The Momentum Report: Startup Breakthroughs from Our Community (Issue No. 01)
- Stephanie Roulic
- Oct 7
- 8 min read
The New England startup scene is buzzing with breakthroughs—from product launches and funding wins to game-changing research and sustainability milestones. At Startup Boston, we love celebrating these moments that show just how much innovation is happening across our community.
The startups featured below were submitted to us for Startup Boston Week 2025 and highlighted during our Opening Party, sponsored by HPE and NVIDIA - giving the community a first look at some of the most exciting progress being made in the region. From biotech and AI to edtech, fintech, and climate solutions, these founders are tackling big problems with bold ideas.
Got a milestone of your own to share? We’d love to feature it in our next issue of The Momentum Report. Just fill out this quick form to submit your news.
11 Startup Milestones to Celebrate in the Boston Startup Scene
iOffer Technologies, Inc.
Location: Boston, MA
Submitted by: Lingfei Liu, Founder
Milestone:
iOffer has launched their MVP and closed angel funding to reinvent study abroad with AI companion agents.
About iOffer Technologies:
iOffer is an AI-powered, all-in-one DIY study abroad platform that helps international students apply to global universities more efficiently and affordably. Combining AI with expert resources, the platform supports every stage of the application journey—from school selection to essays, progress tracking, and mock interviews.
Its mission is to solve the “impossible triangle” of efficiency, quality, and affordability in study abroad applications. Already serving students in China, Southeast Asia, and India, iOffer is expanding globally with support from Harvard advisors and international edtech experts.
LabOps
Location: Boston, MA
Submitted by: Ratnam Srivastava, Founder
Milestone:
Onboarded advisors from Harvard, Columbia, and Brown University, and released the first version of our AI Compliance Copilot for IRB and DUA readiness.
About LabOps:
LabOps is developing an AI-powered platform designed to streamline research administration and compliance workflows, starting with Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes in universities, hospitals, and research organizations. The platform helps researchers and compliance teams reduce the time spent on complex forms, approvals, and regulatory back-and-forth—accelerating the path from idea to innovation.
Backed by a team with experience at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, Columbia, and other leading research institutions, LabOps is bringing efficiency and clarity to one of the most critical aspects of research.
Student Succeed
Location: Worcester, MA
Submitted by: Vijay Yadav, Founder
Milestone:
StudentSucceed has completed its product development phase with 25+ features, onboarded 4 international students to join the team, and launched targeted outreach programs to expand our network of verified landlords. Goal is to provide immediate accommodations support to Fall 2025 Students.
About Student Succeed:
Student Succeed is dedicated to making every international student’s journey easier by bringing together housing, groceries, entertainment, career tools, and community support all in one place. Its mission is to empower students with resources, mentorship, and real stories so they never feel lost abroad.
From resumes and LinkedIn profiles to one-on-one sessions and networking, the organization provides full-circle support throughout a student’s journey. Its vision is to create a global support system where every student not only adjusts to life abroad but thrives—building connections, advancing in their careers, and succeeding with confidence.
VaxSyna
Location: New Hampshire & Phoenix
Submitted by: Kaitlyn Morse, CEO
Milestone:
VaxSyna was accepted to the BARDA SPARK accelerator! We are in year 2 of our CDMRP award de-risking an HSV vaccine, and maintaining the key collaborations to make it successful and this accelerator is a big win.
About VaxSyna:
VaxSyna is developing a novel vaccine platform that is highly immunogenic, thermally stable, and easily adaptable for the rapid development of vaccines and therapeutics to address infectious diseases. The company’s lead candidates include vaccines targeting Herpes simplex virus and HPV.
Impause
Location: Boston, MA
Submitted by: Cameron Eddy, CEO & Founder
Milestone:
We publicly launched the worlds first budgeting app that is based on psychology and behavioral change, brought on a CTO as we march towards public launch and have been mentored by great professors at Harvard, MIT and former Chief Psychology Officer of Noom
About Impause:
Impause was founded on the belief that most people don’t have a spending problem—they have an emotional regulation problem. Unlike traditional budgeting apps that treat the symptoms, Impause addresses the root causes by combining behavioral finance, cognitive behavioral therapy, and real-time intervention technology.
The company is building a community where people can transform their financial habits through psychology-backed tools and personalized behavioral insights.
Stellaromics
Location: Boston
Submitted by: Aliyah Weinstein, Senior Marketing Program Manager
Milestone:
Stellaromics is dedicated to pioneering breakthroughs in 3D spatial multi-omics. In February, Stellaromics completed an $80M Series B funding round to commercialize Pyxa, the first platform for true 3D spatial biology in thick tissue sections. Since then, Stellaromics has achieved a fully subscribed beta program and plans to ship commercial units in 2026.
About Stellaromics:
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Boston, Stellaromics is advancing biomedical research with proprietary technology that unravels complex 3D transcription and translation patterns within native biological tissue.
Its flagship product, STARmap (Spatially-resolved Transcript Amplicon Readout mapping), enables researchers to uncover gene expression patterns in intact tissue, helping to identify treatment targets and drive deeper biomedical discoveries. The company is also developing its Pyxa™ suite of products to equip researchers and clinicians with powerful tools for creating detailed cellular maps, expanding understanding across a wide range of diseases. Learn more at stellaromics.com.
CampNexxus
Location: Boston, MA
Submitted by: Lindsey Whiteley, Founder
Milestone:
We launched our online marketplace! We had been building it since August of 2024 and launched it in May of 2025! So much blood, sweat and tears went into this first version that I am overly proud of what we have built!
About CampNexxus:
CampNexxus is an all-in-one platform that connects parents to camps—and camps to parents—with less stress, fewer spreadsheets, and a lot more ease. Designed to redefine how families discover, plan, and enroll in camps, it helps parents easily search and filter options, manage schedules, complete forms, make payments, and connect directly with camp staff.
