Massachusetts
‘I’m starting to worry about Massachusetts’: Is Boston’s tech and innovation scene withering? – The Boston Globe
“Biotech is way off from a few years ago,” he noted, along with the fact that just one of Forbes’ AI 50 — a list of the hottest, privately held artificial intelligence companies — is based in Massachusetts. More than 30 are in California, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, and a second Boston-area company, OpenEvidence, recently decamped to Miami, leaving only one locally: AI music firm Suno.
Halligan continued: Federal funding cuts have been painful for local research. Boston is super expensive. Plenty of condos in the city stand empty. The so-called millionaires tax is pushing some affluent residents to Florida and other states. And the kicker: Boston is “not ‘cool’ for young folks.”
When it comes to the tech scene, “what Brian is saying is absolutely dead on,” says Bilal Zuberi, an MIT alum and venture capitalist who used to work in Boston but now lives in Silicon Valley. “There’s a real problem.”
The discussion of local tech’s decline has been brewing for years, but the global AI boom (and biotech’s recent dip) has brought it to a head. In 2025, Massachusetts startups raised $16.7 billion in venture capital, a 12 percent increase over 2024. But other states did much better: California’s total jumped 82 percent, and Texas rose 72 percent, closing the gap with Massachusetts.
The investment and job market for life sciences — Boston’s strength for over two decades — has been pretty terrible for the last couple of years. VC funding for local biotechs fell 17 percent in the first half of last year, to the lowest level since 2017. And the federal government’s funding cuts for research at universities has been tough for both science and talent retention.
Entrepreneur Will Manidis saw Halligan’s post almost immediately, and it hit a nerve. About a dozen years after Halligan cofounded HubSpot in 2006, Manidis started building ScienceIO in Boston. By the late 2010s, he argues, the environment for entrepreneurs had substantially deteriorated.
Manidis liked Boston, but he felt he needed a bigger talent pool to help his company succeed. He eventually left for New York and, in 2024, sold ScienceIO to Veradigm for $140 million.
That year, New York overtook Massachusetts as the second-most-successful state in attracting venture capital funding. (California is ahead by leaps and bounds, and in the fourth quarter of 2025, New York City attracted nearly three times as much funding as the Boston area.)
“If you are building an enterprise software — or really any kind of AI or software — company, the fundamental input to that machine is engineers who are willing to work very intensely for a number of years,” Manidis notes.
And he found two hurdles to recruiting these workers in Boston. First, many engineers had partners who were doctors, and they tended to leave when their partner got matched with a far-away hospital. Second, Massachusetts had “incredibly aggressive non-compete and non-solicitation [policies] that are not mirrored anywhere else in the country,” meaning that workers who left a company couldn’t easily — or quickly — join a company doing similar work. (Though noncompetes are now regulated by a 2018 law, they are still enforceable in Massachusetts.)
What we’ve seen, Manidis argues, is a kind of hollowing-out of the Boston tech ecosystem, leaving the city with far less talent than San Francisco or New York.
“ I interview a lot of people coming fresh out of college — from the local schools,” says Mikey Shulman, the chief executive of Suno (the only AI 50 company in Massachusetts). “And more so than ever, people are just dying to move to New York and SF.” He says if Boston “is serious about being a serious hub for tech, that’s a problem that needs to get fixed.”
Indeed, a report by the Massachusetts High Technology Council found that about 40 percent of graduates of Massachusetts universities in AI-related fields between 2010 and 2023 stayed in the state, versus an estimated 80 percent of their peers in California, New York, and Texas.
A decade ago, Shulman thought Boston was “the second best city for tech. And now I don’t think it’s third . . . My impression is that it’s in decline.” He believes that decline is “fixable,” and he’s grateful that Halligan “said the quiet part out loud.”
“The entrepreneurs in Boston will tell you that Boston is really not a fun place to build a company,” says Zuberi, the California VC. “Not a place where they’re appreciated until they become successful.”
Not having richly valued startups deprives the city of the sorts of companies that can fill offices (vacancies have proved tough on Boston’s budget) and rev up a tax base (right now, the burden is falling to home owners)
“While I am sympathetic to calls to reclaim Boston as a great technology ecosystem — I would love to move back and not deal with New York,” Manidis posted to X on Jan. 6, “I struggle to see how the remaining ecosystem doesn’t enter complete free fall.”
