Daniel O'Keefe

Massachusetts in 2024 is home to the most climate tech startups per capita in the country. They thrive at institutions like MIT and Greentown Labs, turning big ideas into tangible solutions. But we struggle to keep them here. States from coast to coast are wooing away entrepreneurs and employers. These places facilitate demonstration programs, connect companies to trained workers, and provide access to real estate for manufacturing. The Mass Leads Act rebalances these incentives, directing capital investments and tax benefits that keep these innovators in Boston for the long term and encourages others to join them. #climatetech #climateVC #venturecapital

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Lexington Books managed to release my book Disagreeing despite the Data before the election. It argues the belief segregation underway in the US may be irreversible. Today's battles over climate change, disease mitigation, and election results run deep -- they're cognitive, not just strategic. Here's the gist of it. 20th-century revolutions in the philosophy of mind, meaning, and matter uncover three surprising requirements for widespread factual agreement. Critical thinking and community building have the potential to reverse two of them -- the growing refusal to test assumptions and individual isolation. Factual agreement between groups is impossible without the third one, though -- shared projects or other meaningful interaction. And a large part of American society has insulated itself from the rest. Without shared projects, communities gradually lose the ability to tell whether they agree or not regardless of the words they use. Belief segregation with similar roots has led several developing countries to the brink of failure. We'd better watch out. The attached flyer gives a discount code that makes the book -- priced in this initial run for academic libraries -- a little more affordable. Please feel free to forward it and, if you're connected to any libraries or book stores, pass it on!

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Practice your #voting skills and help us highlight #regenerativefinance at SXSW!

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The N.J. Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology recently awarded more than $2.7 million in grant funding to 11 New Jersey startups under round two of the pilot Clean Tech Demonstration grant program. The funding will support pilot demonstration projects from startup companies creating technologies that mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. “The innovative ideas of New Jersey entrepreneurs are essential to helping the state achieve its clean energy goals,” CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft said. “Awardees under Round Two of the Pilot Clean Tech Demonstration Program are developing technologies that will address the carbon footprint of concrete, divert packaging waste from landfills, and the infrastructure needed to support the transition to electric vehicles, exemplifying New Jersey’s standing as a hub of innovation."

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The University of Massachusetts Amherst's bold investment in VAST Data to support the Unity cluster revolutionizes collaborative research and #MachineLearning across multiple institutions. "What we can do differently now that we have VAST, is obviously we can support more users doing more things at once. I mean, that's the whole point." - Josiah Erikson, Associate Director of #HighPerformanceComputing Watch the full success story to learn how VAST and UMass are expanding horizons in research computing together.

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In a new opinion piece published by the Boston Business Journal, MITEI Director William H. Green says that if we are to solve the climate problem, the entire global economy needs to change. He says that "all are essential for a real climate solution: universities and start-ups for innovation, government for policy, big companies for massive scale." "As the new director of the MIT Energy Initiative, I am focused on convening researchers, economists, industry, non-profits, and government to reach consensus on practical approaches to decarbonize each sector of our economy as quickly as possible," says Green. "That consensus reduces the risk, and so encourages the massive investments needed to stop climate change." Read more: https://lnkd.in/dYqSKHuN

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Huge news! The City of Philadelphia has been a national leader in the digital inclusion space for well over a decade. This funding announcement is a testament to the strength of the collaborative work happening through a robust grassroots network of nonprofits, universities, and other institutions in Philadelphia. TLC is proud to support the City of Philadelphia and our region's growing digital equity ecosystem as we embark on this exciting new project to advance digital equity and economic stability. https://lnkd.in/e32ZAKZT

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Summary: The article discusses Palantir's role in the growing defense tech startup sector and its efforts to become a driving force in the industry. The company's CTO, Shyam Sankar, is determined to help Palantir create a defense tech ecosystem and maximize its impact beyond its government contracts. Key takeaways: Sankar has initiated the First Breakfast program to provide guidance and tools to defense tech startups, aiming to secure a head start in the industry and identify potential "next Palantirs." Palantir has spawned a whole ecosystem in its wake, as evidenced by the success of former employees who have gone on to start their own successful defense tech companies. Sankar is driven by an existential fear of America's war-readiness and believes that more innovative and adaptable solutions are needed to ensure national security in the future. Counter arguments: Some may argue that Palantir's efforts to support and influence the defense tech industry could raise concerns about its potential for monopolizing the market. Critics may point out that Palantir's controversial partnerships with government agencies, especially ICE, raise ethical concerns and contradict its stated mission to protect Western values.

