| Formation: | 2009 |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| MassChallenge | |
| Location: | Massachusetts, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, Switzerland, Texas |
MassChallenge is a global, zero-equity startup accelerator, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2009.
MassChallenge is headquartered in Boston's Seaport District in the MassMutual Building, and has additional U.S. locations in Texas and Rhode Island, as well international locations in Israel, Mexico, and Switzerland.[1]
MassChallenge co-founders John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam were working as strategy consultants at Bain & Company during the global financial crisis in 2008 when they developed MassChallenge.[2] MassChallenge secured early support from successful entrepreneurs like Desh Deshpande and Joe Fallon, the public sector including Thomas Menino the then-Mayor of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and large organizations like The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Microsoft.[3]
During its first Boston-based cohort in 2010, MassChallenge accelerated 111 startups.[4]