Drew Volpe, the founder of Boston venture capital firm First Star Ventures, knows there’s a lot on the line. “I think there’s a real risk that if we don’t get our mojo back,” says Volpe, who invests in both tech and biotech, “in a decade there’s very little biotech here, and it’s no longer the center of the world. And that most biotech programs are in China or other places.”
Volpe agrees that it’s gotten harder for young people to stay in Boston. The opportunities are often too compelling elsewhere (despite the fact that New York City and San Francisco have even more competitive housing markets).
So what — if anything — can Boston do to pick itself up?
Volpe offers this: “ I think this is an ecosystem that tends to really like pedigree. We tend to like founders who went to MIT or Harvard, are very packaged, and have the right credentials. And I think that hurts. I think one thing the Bay Area does well is worry less about pedigree. And I think there’s a lot of really talented people here who maybe didn’t get a PhD at Harvard, but have done really great research and deserve a chance to go take a big swing.”
Rich Miner, who cofounded Android in Cambridge in 2004 — and sold it to Google for $50 million in 2005 — says there has long been a belief that East Coast investors are “Puritan-Boston-based,” making them “a little bit more conservative than the West Coast firms.”
Mark Zuckerberg’s move to the West Coast in 2004, Miner notes, reflected the difficulty of navigating a tech elite who, at that time, were largely based on Route 128. ”It was probably easier for Zuckerberg to get to Logan and fly to the West Coast and take some VC meetings than it was for him to figure out how to get out to 128 with no mass transit. And people wouldn’t have funded him. Because it’s like: ‘What have you done, kid? You’re from Harvard with this dating app thing? Whatever.”
Miner, a serial entrepreneur who has invested in startups, argues that as a tech hub, Boston doesn’t appear to have “materially changed over the past 20 years.” He believes the city is doing a lot of the right things.
Still, there’s a stat he wants to improve: “We only retain somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of the tech grads who are of the ilk that will do startups.” To boost its tech scene, he says, Boston needs to improve those numbers. Lots of internships would allow young workers to “meet people, they build a network. They realize they can raise money here.”
Zuberi says founders have told him that Boston venture capital firms have offered them half of what firms in Silicon Valley have offered: “Boston VCs would just laugh at them.”
Boston has ”a significant resource that we completely ignore,” he notes. “We have an influx of hundreds of thousands of kids from not only around the country, but around the world. And we sort of treat them as: Yeah, whatever.”
A new initiative launched earlier this month seeks to fortify the city’s tech network, offering an array of new in-person events in 2026. Spearheaded by the Boston tech firm Whoop — and joined by other companies as well as the state — the initiative could be a step toward making founders feel more supported.
But the challenge is real and urgent. Though Boston can’t become Silicon Valley, it’s dangerous to let the talent pool thin out, watch up-and-comers relocate, and face the economic ramifications of having the next wave of great tech companies — and big employers — leave us behind.
Kara Miller can be reached at kara.miller@globe.com. Follow Kara on Twitter @karaemiller.
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Your household can earn more than $200,000 a year and still be considered part of the “middle class” in Massachusetts, according to a recent study by SmartAsset.
Massachusetts ranks as the top state with the highest income range for households to be considered middle class, based on SmartAsset’s analysis using 2024 income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning roughly two-thirds to twice the national median household income.
According to a 2022 Gallup survey, about half of U.S. adults consider themselves middle class, with 38% identifying as “middle class” and 14% as “upper-middle class.” Higher-income Americans and college graduates were most likely to identify with the “middle class” or “upper-middle class,” while lower-income Americans and those without a college education generally identified as “working class” or “lower class.”
Here’s how much money your household would need to bring in annually to be considered middle class in Massachusetts.
How much money would you need to make to be considered middle class in MA?
In Massachusetts, households would need to earn between $69,900 and $209,656 annually to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. The Bay State has the highest income range in the country for middle-class households. The state’s median household income is $104,828.
In Boston, the range is slightly lower. Households need to earn between $65,194 and $195,582 annually to qualify as middle class, giving the city the 19th-highest income range among the 100 largest U.S. cities. Boston’s median household income is $97,791.