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Summary: New York-based startup GovWell is helping local governments streamline and automate tasks, such as building permits and code inspections, through its workflow system. It has raised $4.5 million in funding and aims to become the go-to provider for smaller and medium-sized government agencies. Key takeaways: Founders Troy LeCaire and Ben Cohen were inspired to create GovWell after seeing the stark difference in technology between Cohen's experience working at Uber and faxing building permits for his contractor father. The company's platform allows for customization without the need for expensive bespoke software, making it accessible for smaller government agencies. Despite competition in the government software market, LeCaire sees the potential for growth due to the massive scale of government expenditures and the importance of efficient and effective government services. Counter arguments: Some may argue that the government sector is not a lucrative market for software companies due to strict regulations and lower budgets compared to private companies. The competition in the government software market may pose a challenge for GovWell to become the top provider, as there are established players such as OpenGov with significant funding and acquisition by Cox Enterprises. #venturecapital #fundraising #startups

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Yesterday, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts launched the "Massachusetts AI Hub", a groundbreaking effort to make the state a national leader in #AI innovation. This pioneering initiative is driving collaboration between government, industry, startups, and academia to tackle critical challenges and unlock economic opportunity across the state. At Generate:Biomedicines, we see the potential of #GenerativeAI every day—advancing drug discovery, tackling complex health challenges, and transforming what’s possible in life sciences. We’re proud to be part of this vibrant innovation ecosystem. Learn more about the AI Hub here: https://lnkd.in/e2Af56jN #ProgrammingBiology | #TeamMA

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🌟New Energy New York Joins Volta Foundation as a Member Company🌟 New Energy New York (NENY), led by Binghamton University, is building a comprehensive ecosystem in New York State to promote U.S. national security, supply chain resiliency, and global competitiveness within the battery industry, enabled by a diverse cross-sector coalition. Their cutting-edge pilot programs in workforce development, technology innovation, and supply chain build-out have supported more than 1000 training participants, engaged more than 100 companies, supported more than 30 startups have secured more than $40 Million - all since its launch in Fall of 2022. To support this ecosystem, NENY and Binghamton University have secured the Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) award, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines grant, and has a EDA Tech Hub designation as America's Battery Technology Hub. 💡Discover more about New Energy New York: https://lnkd.in/eAFmwtku ⚡ Join Volta Foundation as a Member Company: https://lnkd.in/gMzaB_wz #VoltaFoundation #NENY #BinghamtonUniversity #membercompany #batterynews #welcome #batterytechnology #batterysupplychain #batteryworkforce #workforcedevelopment #batterycareers #careersinbattery #NewYork

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Last week, I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on navigating FOAK in climate tech at the Greentown Labs Summit in Boston (which had >600 people!!). Here’s a quick rundown of what was shared by Katherine St. James of Spring Lane Capital, Paris Smalls, PhD of Eden GeoPower, and Hannah Friedman of Planeteer Capital: 🌱 What is the definition of FOAK? We discussed how the term can be controversial - it's almost too general because it doesn't identify what kind of "First" FOAK refers to - first team project? First geography? First of a technology in a sector? First time for the integration of a system? It's also too specific because it has the word "first" in it, which can be anathema to later stage / project finance investors. 💰 Partnerships for Funding FOAK Projects We discussed how important it is to build a blended capital stack & use off-balance sheet capital for a project so you're not using the most expensive equity dollars to fund an infrastructure project with low-ish IRR. We also talked through being creative about using corporate partners to provide in-kind services or ink some agreement (at least an LOI) to attract this funding. 🏛 Role of Government We talked about how government capital is seen by investors & how it can be catalytic for FOAK. Government capital can provide validation that a startup has passed a rigorous diligence process by a third party - and incentives like grants or credits can help improve returns for the first project- but it's important to be doing this in conjunction with getting customer validation and to be able to present line of sight to competitive economics without concessionary capital. 👥 Advice for FOAK startups The panelists offered some very specific pieces of advice for startups going through FOAK: how to get creative with things like revenue sharing agreements or convertible notes, getting smart with project development early on (like with DeveloperU), being careful about using FOAK too liberally with certain investor groups, getting the right commercialization / FOAK talent in and around you early Huge thanks to the panelists and the team at Greentown Labs (Jill Kirkpatrick, Julia Travaglini, Aisling Carlson, etc you rocked it!!) for hosting this discussion on bridging the FOAK gap. Also immensely enjoyed the rest of the agenda. Check out the full recap & videos here: https://lnkd.in/d9ApYe9Y #ClimateTech #FOAK #ClimateFinance #ProjectDevelopment #GreenTech #CleanEnergy

