MassRobotics celebrates 5th anniversary

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The MassRobotics team. | Credit: MassRobotics

Impact. That’s why MassRobotics was created, and today, at our five-year mark, what we’ve achieved. While this organization and our industry have a long way to go, that road is populated with optimism, evidence of progress and the promise of an ever-growing future.

On behalf of MassRobotics’ founders, board, staff, founding and annual partners, resident startups, and all who have contributed to our planning and participated in the five years since we opened our doors in Boston’s Seaport Innovation District, I’m pleased to share this Five-Year Impact Report, a celebration of all we have accomplished so far.

Personally, I am amazed at how far MassRobotics has come since the idea of the organization was conceived by Daniel Theobald, Fady Saad, Joyce Sidopoulos, Tye Brady and Steve Paschall. When I was asked to lead the organization —and the compelling opportunity to help grow the robotics community — I couldn’t say no.

Were there early struggles and questions? Of course. We had to engage with academia, politicians and businesses. And we needed to raise money to execute our concept for a global hub for robotics. Fortunately, visionary organizations Harmonic Drive, Vecna Robotics, Amazon Robotics, iRobot, Arrow, Autodesk, CIC, Dassault Solidworks, MassTLC, BRC and IDA Ireland joined us as founding partners, and a generous donation from the Deshpande Foundation helped launch MassRobotics. The rest, as they say, is history.

During the ensuing years, we have grown our innovation center space, programming, startups residents and partners. More importantly, our impact has been felt in Boston, in Massachusetts, throughout the U.S. and even across the globe.

I could not be prouder of what this team, organization, community and industry have accomplished. We should all be proud — and relentlessly drive toward what’s next. That’s how you make impact lasting and meaningful.

This report serves to share our impact locally and globally, establishing Boston as the hub of robotics. Our industry partners and startups have connected the needs and challenges of industry with innovative solutions that solve real-world challenges. We’ve built a diverse talent pipeline and encouraged students to pursue STEM and robotics as a career. And we’ve stayed true to our original mission:

Help enable and grow the next generation of robotics and smart connected device companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovators with the facilities and resources they need to develop, prototype, test, challenge and nurture early ideas.

As robotics continues its rapid adoption by every industry, we will continue to grow and support the ecosystem globally. That’s our mission, our impact and our responsibility.

I express my gratitude to all who contribute to our success and industry and look forward to a future filled with possibilities.

Here is our 5 year Impact Report.

Editor’s Note: MassRobotics has been the strategic partner for the Robotics Summit & Expo, the world’s leading robotics design and development event produced by The Robot Report, that was started in 2018.

About the Author

Tom Ryden is the Executive Director of MassRobotics, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help grow the next generation of robotics companies. Prior to joining MassRobotics, Ryden was the founder and CEO/COO of VGo Communications. Previously, Ryden was Director of Sales & Marketing at iRobot.