For camps, CampNexxus streamlines registration, communication, and administration, allowing directors to focus on creating meaningful experiences for kids. Built from firsthand experience, the platform was created to make finding the right camp simpler, faster, and more joyful for everyone involved.
ProjectPathAI
Location: Boston, MA
Submitted by: Kevin Vaughn, CEO & Lead Designer
Milestone:
Paris to Boston: ProjectPath Announces U.S. Launch at Startup Boston Week
ProjectPath, the AI-powered project orchestration platform, today announced its official U.S. launch, strategically coordinated with its presence at Startup Boston Week. The Paris-based company is establishing its U.S. headquarters in Boston to be at the center of the world's leading life sciences and deep-tech ecosystem.
"There is no better place to launch our U.S. operations than Boston," said Kevin Vaughn, CEO of ProjectPath. "The concentration of talent, innovation, and the very companies we aim to serve in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors is unparalleled. Startup Boston provides the perfect stage to introduce our narrative-driven, AI-powered approach to a community that understands the high-stakes nature of complex projects."
ProjectPath addresses the "crisis of context" in project management, where traditional tools fail to manage the complexity of regulated, multi-year initiatives. The company's AI co-pilot is designed to orchestrate critical workflows like Clinical Study Startup and CAPA Management, providing an intelligent layer on top of existing systems to ensure compliance and accelerate outcomes. The company's participation in Startup Boston, the largest startup conference in New England, will include a series of demos and meetings with key industry leaders, investors, and potential partners.
About ProjectPathAI:
ProjectPathAI is redefining project management for high-stakes industries where traditional checklist-driven tools often lead to costly failures. Built as an AI co-pilot, it understands the full story of a project rather than just isolated tasks.
At the core of the platform is a proprietary “Work Graph” that captures context other tools miss, enabling proactive mitigation of compliance and dependency risks. Starting with biotech and pharma, ProjectPathAI is tackling the industry’s most expensive challenge: the devastating cost of lost context. Its mission is to replace the soulless checklist with a guided, intelligent journey that empowers teams to deliver results that truly matter.
Sebastian Biopharma
Location: Beverly, MA
Submitted by: Greta Garrido, CEO & Cofounder
Milestone:
Sebastian Bio secured early funding to launch experimental operations and initiate development of its first lead candidate - then capped off this momentum by graduating from the SCBio Drive accelerator. The company is advancing next-generation immunotherapies for the 75% of cancer patients who remain resistant to current immunotherapy approaches.
About Sebastian Biopharma:
Sebastian Biopharma is advancing a next-generation immunotherapy platform built on a strong scientific and institutional foundation, with FDA-aligned development and growing strategic momentum. The company’s pipeline is supported by more than 15 peer-reviewed publications, exclusive IP licensed from the University of Miami, and validation through the SCBio Drive Accelerator. Experimental operations began in January 2025 to accelerate lead candidate selection and optimization, with a current seed raise of $3–5M underway to reach IND-ready status within 18 months.
Looking ahead, Sebastian Biopharma plans to launch a biomarker-stratified Phase 1/2 basket trial in Q1 2028, targeting TAP-positive, low-TMB tumors across MSS/MMRp colorectal and other resistant indications. Trial data will guide expansion into combination regimens with immune modulators, positioning iTAP as a potential first-in-class immunotherapy amplifier.
Planck Energies
Location: Boston, MA
Submitted by: Yi Zheng, Founder
Milestones:
Planck Energies produced a non-toxic cooling pigment from low-cost sources with normalized solar reflectance of 98% or greater consistently achieved
Planck Energies successfully scaled production of its passive cooling pigment from 90 grams per day to 1 kg per day proving the scalability of its novel product
Planck Energies’ prototype cooling paint consistently achieved surface temperature reductions of 20ºC and internal environment cooling of up to 8ºC during testing throughout the summer of 2025
About Planck Energies:
Planck Energies is dedicated to combating climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and addressing global water scarcity through the development of renewable energy solutions for both commercial and residential applications.
The company is led by Founder and President Dr. Yi Zheng, who brings more than 12 years of energy-focused research to the mission. Dr. Zheng earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and is a professor at Northeastern University, where he directs the Nano Energy Laboratory and advances research in energy materials and clean energy applications. With a diverse background spanning engineering, science, business, law, and the arts, Dr. Zheng combines academic expertise with entrepreneurial vision to position Planck Energies as a vital contributor to a more sustainable future.
Hoopsy
Location: Portland, ME
Submitted by: Lara Solomon, CEO
Milestones:
Created the world's first plastic-free pregnancy test, next stop FDA approval
About Hoopsy:
Hoopsy, founded in December 2021, has developed and launched its first product: the Hoopsy Eco Pregnancy Test. Made from 99% paper and 99% plastic-free, the test offers over 99% accuracy—matching leading brands—while providing an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional home testing kits. With approvals to sell across Europe and the UK, Hoopsy officially launched in the UK in July.
Looking ahead, the company’s mission extends beyond pregnancy tests, with plans to eliminate plastic from all home-based test kits and redefine sustainability in the at-home diagnostics market.
Submit Your Startup Milestone
Innovation in New England is moving fast, and these milestones are just a snapshot of the progress being made every week. From biotech breakthroughs to AI platforms, from sustainability solutions to student success stories, founders across our region are pushing boundaries and shaping the future.
We’ll continue to highlight the wins that matter most in our community - because every milestone, big or small, helps fuel the momentum of the New England startup ecosystem.
Got a milestone to share? We’d love to feature it in an upcoming issue of The Momentum Report. Submit your news by filling out this quick form.
