MIT.nano Industry Consortium / Foundry Access

MIT.nano Industry Consortium / Foundry Access

Provides Massachusetts startup teams access to advanced prototyping and fabrication through MIT.nano collaboration.

Eligibility · Global — open worldwide

MIT.nano is an open-access nanoscale research and fabrication facility housed in the Lisa T. Su Building at MIT, operating as a shared resource for the MIT campus community and qualified external users from industry, academia, and government. The facility provides state-of-the-art equipment across three core areas: Fab.nano (cleanroom nanofabrication), Characterization.nano (imaging and materials characterisation), and the Immersion Lab (augmented and virtual reality hardware and environments). External users from industry, startups, and other academic institutions access equipment and staff support on a fee or recharge basis through the MIT.nano user portal at nanousers.mit.edu.

MIT.nano operates START.nano, a hard-tech startup accelerator program offering early-stage technology companies discounted access to its nanofabrication, characterisation, and immersion-lab resources. Participating startups receive reduced equipment usage rates, staff and technician support, quarterly networking and workshop gatherings, connections to the MIT Startup Exchange and MIT Venture Mentoring Service, and introductions to MIT.nano's industry consortium members. MIT.nano does not take equity or IP rights in exchange for START.nano participation. Membership is initially for one year with eligibility to apply for up to two additional years at the discounted rate. Rolling monthly admissions are active.

MIT.nano's SENSE.nano center of excellence previously offered annual seed grants of $75,000 per project to MIT principal investigators working on sensing technologies, sensors, and related areas including AR/VR sensing and advanced manufacturing systems. The most recently documented SENSE.nano seed grant cycle had a deadline of September 2019 for a 2020 grant period; no 2026 call had been published as of mid-2026. MIT.nano itself does not administer open cash grant programs to external organisations; its primary value to external users and industry is the access to equipment, expertise, and the START.nano discounted-access program.