CAMBRIDGE, MA, UNITED STATES, August 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Engine and Activate, the two leading nonprofits supporting Boston’s Tough Tech ecosystem, are deepening their partnership. As one piece of that work, the Activate Boston community will move into The Engine’s building at 750 Main Street in Cambridge in September 2026, joining over 150 Tough Tech startups already in residence there. The expanded collaboration is backed by a MassCollab grant won by the two nonprofits to further strengthen their partnership.

The move reflects how closely the two organizations already work:
• 26% of Activate Fellows nationally have participated in The Engine’s 8-week accelerator, Blueprint by The Engine™;
• 73% of recent Activate Fellows in the Boston community are Blueprint graduates; and
• Notable Activate alumni companies such as Concerto Biosciences, Foray, Osmoses, and SiTration got their start at The Engine.

Building on a Proven Partnership
The Engine and Activate first announced a strategic alliance on December 13, 2024. Since then, the two organizations have co-developed the Tough Tech Fundamentals online library, co-hosted various founder- and investor-facing events, and built a robust pipeline to support founders from the Blueprint program to the Activate Fellowship, and further into residency at The Engine. Colocation is the next step in furthering the alliance.

With Activate’s Boston office under the same roof, the two organizations will expand co-hosted programming, including a joint Demo Day during Tough Tech Week this October; deepen founder training in commercialization; and explore new fundraising vehicles purpose-built for founders at the intersection of both programs.

“The Engine and Activate have been intentionally coordinating for years to build one continuous path for Tough Tech founders. Colocating the fellows of Activate’s Boston community with the robust resources provided by The Engine is our next step in strengthening support for Tough Tech founders.”
Emily Knight, CEO, The Engine

“Activate’s global impact relies on building and scaling foundational resources in every region where we operate. Our alliance with The Engine is creating the connective tissue in Boston and beyond that helps hard tech founders go further, faster.” Cyrus Wadia, CEO, Activate

“Every Activate Fellow is trying to answer the same question: how do I turn my science into impact? Being at The Engine in Boston puts our fellows in the middle of the highest concentration of resources in the region to help answer it.” Josh Martin, Managing Director, Activate Boston

This next phase of partnership allows both organizations to focus on accelerating the impact of the technologists and technologies they support—and strengthens the pathway for scientific founders to get their technologies into the world.

About Activate
Activate is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to turning scientific discoveries into real-world impact. Through partnerships with government, philanthropy, universities, and industry, Activate builds the cross-sector ecosystem that drives hard tech innovation—equipping scientists and engineers with world-class resources, training, and community to bring their work from discovery to deployment.

Since 2015, Activate’s flagship fellowship has supported nearly 350 fellows across the United States, who have launched more than 275 companies and secured over $5.5 billion in follow-on funding. Now expanding beyond its flagship program, Activate is reaching scientists and engineers at more stages of their entrepreneurial journey across the world—multiplying the pathways from innovation to commercialization. Learn more at Activate.org.

About The Engine
Founded by MIT in 2016 and formalized as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in early 2025, The Engine exists to move Tough Tech, breakthrough science and engineering solutions to some of the world’s hardest challenges, from the lab to lasting global impact. The Engine delivers programming, infrastructure, access to the funding ecosystem, and other forms of acceleration to Tough Tech startups, and studies and shares what it learns so other Tough Tech ecosystems can progress.

Gifts from individuals and institutions aligned with its mission directly expand the programming, infrastructure, and resources available to Tough Tech companies. To learn how to support The Engine or explore partnership opportunities, visit engine.xyz/support.

Raphaele Schnoll
The Engine
Raphaele@raphaeleschnoll.com

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