Member Impact

Kendall Square is known for making an impact, locally and globally. The people and organizations here are committed to improving the human condition, and they have the stats and stories to prove it.

You can see more KSA Member Impact Reports on our Member Directory page.

Member Directory

The Engine

The Engine is a leading launch pad providing 200,000 square feet of purpose-built space and support for “tough tech” teams that address some of the world’s biggest challenges across 15 industries from AI to agriculture, biotech, energy, quantum, space, and more. Spun out from MIT in 2017, its growth and impact in the last 8-year span is remarkable. 2025 Impact Report Highlights:

  • 150+ resident teams, adding 65 companies in 2025 alone
  • Resident teams raised $155M in funds and created 810 jobs in 2025
  • Blueprint fueled 125 tough tech teams in 2025
  • Whiteboard guided faculty and PIs in routes to commercialization in 2025
  • The Builder Platform expanded support for regional Tough Tech ecosystems across the US
  • The Engine hosted hundreds of events in 2025, including 65 Tough Tech Week events attracting a global audience

Atlantic Quantum, born at MIT and a resident company at The Engine, became part of Google in 2025.
Read more about “tough tech” below.

Report

LabCentral

LabCentral has been launching early-stage life science companies since 2013 with impressive results–73% of LabCentral-launched companies thrive after leaving LabCentral. With the support of the MA legislature and MA Life Sciences Center, LabCentral has become one of the best places to begin a life science company.

Here are a few highlights from its 2024 Impact Report:

  • $20.6B in funding raised by LabCentral companies since 2013
  • 7,178 local life science jobs created since opening
  • 158 clinical trials launched, 15,688 patients enrolled, and 1,503 patents granted to LabCentral companies
  • About ⅓ of LabCentral residents report innovating with AI/ML for internal research and data analysis

In 2025, LabCentral, in collaboration with C10 Labs, launched the AI BioHub to great success with the first cohort raising $8M and creating 26 new jobs.

Report

MIT: Local Community Impact

As one of the world’s most famous institutions, MIT constantly innovates in fields ranging from climate to energy, human health, and technology of all kinds, while contributing to the local community it calls home. MIT’s annual Town Gown report highlights the many ways it gives back to Cambridge and Greater Boston.

A few examples, MIT:

  • Is Cambridge’s #1 local taxpayer, representing 16.8% of the City’s tax levy
  • Will contribute $66M to Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Trust during the course of its development of Kendall Square and Kendall Common
  • Annually funds ten $10,000 scholarships to Cambridge high schoolers pursuing a college degree, a program that has been in place for nearly a decade
  • Donated $74,000 to local nonprofits and service projects during the 2023-2024 academic year
Report

WHAT IS TOUGH TECH?

“Tough Tech is transformational technology rooted in breakthrough science and engineering that solves the world’s most important challenges. These companies work on problems that are capital-intensive, highly regulated, and technically complex—requiring specialized infrastructure, patient support, and a resilient ecosystem to move from lab to market.”  –The Engine