Copyright The Boston Globe
Climate tech is under siege and life sciences has seen its research funding cut, so defense — a longtime regional strength — is a smart place for the state to focus. To start, the region has a core of defense contractors operating here. In addition to factories for giants RTX (formerly Raytheon) and General Electric, Massachusetts also hosts smaller players including defense computer maker Mercury Systems in Andover, radio gear company Macom Technology in Lowell, and wireless and drone maker Ondas Holdings in Boston. Overall, Massachusetts ranked ninth in defense spending in 2023, the most recent year available. 2025 has been a bountiful year for defense companies, both private and public. Autonomous water craft builders HavocAI in Providence and Blue Water Autonomy in Boston raised $85 million and $50 million, respectively. Autonomous flight software startup Merlin Labs and dual-use electric plane maker Beta Technology are both planning to go public soon. And California-based Anduril Industries, which has close ties to the Trump administration, opened an office here earlier this year. Since taking office, Trump officials have been talking about adding more high-tech defense systems, while also prodding European allies to spend more on defense. Then the so-called “big beautiful bill” passed in July, including billions of dollars for drones as well as $25 billion for the Golden Dome anti-missile system. Mercury Systems is expected to be a big beneficiary of the Golden Dome project, according to analysts. Its stock price is up 49 percent over the past three months, while shares of drone specialist Ondas have more than tripled. But is it too late for Massachusetts to expand its efforts? A research piece by market tracker PitchBook this month titled “The Iron Bubble” asked whether the defense sector was overhyped. Startups are on pace to raise $10 billion this year compared to just $1.3 billion five years ago. The piece concluded that the boom was an “overdue rebalancing” after years of underinvestment. That was also the takeaway from analyst Austin Bohlig at Needham & Co., who attended the defense tech showcase event in Washington D.C. at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting this month. “We believe the party has just begun,” Bohlig wrote afterwards. Funds are not flowing while the government is shut down, but that should be only a temporary hiccup. “Activity (is) expected to resume quickly once the government reopens,” he wrote. At Monday’s State House event, Massachusetts officials noted that the defense sector already employs 130,000 people and accounts for about 7 percent of the state’s economy. The aim is to grow from there. The new chip design center in Lowell will employ up to 200 people, officials said. “We’re going on offense on defense,” Eric Paley, Healey’s secretary of economic development, said at the event. “We really want to put a spotlight on this sector.” 💬 Hey, ChatGPT: What should I get my mom for Christmas? Read more from Globe correspondent Yogev Toby. 📈 A new wave of fitness-conscious people are using glucose monitors for eye-opening insights about health. Read more from health care reporter Sarah Rahal. 🤖 iRobot stock slides after it says buyer fell through. Read more from business reporter Dana Gerber. 🔋 Battery maker Factorial has left its Methuen factory. Another Mass. company will move in. Read more from business reporter Jon Chesto. 🧠 ‘There are hundreds of Nobel prizes that we could win in theory.’ This startup is trying to build an AI Einstein. Read more from tech columnist Hiawatha Bray. 🎰 DraftKings to offer betting via a ‘prediction market,’ avoiding state gambling bans. Read more from tech reporter Aaron Pressman. 💪 After Year Up, Gerald Chertavian is helping bring AI to the trades. Read more from business reporter Jon Chesto. 🖥️ IT management software developer Nexthink in Boston is being majority-share acquired by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in a deal valuing the company at $3 billion. 🔐 Cybersecurity company SimSpace in Boston raised $39 million through a combination of debt and equity in a deal led by BTG Pactual. 🏥 Hospital software startup VitVio in Boston raised $8 million in a deal led by Bek Ventures. 🤝 Drone and wireless tech company Ondas Holdings in Boston is acquiring Israeli company 4M Defense, which makes land mine clearing robotic equipment. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 🍞 Restaurant tech company Toast in Boston added Anutthara Ramamurthy Bharadwaj, president of Atlassian, to its board of directors. 🚧 Green cement developer Sublime Systems in Somerville promoted chief operating officer Rob Davies to chief executive. He replaced prior CEO and cofounder Leah Ellis. 📚 Online learning company Thought Industries in Boston hired Irana Wasti as chief executive. Wasti previously was chief product officer at BILL and president of GoDaddy EMEA. Outgoing CEO Robin Wadsworth will remain as a strategic adviser to the company. 👋 Content creation software firm Tiugo Technologies in Boston hired Andrew Iappini as chief financial officer. Iappini previously was CFO at JW Player/Connatix. 🌎 TEDx Boston is holding a free, three-day event called “Planet Action: 2025” at MIT and the New England Aquarium Nov. 15-17. ✂️ Amazon willcut about 14,000 corporate jobsworldwide as the online retail giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence while cutting costs elsewhere. Inside the Messy, Accidental Kryptos Reveal (Wired) The ‘Hands Problem’ Holding Back the Humanoid Revolution (Wall Street Journal) ‘Do not trust your eyes’: AI generates surge in expense fraud (Financial Times) 👋 Thanks for reading. We’ll be will be back next Tuesday. ❓ Have a tip? Email Aaron at aaron.pressman@globe.com. ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can sign up for your own copy.
