Tariffs just dropped…

NPA Insights, April 2025

Hi all!

I hope the headline made you feel better for a brief second. 🙂

Unfortunately, the tariff situation remains tough and hasn't changed, but we are here to help.

On a brighter note, I hope to see many of you at the Robotics Summit and Expo later this week in Boston!

Good to see this new estimate showing that roughly 300 artificial intelligence jobs were posted in Boston in January alone. Hey Boston, let's climb that ladder a bit more, we can/should do better!

This Operations Update is provided with support from:

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index contracted in March, falling to 49% — a 1.3% drop from February after two consecutive months of growth.

The New Orders Index contracted for the second month in a row.

The Production Index also remained in contraction, falling 2.4 points from February.

President Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on all imported goods triggered a sharp drop in the stock market, with Massachusetts-based public companies hit especially hard. On April 2, the state’s 100 largest publicly traded firms lost a combined $63 billion in market value, averaging a 6.8% decline.

Retailers like Wayfair, iRobot, and J.Jill were among the hardest hit due to their heavy reliance on imported products. The market reaction marked the largest one-day drop since 2020.

In March, Boston startups secured raised $298 million in funding, pushing first-quarter totals to $1.3 billion. The month’s highlights included a new unicorn, Insilico Medicine.

Check all the March M&A deals in Boston.

BlueShift, a climatetech startup, secured $2.1 million in pre-seed funding from ConocoPhillips, Ridgeline, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

Don't miss the upcoming Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston from April 30 until May 1, 2025 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Register here.

(Use code MASSROBO25 for a 25% discount)

Hyundai plans to expand its robot fleet with tens of thousands of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas units, aiming to enhance its manufacturing operations while helping the robotics firm broaden its market presence.

Massachusetts employers are growing more pessimistic about economy, pushing the AIM Business Confidence Index downward on its 100-point scale for the second month in a row.

The inaugural Robotics Tech Week is officially launching: a dynamic series of events uniting bold investors, visionary founders, and leading innovators to help shape the future of robotics and AI.

June 9-13, 2025. Check the full schedule and the events here.

OUR MONTHLY SURVEY

In our March survey, we asked which advanced materials you believe will have the biggest impact on manufacturing.

Carbon fiber and metal foams tied for the top spot, with 20.5% of the votes each.

In January, Boston saw the creation of over 300 new AI-related jobs. So we want to hear from you:

Here’s a tasty #RecessionIndicator: Last year, people bought fewer lunches than they did in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, apparently swapping takeout for sad desk salads.

Don’tTouchPost-itNotesAreBack

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

The world's smallest untethered flying robot: Record-breaking tiny robot offloads electronics to fly by magnetism.

NoStringsJustMagnets

(Source: New Atlas)

Tinder wants AI to teach people how to flirt. The dating app released “The Game Game,” that allows users to practice their pickup skills with an OpenAI chatbot.

AIRoastingYourFlirtingBeforeYourDate 

(Source: Tech Crunch)

Cheers,

Jurgen