How do other New England states compare?
Massachusetts has the highest income range for middle-class households in New England. Here’s what households would have to earn in neighboring states:
- Massachusetts (#1 nationally) – $69,885 to $209,656 annually; median household income of $104,828
- New Hampshire (#6 nationally) – $66,521 to $199,564 annually; median household income of $99,782
- Connecticut (#10 nationally) – $64,033 to $192,098 annually; median household income of $96,049
- Rhode Island (#17 nationally) – $55,669 to $167,008 annually; median household income of $83,504
- Vermont (#19 nationally) – $55,153 to $165,460 annually; median household income of $82,730
- Maine (#30 nationally) – $50,961 to $152,884 annually; median household income of $76,442
Which state has the lowest middle-class income range?
Mississippi ranks last for the income range needed to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. Households there would need to earn between $39,418 and $118,254 annually. The state’s median household income is $59,127.
Massachusetts
‘No Kings’ protests draw thousands against the Trump administration who are ‘fed up, pissed off, and also hopeful’ – The Boston Globe
Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey altered the lyrics of some songs to criticize Trump and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Let’s ship them out of Boston,” he told the crowd, referring to ICE agents and echoing lyrics from “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.” “Are you with us?”
Pressley followed, telling demonstrators the “world is on fire.”
“It is going to take every single one of us doing everything we can to put this fascist, white nationalist fire out,” Pressley said. “The only way to beat a dictator is with defiance.”
The flagship national demonstration was held in Minneapolis, where US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in January during a massive federal immigration crackdown that ended last month.
Bruce Springsteen performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” the protest song released after the killing of Pretti with lyrics describing the city as “aflame” under “King Trump’s private army.”
In Massachusetts, organizers staged 169 demonstrations, said Rahsaan D. Hall, president and chief executive of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts and emcee for the Boston Common event.
Saturday’s gatherings marked the third time protesters have mobilized under the “No Kings” banner since the first protest last June. Another round of protests took place in October.
Demonstrators gathered as the US war in Iran entered its second month with oil prices surging and Trump declaring victory is at hand even as thousands of additional American troops head to the Middle East.
Within the GOP, congressional leaders are at odds over funding the US Department of Homeland Security, which has been partially shut down since mid-February and has a new leader, Markwayne Mullin. Trump fired his predecessor, Kristi Noem, earlier this month following controversies over her leadership.
Mihika Gogate, 24, who recently moved to Boston from North Carolina, said she was demonstrating for “absolutely everyone in this world that is suffering at the hands of the decisions of our fascist leader at the moment.”
She carried a sign depicting a Joker playing card featuring Trump with a crown on his head.
“I think, especially now, it’s such a scary time to be an adult in this world,” Gogate said. “It’s not just something that is affecting one of us. It’s affecting all our futures and our current realities.”
In Quincy, demonstrators gathered outside City Hall were encouraged to remain politically active.
“We hate what Donald Trump is doing. I’m tired of being in a state of exhaustion, and he’s bombarding us every day,” said Donna Cunningham, 51, a Quincy resident. “We need events like this to remind ourselves that we’re not alone in our little islands of our homes.”
On Boston Common, Sara Welch filmed the bustle as she walked through the park en route to Cheers. A resident of Hastings, Minn., Welch said she’s in the area for work.
“It means a lot, especially with everything that went on in our state with ICE,” Welch said.
Yet some questioned whether large demonstrations are generating the changes they seek.
Warren May, a demonstrator from Watertown, said the Women’s March held the day after Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 was the last time he participated in such a large protest.
“That was really kind of great and inspiring and wonderful, but look where we are now,” May said. “It’s just gotten worse.”
John Cluverius, who teaches political science at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, said the mass demonstrations signal to elected Democrats that the opposition to Trump “is real and is tangible.” His popularity has slipped since the last “No Kings” demonstrations in October, he said.
“Being the party out of power has a very isolating effect on both individuals and voters — the sense that they’re out of control of the destiny of the country,” Cluverius said. “There is almost an affirming effect for people to gather in these places and get the sense that even though they’re opposed to so many things that are happening, they’re not alone.”
There are also signs that the protests are pushing elected officials to answer demonstrators’ demands, Cluverius said.
