Human Cyber Warriors in the making

Happy autumn all!

What a September it was!

For the 6th time, we spent a fun afternoon with friends at the Mass Robotics Robot Block Party.

As always, amazing robots and a great community that fosters education, diversity, and innovation.

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index registered 49 percent in September, 1.4 percentage points higher than the reading of August and its highest figure since November 2022.

Both New Orders and Production are trending upwards.

Prices are decreasing, but we expect this to likely change with the new inflation data being released later this week.

The U.S. Department of Defense chose Massachusetts to lead a regional microelectronics hub, positioning the state for growth in the semiconductor industry as billions of funding will flow into the industry.

Will batteries usher in a new era of global energy supremacy?

This article by TechCrunch ponders whether electrical energy, and in particular, stored energy in batteries, will be subjected to the same global economic and geopolitical forces that shaped fossil fuels, as the world shifts toward a more sustainable future driven by electrification, and batteries are more important than ever.

Stratasys terminates $1.8 billion Desktop Metal merger as shareholders did not approve the terms of the previously announced merger at a special meeting.

$220 million in funding later, Electric Hydrogen Co., a clean energy startup, has landed its first commercial customer.

Ascend Elements hits the 'unicorn' status after announcing a massive $542 million in Series D funding on top of $480 million in earlier DoE grants. The company works on recycling EV batteries and aims to churn out a lot more battery-ready materials (20 kilotons of PCAM per year).

Applications are open for The Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP)!

The program aims to help Massachusetts-based small to medium-sized manufacturers prepare their businesses to meet the demands of Industry 4.0.

Applications are due on Nov 3rd and can be submitted here.

Apply now to the next FORGE Manufacturing Meetup with Stacey Swider from MassVentures on October 10th. The meeting is for startups that interface with manufacturing, supply chain, and physical product development.

Register now for the Bookkeeping 101 webinar by Mass Innovation Network with bookkeeping expert Rebekah Rosenberg.

You can register here.

For 2023, we decided to switch up our process and provide Startup Spotlights each month on the best Startups with Hardware content in Boston.

If you know an exciting Startup that deserves a Spotlight, please send a brief message to Hello@newpageassociates.com, and we will consider them.

RISE Robotics stands at the forefront of enhancing energy efficiency in heavy machinery using their patented RISE™Cylinder System.

Tailored for use in medium and heavy-duty applications, RISE™Technology provides fuel, emissions, and sound reductions, improves productivity, and extends machine life.

Acknowledging the challenges of transitioning from hydraulic systems, they believe that the RISE™Technology offers a superior solution for applications that historically relied on hydraulic systems, considering factors like force, displacement, speed, and utilization requirements.

Their RISE™Cylinder is an electro-mechanical alternative to hydraulics. It’s more efficient, durable, and precise than any hydraulic actuator, doubling runtime, reducing maintenance intervals, and enabling unparalleled control under any conditions.

In July, they were selected by AFWERX for a Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) contract in the amount of $1.25 million to focus on the development of highly efficient and precise electric munitions handlers.

Click here to learn more about Rise Robotics.

In our September survey, we asked about the top challenges to enable remote work at your company.

Most respondents said that tax compliance is their top challenge, with 14%, while a high volume of requests and limited team capacity came in second place, with 13%.

The latest annual McKinsey Global Survey on the current state of AI confirms the explosive growth of generative AI (gen AI) tools.

Less than a year after many of these tools debuted, one-third of the survey respondents say their organizations regularly use gen AI in at least one business function.

Looking specifically at AI’s predicted impact, service operations is the only function in which most respondents expect to see a decrease in workforce size at their organizations.

So we'd like to know:

This guy didn't want to get a haircut in public, so he built a robot barber. Robotswithknifes

(Source: Popular Mechanics)

Musk's Neuralink to start human trial of brain implant for paralysis patients. The study will use a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant. ScreamsCyberWarriors

Surgeons perform a second pig heart transplant on a dying man in a bid to prolong his life. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair. WivesCanCallYouAPigNow

Cheers,

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