Scott Kirsner
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skirsner.bsky.social
Scott Kirsner
@skirsner.bsky.social
180 followers 110 following 93 posts
InnoLead / MassLive / WBUR / The Innovation Trail. Brookline, MA.
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skirsner.bsky.social
Most people have amassed a shelf full of board games somewhere in their home. But what if the next game you buy is the last one you’ll ever need?

That’s the promise behind Board, a new startup aiming to reinvent family game night.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/11... — via @masslive.bsky.social
This startup is creating the future of board games with a hybrid digital-physical device
The startup Board just started selling a $500 product that blends physical game pieces, family-friendly games, and a flat-screen display. The company's chief creative officer is based in Massachusetts...
www.masslive.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:07 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
What can a humanoid robot actually do in the real world?

Here's what I saw last week on a visit to MIT's new Living Lab...

www.masslive.com/news/2025/11... — via @masslive.bsky.social
MIT Living Lab shows humanoid robots still struggle with basic tasks
Massachusetts robotics entrepreneurs focus on specialized machines, while West Coast companies pour billions into humanoid development despite current limitations demonstrated at MIT.
www.masslive.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:32 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
We love our statues in Boston, as long as they represent historic figures who are now dead and preferably on horseback.

But erect something fun that might wind up in someone’s Instagram feed? That’s just not our jam.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/10... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Does Boston have to be the city where fun goes to die?
Will two toymakers, the LEGO Group and Hasbro, leave the fun behind when they relocate from Connecticut and Rhode Island to Boston?
www.masslive.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:45 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
Some sudden sprouts of hope in #biotech, with $1 billion in new funding announced last week by just two Boston-area startups, Kaleira Therapeutics in Waltham and Lila Sciences in Cambridge.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/10... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Amid a tough year for biotech, these Mass. companies just raised $1B
Companies working on new medicines to treat obesity and a new approach to using artificial intelligence in science labs are giving the biotech industry some much-needed good news.
www.masslive.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:06 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
As Major League Baseball barrels toward the World Series later this month, one Massachusetts startup has been rooting for the teams using its technology.

Founded in 2021, Infinite Sky uses AI to analyze video from baseball games...

www.masslive.com/news/2025/10... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Could this Massachusetts startup change how baseball teams spend millions?
Infinite Sky, a Boston-based company, uses AI to analyze video and assess baseball pitchers' command, helping teams make smarter recruitment and salary decisions.
www.masslive.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:12 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
The Sec. of Energy came to MA to visit to a fusion reactor startup with @massgovernor.bsky.social. And then his Department cut $466 million of grants in the state. What gives? I spoke with Emily Reichert of the Mass. Clean Energy Center:

www.masslive.com/news/2025/10... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Say goodbye to the Mass. clean energy boom. But a comeback may be in the offing
Massachusetts' clean energy sector faces a turbulent week as feds pull $466M in grants. Emily Reichert, chief executive of the Mass. Clean Energy Center explains what happens next.
www.masslive.com
October 11, 2025 at 12:03 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
You probably can’t say you’ve experienced the strangeness of the job market in 2025 until you have submitted to an interview with an AI human resources “agent."

www.masslive.com/news/2025/10... — via @masslive.bsky.social
AI isn’t killing jobs yet, but it’s making the job hunt weird
Unemployment is trending up in Massachusetts. Is AI the cause? Here are what job candidates and tech experts say is happening.
www.masslive.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:08 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Great piece on @washingtonpost.com:

The Post "examined the history of six important drugs invented over the past few decades. In each case, crucial steps in the development of the medication came from taxpayer-funded research at universities now at risk of losing federal support."

wapo.st/4q1M3ly
Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs
Medications that prevent HIV, shrink tumors and treat seizures were invented with government funding. At research universities, that money is now canceled or in jeopardy.
wapo.st
October 6, 2025 at 5:01 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
On a rainy morning in Roxbury this week, the annual economic outlook breakfast organized by Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) did not serve up an especially sunny forecast for the future.

5 insights from the event:

www.masslive.com/news/2025/09... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Are there reasons to be optimistic about the Mass. economy? Yes and no
While recent surveys find that business leaders in the Bay State are pessimistic, and are having trouble getting access to capital, some see reasons for optimism.
www.masslive.com
September 27, 2025 at 11:55 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
What’s behind a surge in funding recently for startups in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that want to design and build ships?

Two words: uncrewed vessels.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/09... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Why these tech founders are building ghost ships that could transform naval warfare
Startups in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are developing a new class of uncrewed ships — and raising millions from investors. Could one of them become the Waymo of the waves?
www.masslive.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:03 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
NVIDIA just placed a bet on this Boston startup building quantum computers.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/09... — via @masslive.bsky.social
The race to quantum computing supremacy runs through Boston
Local startup QuEra attracts major investment from NVIDIA, highlighting the city's growing influence in the global competition to build computers that could crack current encryption systems.
www.masslive.com
September 16, 2025 at 11:17 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
With Hasbro moving in soon, I thought it was time to ask: maybe we should stop dissing the Seaport?

www.masslive.com/boston/2025/... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Why Boston's most hated neighborhood is actually its most misunderstood success story
With Hasbro's arrival marking another milestone, Boston's most criticized neighborhood continues to prove its critics wrong by building a diverse, dynamic community.
www.masslive.com
September 10, 2025 at 11:59 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
From Sputnik to 2025: this country became a scientific superpower over seven decades. How quickly will we destroy that?

