Boston remains a critical pillar of the national VC

NPA Insights, August 2025

Hi all!

Whoa, are we late this month... but we made it, with two days to spare. Our quick read before at least the US goes into the three-day "Labor Day Weekend" - cheers to the chaps and chapess in the late 1800s to fight for better worker rights. Now back to why Boston is an awesome city!

The National Venture Capital Association and Seattle-based PitchBook released the Q2 Venture Monitor.

Boston continues to hold its place as a Tier 1 innovation hub. However, funding levels remain well below those of the Bay Area and LA, and have dipped to their lowest point since 2017, suggesting a more specialized and selective investment environment.

The city also ranked 5th nationally for VC deals into all-female founding teams, with 28 in Q2. Still, the downward trend indicates that access to early-stage capital for women may be tightening, even within supportive ecosystems.

Despite these headwinds, Boston remains a critical pillar of the national VC market. In the face of macroeconomic pressures such as tariffs and rising costs, the region continues to attract capital and deals at a level that outpaces most other markets.

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index slipped to 48% in July, a one-point decline from June’s reading, signaling continued contraction.

In July, the New Orders Index contracted for the sixth straight month, slipping to 47.1% from 46.4% in June.

By contrast, the Production Index continued to expand, rising to 51.4%; 1.1 points above the prior month.

To reduce exposure to geopolitical risks, many companies are shifting production to politically aligned countries—a strategy known as friend-shoring.

Unlike reshoring or near-shoring, friend-shoring emphasizes trust and regulatory stability over geographic proximity or cost.

Success depends on a clear framework: choosing stable partner markets, diversifying to avoid concentration risk, leveraging digital tools for visibility, collaborating with governments, and investing in local compliance.

While it can strengthen resilience and align with ethical priorities, friend-shoring also demands careful planning, as alliances and local capacity remain fluid.

Massachusetts business confidence remained pessimistic for the fifth consecutive month.

Boston Metal, a technology company working to transform global metals production, announced a $51 million convertible note investment.

Kraken Robotics raised $115 million in a public offering to advance its subsea systems. The company is focused on transforming underwater intelligence with 3D imaging sensors, power solutions, and uncrewed maritime platforms.

Startup Boston Week returns September 8-12. This free, five-day conference is expected to draw more than 7,000 founders, investors, and startup-minded professionals from across Massachusetts. Register now!



Massachusetts Governor proposes $400 million in research and development funding, including initiatives led by colleges and universities.

Ready for Launch: A UMass engineering professor is leading a NASA/ISRO satellite mission to collect remote sensing data and study Earth from space.

Massachusetts-based metal 3D printer manufacturer Desktop Metal has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to sell its international subsidiaries: ExOne GmbH, EnvisionTEC GmbH, ExOne KK, and AIDRO s.r.l.

Join the 8th Annual Robot Block Party on Saturday, September 27, 2025. Free and open to the public, the event will feature robot demonstrations, hands-on interactions, games, and more. Register here!

OUR MONTHLY SURVEY

In our July survey, we asked: “What’s the biggest benefit of closer engineering and cross-functional collaboration?”

The top responses tied at 25% each: greater alignment between business and technical goals, and cost reduction through smarter decision-making.

Amid shifting global dynamics, many startups are now exploring production in trusted, politically aligned countries to strengthen supply chain resilience.

So we'd like to know:

A woman who has been paralyzed since age 16 writes her own name using Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chip.

NothingButThoughtToMoveACursor 

(Source: Telegrafi)

Dude, the history behind the word "dude" is wild.

RockOnDude

(Source: NPR)

Johns Hopkins researchers taught a robot to perform a gallbladder removal on a realistic patient model, with the robot responding to and learning from the team’s voice commands.

NoviceSurgeonWorkingWithAMentor

(Source: The Robot Report)

Cheers,

Jurgen

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