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Top Boston Startups to Watch (and Work for) in 2023

July 14, 2023
      |      Kieran Ryan
Red brick church surrounded by boston buildings

My Background

Hi, I'm Kieran! I worked in startups for five years at On Deck and Wefunder. Some of my favorite things that I've worked on during my career include:

  • Wefunder Workaway: 12 founders working on a new idea, 7 days, 1 mansion in Hawaii. One of the teams we picked raised a Series A from Andreessen Horowitz, and two people who met during the trip got married...
  • On Deck: As employee #15, I contributed to the startup's growth from no revenue to a $20 million run rate in less than a year. I led the team that built the admission infrastructure to support and scale ~20 fellowships for founders, capital allocators, operators, and creators.
  • XX: Worked on a pre-YC accelerator program that invested $125K on an MFN SAFE into 8-10 teams per cohort.
  • ODX: Worked on a $100 million accelerator program that invested $125K for 7% into 100s of startups. We partnered with leaders like Flexport to build vertical industry tracks around supply chain & logistics, etc.
  • Ryan Marketing: Created an influencer marketing startup (2 million+ Instagram followers) during college with my twin brother and realized early that monetization for creators was broken. I learned a lot, and it paid enough to cover my schooling, rent, and meals.

The Methodology

I considered several data points to arrive at the startups selected on this list, including company traction, funding raised, valuation, and investors. From my initial list, I then referenced each startup with my personal network to narrow down the list to the one you see below. I take my credibility seriously, so I do not take any money from startups who want to be included on this list to remain impartial. If you want to understand my analysis of startups and prefer long-form content, read my research on the top startups of 2023 afterward.

Merlin Logo

Merlin

An aviation technology company focused on fully autonomous flights.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Aerospace

Founded

2018

Funding

$133.5 million

Valuation

$2.3 billion

Traction

  • As of May 2023, Merlin has built five aircraft models, completed 400+ autonomous missions, and been in the sky for 800+ hours.
  • In 2021, Merlin achieved approval for its takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy system as part of a joint project with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
TetraScience Logo

TetraScience

Unlock the power of your scientific data.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Data, Biotech

Founded

2014

Funding

$99.1 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • Between April 2020 and April 2021, TetraScience reported 10x revenue growth.
  • As of April 2021, TetraScience counts 12/100 largest pharmaceutical companies as customers.
  • In FY2021, TetraScience reported 300% annual recurring revenue growth, and 95% of its $80 million Series B capital is still cash in the bank.
  • As of May 2023, TetraScience counts 15/25 largest pharmaceutical companies as customers.
Tender Logo

Tender

A new generation of meat alternative products.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Food & Beverage

Founded

2020

Funding

$12.3 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, Tender uses 50+ compatible alternative meat ingredients and can spin kilograms of fiber per hour at a lab scale.
  • As of June 2023, Tender has 1.8K Instagram followers, 60 Facebook followers, and 110 Twitter followers.
M.Gemi Logo

M.Gemi

Handcrafted women’s and men’s Italian shoes.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

DTC

Founded

2015

Funding

$81.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, M.Gemi has 453 different material and color options, 118 hand stitches on every pair of moccasins, and launches 75+ styles annually.
  • As of June 2023, M.Gemi has 136K Instagram followers, 143K Facebook followers, and 434 TikTok followers.
Tessian Logo

Tessian

Intelligent cloud email security.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Security & Compliance

Founded

2013

Funding

$132.6 million

Valuation

$500 million

Traction

  • As of May 2021, Tessian had ~350 global customers and tripled its number of Fortune 500 customers in the past year.
  • Tessian customers include Affirm, Stripe, Evercore, Rand Merchant Bank, JTC, Com Laude, DC Advisory, and Clyde & Co.
Verdox Logo

Verdox

Electric carbon removal.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Climate

Founded

2019

Funding

$100.3 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • Verdox claims its technology is 10x more energy efficient than conventional carbon capture.
  • In April 2022, Verdox won the $1 million XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition.
Blues Wireless Logo

Blues Wireless

Building IoT wireless connectivity devices.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

IoT

Founded

2019

Funding

$65 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of January 2023, Blues Wireless has 800 customers, including Agilix Health, AgroPatterns, Evexia Telehealth, American Crane & Equipment Corporation, and Velvetwire.
IQBAR Logo

IQBAR

Keto protein bars.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Food & Beverage

Founded

2017

Funding

$10.4 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, IQBAR is available in 8,000 retailers across the US, up from 6,000 in October 2019, including Kroger and CVS pharmacies.
  • As of June 2023, IQBAR has 23.4K Instagram followers, 4.4K Facebook followers, 762 Twitter followers, and 867 TikTok followers.
  • IQBAR rated 7 out of 1500 nutrition bar brands based on data generated by CircleUp’s Helio platform.
Accion Systems Logo

Accion Systems

Redefining space mobility.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Space, Hardware

Founded

2014

Funding

$68.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • Accion Systems' partners include MIT, Boeing, NASA, JPL, and the United States Department of Defense.
  • As of July 2021, Accion Systems was building its fourth-generation TILE propulsion system.
Koala Logo

Koala

Pet medication made easy.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Healthcare, Consumer, Pets

Founded

2021

Funding

$23 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of September 2022, Koala was available in 36 states.
  • As of May 2023, Koala is available in all 50 states.
Ark Biotech Logo

Ark Biotech

Supplying the cultivated meat industry with industrial-scale bioreactors.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

B2B, Biotech, Hardware

Founded

2021

Funding

$8.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • Ark Biotech’s mission is to 100x the industry’s bioreactor capacity by 2035. 
Panorama Education Logo

