MassVentures START Program

MassVentures START Grant

Administers II commercialization grants of for MA deep tech companies for research through the MassVentures START Grant.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

MassVentures START is a non-dilutive grant programme administered by MassVentures, a Massachusetts quasi-public agency, designed to help Massachusetts-based deep-tech companies commercialise technologies that have already cleared federal Phase II SBIR or STTR review. Since the programme launched in 2012, MassVentures has distributed $41.7 million to 141 companies, whose subsequent capital raises total more than $5.1 billion, contributing to the creation of over 3,300 jobs in Massachusetts. The 2027 application cycle opens 1 February 2027.

The programme operates in three sequential stages. Stage I awards 16 grants of $100,000 each; Stage II awards 7 grants of $200,000 each, reserved for top Stage I performers; and Stage III awards 3 grants of up to $500,000 each, reserved for companies that succeed in Stage II. In the 2025 cycle, MassVentures awarded $4.5 million to 26 companies, with Stage III recipients including Electrified Thermal Solutions (Medford), Gel4Med (Lowell), and Osmoses (Cambridge). All awards are non-dilutive cash grants; MassVentures takes no equity. Eligible sectors span the full deep-tech spectrum including biotech, medtech, energy, advanced manufacturing, AI, robotics, quantum, aerospace, and materials.

To apply, a company must be incorporated and operating in Massachusetts, must hold a federal SBIR or STTR Phase II award received within the past five years, and must be a for-profit entity — universities and nonprofits are not eligible. Applications are submitted through the MassVentures website. The 2026 cycle deadline was 23 February 2026; the 2027 cycle deadline is expected to be announced alongside the 1 February 2027 opening. An information session was held in February 2026 and is expected to recur in the 2027 cycle.