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o... — via @nytimes.com
Opinion | We Are Watching a Scientific Superpower Destroy Itself
www.nytimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 11:17 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
A lot of things started to change at HubSpot in 2023.

In January, the company opened up an SF office. Then, it announced that an SF-based executive would be taking over as CEO. This week, the annual Inbound conference happens... in SF.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/09... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Is this major Mass. tech company quietly shifting to San Francisco?
With its annual conference held in San Francisco and a CEO based in that city, what does it mean to be headquartered in Mass. these days?
www.masslive.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:12 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Georgia Tech Is Teaching Other Universities a Fundraising Lesson — via @wsj.com + @nidhisubs.bsky.social

www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
August 30, 2025 at 2:11 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
A new report from MassBio finds shrinking employment in both manufacturing and research and development jobs — and that data doesn’t yet include 2025 layoffs in the biotech biz. Here's what industry veterans say about what's happening...

www.masslive.com/news/2025/08... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Biotech slump: US risks losing its industry crown to China, Mass. leaders say
MassBio report shows venture capital investment declining to 2017 levels as industry leaders compare the situation to America's loss of semiconductor manufacturing.
www.masslive.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
More than 500 young life sciences entrepreneurs arrived on one of the Boston Harbor islands this week. While they were there for the annual Nucleate Alumni Summit, the vibe was a cross between a summer camp for geniuses and an episode of the reality show “Survivor.”

www.masslive.com/news/2025/08...
Live, from Boston Harbor, it’s ‘Survivor: Life Sciences Edition’
As China rises and other global cities aggressively court biotech talent, Massachusetts faces a "contracting moment" that has executives concerned about the future of innovation.
www.masslive.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Looking forward to moderating this conversation tonight (Aug 12th) at the Harvard Book Store, with the author of "Boston and the Making of a Global City."

www.harvard.com/event/james-...
August 12, 2025 at 4:36 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Checking out a new solar-powered boat that can cruise along at 6 mph on only the sun's rays. The creator is an MIT alum who helped start the solar car racing team at the university.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/08... — via @masslive.bsky.social
Meet the Massachusetts-made boat that never needs gassing up
James Worden, who built solar-powered race cars at MIT, now aims to revolutionize maritime transportation with his innovative TruSolar boat, while continuing his late wife's legacy.
www.masslive.com
August 12, 2025 at 12:15 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Groundbreaking Harvard study — funded by the NIH — finds that lithium reverses brain aging.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/06/m...

Key paragraph at the end of this @bostonglobe.com piece by Kay Lazar:
August 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
The Boston wearables startup Whoop got a warning letter from the FDA about its latest device. Its CEO was in DC earlier this year meeting with Trump cabinet member Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who oversees the FDA.

How will this play out?

www.masslive.com/news/2025/08... — on @masslive.bsky.social
Can Boston startup Whoop win its face-off with the FDA?
Whoop is betting on political connections and wellness claims to keep its blood pressure monitoring feature, despite FDA warnings of potential fines and product seizures.
www.masslive.com
August 5, 2025 at 11:38 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
This is a good effort by Mass. Gov. Maura Healey... *IF* it gets funding. Trying to use $400 million of state money to preserve R&D jobs and early science, and counter severe federal cuts in the billions.

www.mass.gov/news/governo...
www.mass.gov
August 1, 2025 at 12:45 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Does a Cambridge startup have a pill that can treat sleep apnea?

Last week, Apnimed, a little-known pharma startup founded in 2017, announced encouraging results from its clinical trial of a new drug. Six things you should know about it, via @masslive.bsky.social:

www.masslive.com/news/2025/07...
Cambridge startup’s sleep apnea pill shows promising results
Apnimed's experimental drug reduced breathing interruptions by nearly 46.8% in clinical trials, offering a potential alternative to CPAP machines for millions of people.
www.masslive.com
July 29, 2025 at 11:12 AM
skirsner.bsky.social
Innovation will likely not stop at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, one program designed to foster it was shut down last week after 12 years in existence.

www.masslive.com/news/2025/07... — scoop on @masslive.bsky.social
MIT Innovation HQ shuts down after 12 years due to budget cuts
Federal research funding reductions led to the closure of the engineering school program, which had fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration since 2013.
www.masslive.com
July 22, 2025 at 9:06 PM
skirsner.bsky.social
Johannes Fruehauf on @statnews.com: "Unfortunately, it seems that we in the U.S. are questioning our desire to lead a sector that we have traditionally led since the ’70s and ’80s, and Boston took a big role in that..." #biotech #lifesciences

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/15/b...
A well-placed biotech investor says US policies are straining life sciences startups - The Boston Globe
Johannes Fruehauf left Germany for the United States more than 20 years ago to propel his scientific career. But amid the Trump administration’s blows to science, he’s sensing more opportunity in his ...
www.bostonglobe.com
July 15, 2025 at 10:18 PM