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Today, during her remarks at #WMIF2024 Governor Maura Healey announced $19.8 million in funding to support 15 projects driving life sciences innovation in Massachusetts. These investments will provide critical, state-of-the-art research equipment to colleges, research institutions, and hospitals and drive innovation in research and development, data science, drug delivery, and women’s health. The Governor also announced new application rounds of MLSC programming for Research Infrastructure, Bits to Bytes, Novel Therapeutics Delivery, and the Women’s Health Initiative. The MLSC is adding an additional layer of equity to these returning programs and also launching a new Health Equity program to provide smaller grants in areas around equity, such as clinical trial recruitment, studying conditions which affect underrepresented populations, and ensuring datasets have representation from diverse groups. The MLSC and its partners are excited by the prospects of these new funding program rounds which have the potential to drive further opportunities for collaboration around innovation and new areas such as health equity. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e3nQm-PF

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A lot can happen in a decade. Ten years ago, #JaylenBrown won a FIBA Americas Championship gold medal; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was seven years into the Patrick Administration’s historic Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative — a $1 billion investment over 10 years aimed at strengthening the state's life sciences sector; and Greentown Labs had just moved to #SomervilleMA with 25 cleantech startups. Today, Brown and the #Celtics are one win away from claiming the franchise’s 18th championship; Greater Boston is regarded as the global hub for life science innovation; and Greentown's Somerville incubator supports 125+ climatetech startups. Now, as we collectively look at the next decade of impact for Massachusetts, we’re on the precipice of greatness. The House Ways and Means Committee is considering the #MassLeadsAct — the Office of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey's ambitious $1 billion, 10-year economic development bond bill. The Mass Leads Act will strengthen Massachusetts' long-standing position as a global leader in life sciences, and it will shout to the rest of the world that Massachusetts is equally committed to climatetech innovation and capitalizing on the enormous economic opportunity it presents for all. Is it a big investment? Yes, absolutely. Can we afford it? Bigger, existential question: can we afford not to? For the sake of our kids and the planet, probably not. So here’s to the Cs. Here’s to Title Town. And here’s to continuing to catalyze the climatetech revolution right here in the Commonwealth!

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Wonderful article about Emily Knight and the whole The Engine Accelerator team on the amazing work their doing changing the world with #ToughTech!

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🚀 Insights from the #GSER2024: Boston’s vibrant ecosystem consistently ranks among the global leaders in the GSER rankings, a result of its strong pool of talent, funding, and experience. Highlights of the ecosystem include: • Massachusetts is a federally-designated technology hub, granting $500 million to the state to stimulate investments in new technologies such as AI, quantum computing, and Biotech. • In fiscal 2023, Boston awarded $151 million, or 14% of its contracts, to certified minority- and women-owned businesses, a 6% increase over 2022. • The AI Institute in Cambridge is dedicated to solving the most important and fundamental challenges in robotics and AI. Discover more about the Boston startup ecosystem: https://buff.ly/49Ytgia #Boston #startup #startupecosystem #founder #innovation

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How do we keep Massachusetts at the forefront of innovation? Yvonne Hao, Secretary of Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED), shares her insights on fostering entrepreneurship, building infrastructure, and why it’s crucial to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world. Listen now to this inspiring conversation. https://lnkd.in/eM-ryrFs #Boston #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

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🌟I had a talk with my fellow #nurse innovator at HLTH USA event. He told me that he was going to win this event, and that's exactly what he did!!!🏆 I am immensely happy for him and celebrate his success.🎊👏 If you are in a #hospital or clinical setting you need Hilario Castillo innovation in your life. His innovative syringe cuts down needle stick by 100% and save your medical facility millions of dollars in needle wasting, plus increase patient comfort. When #nurses innovate we solve real problems!!💎 #nurseonlinkedin #healthcareonlinkedin #healthtech #startup #biotech

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