Acorn Innovation Grants
About
The Acorn Innovation Grant supported Principal Investigators at Massachusetts research institutions (universities and medical centers) who sought to demonstrate the viability of their technology. Awards were used to: 1) further develop a prototype, 2) gather additional data to demonstrate proof of concept, or 3) obtain data to compare the technology to existing technologies and show its competitive advantages.
Acorn Awards were designed to fund small, rapidly accomplishable projects that would enable researchers to obtain further funding for additional proof of concept or commercialization. Applicants had to be Principal Investigators at a Massachusetts research institution (university or medical center), with the technology disclosed to their institution. As the awards were small, no overhead could be applied for in the budget. 10 awards of $36,000 each were granted in 2025.
Read the most recent press release on the 2025 winners.
Testimonials
What people are saying…
“
Our company New Paradigm Biomedical received an Acorn Grant for mechanical testing of our external fixation device. Last week, we received our 510(k) approval letter from the FDA for this product. The funding we received from Mass Ventures was critical for this success! We are grateful for the support the MassVentures provided us, and your grant went to good use, for sure. Thank you!”
John Wixted
Cofounder, New Paradigm Biomedical
“
Our company New Paradigm Biomedical received an Acorn Grant for mechanical testing of our external fixation device. Last week, we received our 510(k) approval letter from the FDA for this product. The funding we received from Mass Ventures was critical for this success! We are grateful for the support the MassVentures provided us, and your grant went to good use, for sure. Thank you!”
John Wixted
Cofounder, New Paradigm Biomedical
“
Our company New Paradigm Biomedical received an Acorn Grant for mechanical testing of our external fixation device. Last week, we received our 510(k) approval letter from the FDA for this product. The funding we received from Mass Ventures was critical for this success! We are grateful for the support the MassVentures provided us, and your grant went to good use, for sure. Thank you!”
John Wixted
Cofounder, New Paradigm Biomedical
“
The grants truly helped us accelerate development works. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on this project and are excited about the progress we have made towards commercialization. The experience has been invaluable, and we are confident that the outcomes of our work will have a positive impact on the industry.”
Junghyo Yoon
Cofounder, NONA Technologies
“
The grants truly helped us accelerate development works. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on this project and are excited about the progress we have made towards commercialization. The experience has been invaluable, and we are confident that the outcomes of our work will have a positive impact on the industry.”
Junghyo Yoon
Cofounder, NONA Technologies
“
The grants truly helped us accelerate development works. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on this project and are excited about the progress we have made towards commercialization. The experience has been invaluable, and we are confident that the outcomes of our work will have a positive impact on the industry.”
Junghyo Yoon
Cofounder, NONA Technologies
“
The Acorn Innovation Award is impactful and meaningful to faculty entrepreneurs like us. It allows us to transition from the lab-scale technology to pilot-scale, eventually to make prototypes out of the lab sooner. With the help of this first investment from MassVentures, my startup Planck Energies received our first SBIR grant of $275,000 from NSF this year.”
Yi Zheng
Founder, Planck Energies
“
The Acorn Innovation Award is impactful and meaningful to faculty entrepreneurs like us. It allows us to transition from the lab-scale technology to pilot-scale, eventually to make prototypes out of the lab sooner. With the help of this first investment from MassVentures, my startup Planck Energies received our first SBIR grant of $275,000 from NSF this year.”
Yi Zheng
Founder, Planck Energies
“
The Acorn Innovation Award is impactful and meaningful to faculty entrepreneurs like us. It allows us to transition from the lab-scale technology to pilot-scale, eventually to make prototypes out of the lab sooner. With the help of this first investment from MassVentures, my startup Planck Energies received our first SBIR grant of $275,000 from NSF this year.”
Yi Zheng
Founder, Planck Energies
“
This has been an impactful and instrumental grant for my company. The Acorn program’s funding was instrumental in advancing our product’s proof of concept (POC) with customers. This financial support enabled us to validate our product in real-world scenarios, which was crucial for our development and market entry strategies.”
Dr. Karen Panetta
Cofounder, Tessera Intelligence
“
This has been an impactful and instrumental grant for my company. The Acorn program’s funding was instrumental in advancing our product’s proof of concept (POC) with customers. This financial support enabled us to validate our product in real-world scenarios, which was crucial for our development and market entry strategies.”
Dr. Karen Panetta
Cofounder, Tessera Intelligence
“
This has been an impactful and instrumental grant for my company. The Acorn program’s funding was instrumental in advancing our product’s proof of concept (POC) with customers. This financial support enabled us to validate our product in real-world scenarios, which was crucial for our development and market entry strategies.”
Dr. Karen Panetta
Cofounder, Tessera Intelligence
Team Massachusetts is excited to connect you with the latest and most relevant resources available for businesses. We’re here to support you every step of the way as your company grows. Through the Business Front Door, we can make your business journey in Massachusetts a successful one. Learn more at www.mass.gov/business-front-door.
Team Massachusetts is excited to connect you with the latest and most relevant resources available for businesses. We’re here to support you every step of the way as your company grows. Through the Business Front Door, we can make your business journey in Massachusetts a successful one. Learn more at www.mass.gov/business-front-door.
Team Massachusetts is excited to connect you with the latest and most relevant resources available for businesses. We’re here to support you every step of the way as your company grows. Through the Business Front Door, we can make your business journey in Massachusetts a successful one. Learn more at www.mass.gov/business-front-door.
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Join our mailing List
Fuel your innovation journey! Stay connected.
Join the MassVentures newsletter to receive insights, funding opportunities, portfolio news and founder resources in your inbox monthly.
Join our mailing List
Fuel your innovation journey! Stay connected.
Join the MassVentures newsletter to receive insights, funding opportunities, portfolio news and founder resources in your inbox monthly.