Hi all!

It's snowing here in greater Boston, and we are having a great time! Since you are probably goofing off...kill some time and give us a review here.

The Robot Summit & Expo is back, and it looks better than ever. We will be there and hope to see you. (Early Bird pricing is still available.)

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index increased in January to 49.1%, a full 2% higher than in December.

New Orders, Imports, and Production show a positive trend.

Pricing is increasing again after a short stint of decreasing in the past months.

BYD, the Chinese EV-maker that sold more cars than Tesla last year, is seeing such demand to export its vehicles that it’s getting into the shipping business, according to the MIT Technology Review. The company’s first vessel set off for Europe in January with 5,000 cars aboard.

The ship’s name is BYD Explorer No.1. As the first of a massive fleet that BYD is building, it reflects the Chinese company’s ambition to establish a seafaring business that supports its new role in the global car trade.

This ship will not dock anytime soon in the US as the Trump-era 25% tariffs remain in effect on cars made in China.

Business confidence in Massachusetts started 2024 on an optimistic note, hitting an 11-month high, according to the newly released AIM Business Confidence Index.

Breakthrough Energy Ventures, or BEV, raises $555M for the first 'select' fund. BEV declined to disclose specifics, saying the firm is planning an announcement in the coming weeks.

Energy startup Mantel Capture Inc. raised $700,000 in equity and other securities from a single investor. Mantel works on a carbon capture system that it pitches as the first designed to operate at the high temperatures found inside boilers and furnaces

Lucky you! The Cleantech Open Northeast / NECEC Kickoff Party was postponed to March 27. It's always a great time, and we love supporting Beth's team.

The SBIR Targeted Technologies (START) Grants help Massachusetts-based startups convert research into businesses and jobs in Massachusetts.

Find out more and apply here.

MassChallenge is one of two sites in the United States partnering with The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to host an international startup BootCamp to lead 13 participating startups through a six-month curriculum.

MCJ Collective raised approximately $68 million towards a new fund from over 200 investors. MCJ Collective is the Boston-based climate hub that evolved from former Runkeeper CEO Jason Jacobs' podcast "My Climate Journey."

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, announced a $25 million gift from the chair of the Institution’s board of trustees, Paul Salem, to support ocean-based climate solutions .

In our January survey, we asked which funding sources you plan to explore in 2024.

The majority of our respondents said that they tend to get funding from angel investors and private equity.

For this month, we'd like to know: what will be your company's biggest supply chain challenges in 2024?

Meet the human “robot wranglers” who make sure androids don’t wander off at the workplace. Bots wander off ‘like a child’ and irritate workers by following them or ‘trying to get under their desks.’ RobotBouncers

Scientists tied the smallest knot ever using just 54 atoms. Chemicalspill101

Custom running shoes on steroids. MIT researchers developed a model for you to become the next Usain Bolt. Pretty cool engineering. RunForrestRun

YouTube will now provide short instructional videos from medical experts for health emergencies like bleeding, choking, heart attacks, seizures, and opioid overdoses. IamDeadMyWifeScrewedUp

Cheers,

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