{"id":7983,"date":"2018-12-19T17:23:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T22:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=7983"},"modified":"2019-10-28T15:11:20","modified_gmt":"2019-10-28T19:11:20","slug":"22018-boston-tech-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/22018-boston-tech-year-in-review","title":{"rendered":"2018: Boston Tech Year in Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

From self-driving cars to failed robot-generated predictions, it\u2019s been a fascinating year for tech in Boston. <\/span><\/p>\n

And with the holidays around the corner, what better time was there to look back at some of the <\/span>year\u2019s biggest stories? Here is a recap of the Boston tech scene in 2018. <\/span><\/p>\n

Boston Led New York in Startup Funding (Again)<\/span><\/h2>\n

2018 marked the year that Boston <\/span>\u201cregained its longstanding place as the second-largest U.S. startup funding hub.\u201d<\/span> While recent years have seen New York as a second-place tech-hub after San Francisco, Boston surged ahead of the Big Apple to reclaim its second-place spot this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBoston often gets dismissed as a has-been startup city. But the successes are often overlooked and don\u2019t get the same attention as less successful, but more hypey companies in San Francisco,\u201d <\/span>said Blake Bartlett<\/span><\/a>, a partner at Boston-based venture firm OpenView. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A report of global \u201csupergiant\u201d VC rounds (venture rounds that hit $100 million or more) published this November also placed Boston ahead of New York, and fourth in the world (behind the San Francisco Bay Area, Beijing, and Shanghai). <\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo\u2019s stocking-picking robot, Aiera, also picked Boston over New York as the city most likely to host Amazon\u2019s HQ2. As we know, it was wrong: HQ2 went to Long Island City, NY, and Arlington, VA. As we\u2019ll see, though, Amazon found other ways to have a major presence in Boston this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

Biotech Gave Boston A Booster Shot<\/span><\/h2>\n

Biotech and medtech were (perhaps unsurprisingly) a huge part of Boston\u2019s performance this year, which is where Amazon comes back into the picture. <\/span><\/p>\n

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase selected Boston as the headquarters for their new joint healthcare venture, headed by Surgeon (and CEO) Dr. Atul Gawande. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have devoted my public health career to building scalable solutions for better healthcare delivery that are saving lives, reducing suffering, and eliminating wasteful spending both in the US and across the world. Now I have the backing of these remarkable organizations to pursue this mission with even greater impact for more than a million people, and in doing so incubate better models of care for all,\u201d <\/span>Gawande said <\/span><\/a>in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The as-yet-unnamed company was announced in January and will focus on outcomes, satisfaction, and cost-efficiency in healthcare. Tagging along with this announcement was the news that Amazon had acquired PillPack, a Somerville startup that delivers prescriptions by mail, for just under $1 billion. Prior to the acquisition, PillPack had raised more than $118 million in funding and been valued at $360 million. <\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere on the biotech front, Moderna, a company that develops treatments based on messenger RNA (mRNA), went public with one of the largest biotech IPOs ever. Trading on Nasdaq under the symbol \u201cMRNA,\u201d the company went public in early December valued at $7.5 billion, with a larger than expected offering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Circulation, a Boston-based startup that offers non-emergency healthcare transport, partnered with Lyft to expand their transportation options for clients across the US, letting users schedule their rides with Lyft directly through Circulation\u2019s platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three Boston companies were named to the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50, a list of 50 companies from around the world that are deemed \u201cdisruptors\u201d in their industries. All three companies fall under the Biotech umbrella:<\/span><\/p>\n