The share of AI certifications soared from 2% before ChatGPT to 30% by 2026. But what will it mean for salaries?