Panorama Education

A comprehensive, actional view of every student in one system.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Edtech

Founded

2012

Funding

$105 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, Panorama Education has 2,000+ districts on its platform, up from 1,500 in September 2021.
  • As of June 2023, Panorama Education supports 15 million students, up from 13 million in September 2021, and 25,000 schools, up from 23,000 in September 2021.
  • As of September 2021, Panorama Education reported 50 of the country's largest 100 school districts and state agencies on the platform.
  • From March 2020 to September 2021, Panorama Education added 700 school districts to the platform.
  • Panorama Education customers include Everett Public Schools, Ogden School District, Herriman High School, Dallas Independent School District, and the Franklin West Supervisory Union.
Vendr Logo

Vendr

Save time and money buying SaaS.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Procurement, SaaS

Founded

2019

Funding

$216 million

Valuation

$1 billion+

Traction

  • As of June 2023, Vendr has helped customers save $368 million+.
  • As of June 2203, Vendr has processed $3 billion in spend, helped customers save 20% on average, and customers reported an average return on investment of 8x.
  • As of June 2022, Vendr has 500+ customers, including Webflow, Brex, Canva, HubSpot, Lattice, Gainsight, Drift, and CarGurus.
Brown Foods Logo

Brown Foods

Making real milk without any cows.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Food & Beverage

Founded

2021

Funding

$2.36 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, Brown Foods is developing its first product, UnReal Milk.
Nabla Bio Logo

Nabla Bio

AI to design antibodies for intractable diseases.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Biotech, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Founded

2020

Funding

$11.3 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of December 2021, Nabla Bio can express thousands or a million antibodies in a single tube.
PostEra Logo

PostEra

Medical chemistry powered by machine learning.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Biotech, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Founded

2019

Funding

$26.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • In May 2022, PostEra announced a $68 million partnership with the National Institutes of Health to develop antiviral therapeutics.
  • In January 2022, PostEra announced a partnership with Pfizer to advance multiple drug discovery programs with a total contract value of $260 million if they accomplish all milestones.
HelixNano Logo

HelixNano

Next-generation mRNA platform.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Biotech

Founded

2014

Funding

$60.3 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, HelixNano was working towards moving a variant-resistant COVID-19 vaccine candidate toward clinical trials.
Zeta Surgical Logo

Zeta Surgical

A new frontier in surgical guidance.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Robotics, Healthcare, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Founded

2018

Funding

$6.9 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of June 2023, Zeta Surgical is building technology to treat neurological emergencies, brain cancer, and neuromotor disorders.
Metaplane Logo

Metaplane

Observability for modern data teams.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Dev Tools, Data

Founded

2019

Funding

$8.4 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of January 2023, Metaplane has 140+ customers, including Imperfect Foods, Reforge, Pipe, Vivian Health, Clearbit, Gorgias, SpotOn, Car and Classic, Vendr, and Mux.
SmarterTravel Logo

SmarterTravel

Independent expert advice and unbiased reviews on the best travel deals, destinations, and money-saving tips.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Travel

Founded

2018

Funding

$9.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of July 2023, SmarterTravel has 48.8K Instagram followers, 149K Facebook followers, and 279.8K Twitter followers.
  • As of September 2021, SmarterTravel has 7 million email subscribers, and its first product, HopJump, grew to 60,000 users in a couple of months.
  • Between September 2020 and September 2021, SmarterTravel reported an 8x increase in revenue.
Realtime Robotics Logo

Realtime Robotics

Automating automation.

Headquarters

Boston, Massachusetts

Industry

Robotics

Founded

2016

Funding

$71.3 million

Valuation

$130 million

Traction

  • In February 2023, Realtime Robotics became an official supplier for BMW Group.
  • In September 2022, Siemens became a customer of Realtime Robotics.
  • In June 2022, Realtime Robotics teamed up with Kawasaki to automate its industrial robots’ programming, deployment, and control.
Veo Robotics Logo

Veo Robotics

Responsive machines for flexible factories.

Headquarters

Waltham, Massachusetts

Industry

Robotics

Founded

2016

Funding

$57 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • In October 2022, Veo Robotics announced its new and improved high-performance FreeMove 2.0 Engine.
Locus Robotics Logo

Locus Robotics

Warehouse robotics automation.

Headquarters

Wilmington, Massachusetts

Industry

Robotics

Founded

2014

Funding

$416 million

Valuation

~$2 billion

Traction

  • As of November 2022, Locus Robotics has 90 customers, up from 40 customers and 80 warehouses in February 2021, including Whiplash, Evo, DHL, Radial, and CEVA Logistics.
  • As of November 2022, Locus Robotics has 230 sites under contract, with as many as 500 LocusBots per site.
  • In September 2022, Locus Robotics surpassed its 1 billion picks and averaged 3 million per day.
Venti Technologies Logo

Venti Technologies

Automating industrial and logistic hubs.

Headquarters

Weston, Massachusetts

Industry

Robotics

Founded

2018

Funding

$36.8 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of March 2023, Venti Technologies disclosed its pilots are not yet fully autonomous, with drivers behind the wheel.
  • One of Venti Technologies' customers is PSA Corporation, which has 60 ports under management.
Pickle Robot Logo

Pickle Robot

Warehouse robots.

Headquarters

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Industry

Robotics

Founded

2018

Funding

$37.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

  • As of July 2023, Pickle Robot claims its warehouse robots can unload non-palletized goods at 600+ PPH (picks per hour) and set up in <10 minutes.
  • As of November 2022, Pickle Robot reported its warehouse robots unload 10,000+ packages monthly at customer sites.

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