On Friday, Senate Republicans abandoned vows to resist any deal for Department of Homeland Security funding that did not include money for ICE and US Customs and Border Protection, by voting to do just that.
“Senate Democrats … did not defect in any way, and I think that speaks to the fact that these rallies were today,” Cluverius said.
Several exhibitions on Boston Common brought attention to the impact of Trump’s policies.
An installation called “Eyes Wide Open — The Cost of War” featured rows of shoes, backpacks, and toys symbolizing the more than 160 children killed at an Iranian school during the opening day of US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“We hope that this will cause people to pause and consider the humanitarian impact of this war,” said Ziba Cranmer, 54, who belongs to the Massachusetts chapter of the National Iranian American Council.
An ice sculpture reading “END ICE” was carved by artist Kat Carves.
“It’s a very powerful message,” said Lisa Mahoney, 66, of Beverly.
Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, according to YouGov polling on behalf of The Economist, which found this month that his net approval rating is at -18 percentage points.
His deportation agenda, attacks on higher education, and efforts to nationalize elections are deeply unpopular in Massachusetts, which backed his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election.
A February poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found 72 percent of Massachusetts residents disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, driven largely by fears that he threatens democracy.
Changes to the childhood vaccination schedule paused for now by a federal judge in Boston, new eligibility limits to public safety net programs under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, and research funding cuts have also drawn opposition here.
Sonya Shropshire-Friel of Dover, N.H., said her parents protested during the civil rights movement and were arrested as college students in Elizabeth City, N.C.
“I thought if they can do that, I can show up here today,” she said.
Trump’s rhetoric and the actions of his immigration enforcement agents “really make America unsafe,” Shropshire-Friel said.
“He has made people more inclined to be unkind and cruel toward one another,” she said. “I need to be out here with people who are also fed up, pissed off, and also hopeful.”
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her @lauracrimaldi. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com. Aayushi Datta can be reached at aayushi.datta@globe.com.
BOSTON — The USS Massachusetts officially joined the Navy fleet on Saturday after a commissioning ceremony, making it the first submarine named after the Bay State.
The newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, which can dive to depths greater than 800 feet (240 meters), was christened on May 6, 2023, by the ship’s sponsor, Sheryl Sandberg, the former COO of Meta. This is the 25th Virginia-Class submarine co-produced by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel named after Massachusetts.
“To be able to take a ship from new construction and watch it be built together by the ship yard, train with our team and bring into Boston Harbor for the first time, it’s very amazing,” said the sub’s commanding officer, Mike Siedsma, a 21-year Navy veteran who has spent time on four different classes of submarines. “I looked at the history books. I don’t think we’ve had a submarine in Boston Harbor since sometime in the late ’80s or early ’90s.”
Siedsma did not say where the sub — which cost over $2.8 billion, weighs about 8,000 tons and can carry 24 Tomahawk cruise missiles — is headed. A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this month in the war with Iran.
“The geopolitical situation is very interesting,” Siedsma said. “What is important to remember is what we are doing is proving the power of the United States Navy.”
The crew of 147 also includes 39 women, 16 years after a ban on women serving on submarines was lifted. The USS New Jersey, which was commissioned in 2024, was the first sub designed and built with modifications for a gender-integrated crew.
“The ship is intentionally designed to be served on by both women and men. That is pretty exciting. Twenty five percent of this crew is female,” Sandberg said. “Those sailors just don’t inspire me. They inspire every little girl out there to believe that she could do anything.”
The Navy said this is the fifth vessel to be named after the state. The first USS Massachusetts was a steamer built in 1845 and the last was USS Massachusetts, BB 59, commissioned in 1942 as a South Dakota-class fast battleship. Most of its time was spent in the Pacific during World War II.
For Sandberg, the commissioning also brought to mind the role the state has played in the founding of the United States and how “people are still fighting for the same freedoms that the original colonists were fighting for.”
Reporters touring the sub were led past the control room, down into the torpedo room and into the dining hall. The ward room, where officers eat, also features a mug rack featuring wood from counties in Massachusetts. It was donated by “This Old House,” the television home improvement show.
“It was an incredible donation. Very great connection to the state and the commonwealth,” Siedsma said. “It’s beautiful.”
© Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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