Hi all!

I hope your 2024 has started as great as ours! Let's make it a year to remember!

With that said, we ask all of you to give our NPA team some love via a Google review.

It's a small, kind gesture and only takes 1 min, and it might just make you feel good. We much appreciate it.

We also know of a super Mech. Engineering grad who's becoming available in May after finishing his Masters from WPI.

Great background, hard-working, super coachable, bilingual, the works. Hit him up here or contact me for an intro/reference. You don't want to miss that.

First off, the latest Electronics Component Industry feedback from our newsletter contributor Gerry Shapiro, at EPE Components.

Though semiconductor shortages have subsided, buyers remain concerned about the availability of longer-term supply. Even with more factories being built, the supply/demand disparity will continue, especially for industries where component redesign and approval require considerable time.

Excess semiconductor inventory and the current flooding of the markets will likely remain prominent for the next few quarters. Once that cycle ends, and with a continued healthy economy, we expect to see demand, once again, to exceed supply. Plan accordingly.

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index contracted in December to 47.4%, which is still 0.7 percentage points higher than November’s reading.

The New Orders Index remained in contraction territory as the overall economy continued in contraction for the third month.

Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea have forced over $80 billion in cargo to be diverted and caused an oil price spike that pushed gas prices toward their biggest jump since August.

Ocean carriers and companies are in a race to explain to U.S. shippers the delays they could be facing.

The 2024 Global Eddies Applications are now open!

The 2024 Global Eddies Showcase will take place on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Applications can be done here.

MassRobotics announces its 2nd annual Form and Function Robotics Challenge.

With a grand prize of $10,000 along with $1000 prizes for second and third place and a $1,000 Audience Choice Award. Applications close on February 12 and can be submitted here.

MassCEC's IncubateMass program is looking for Cleantech Companies.

IncubateMass provides grants of up to $175,000 to Massachusetts Incubators that help grow the climate tech innovation ecosystem.

Applications are due March 1st. Click here for more information about eligibility, application materials, and timeline.

Join us at the CleanTech Open Northeast / NECEC Kickoff event in Boston, hosted at Greentown Labs on February 13th from 5-7pm!

It's always fun! Register here.

Boston-area companies announced $873.4 million in funding in December.

Hardware and Cleantech companies raised around $87 million combined.

Fourth Power, a renewable energy company based in Cambridge, has secured $19 million in Series A funding to scale its utility-scale thermal energy storage technology.

ClearMotion’s technology is headed toward production: they just secured a $1B production order from Chinese EV maker NIO.

WIN Waste Innovations launches Boston's first electric trash trucks, becoming the first company to operate fully electric trash trucks in the City of Boston.

In our December survey, we asked if you would support a four-day workweek (with equal pay).

And the majority of our respondents, 37,2% said yes, that they would support it.

2023 was a tough year as most startups continued to struggle to raise funds. Exits remained at their lowest level in years, and one of the largest startup acquisitions of all time was abandoned due to regulatory concerns.

As we look ahead to the upcoming year, we are interested in gathering insights from our readers regarding your expectations for funding in 2024.

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has revealed its first electric car. Another pursuit in this software-obsessed world is to match up the technology people find in their phones to what goes on inside their cars. SmartphoneCar

Parkinson's implant restores man's ability to walk. In a new study, a man was surgically implanted with an experimental spinal cord neuroprosthesis to correct walking disorders in people with Parkinson’s disease. TechnologyLeadsTheWay

The 100 best photographs ever taken without photoshop. JeepGhost

Cheers,

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