The Engine implements expansion plans

The Engine, the tough tech incubator launched by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), yesterday unveiled plans to open additional incubation space for its portfolio companies.
The incubator has signed a 200,000 square foot lease with MIT for a block once used by camera manufacturer Polaroid, with the aim of turning it into offices, labs and fabrication facilities for early 2022.
The Engine was founded in 2016 and also operates a $205m venture capital fund that has so far backed 19 deep tech businesses, which have together raised $285m in funding.
The fund has an 18-year mandatory term before it can exit, supporting highly technical fields that require lengthier funding horizons, such as robotics, manufacturing, health technology, biotech and energy.
MIT has contributed about $25m of its own money to The Engine, but the rest comes from unnamed investors who back the fund’s core mission. The vehicle maintains a wholly independent board and investment strategy.
The Engine’s portfolio companies currently operate from a 28,000 square foot space leased by the incubator that is expected to remain active alongside the new Polaroid block once the latter launches.
Once the expansion opens, The Engine should have enough capacity to house some 100 businesses and 800 entrepreneurs. Katie Rae, managing partner and chief executive of The Engine, told the Boston Globe the aim was to support at least 1,000 jobs between the two locations.
Rae said: “We have a rare opportunity to help cultivate the next generation of leaders tackling the world’s most urgent, challenging problems.
“We also have the chance to forge a foundational infrastructure that can potentially change the geography of innovation. A thriving hub can propel the Boston region into the future as a magnet for world-changing companies in tough tech.”