FORGE 2024 Impact Report

Read on to view or download the FORGE 2024 Impact Report.

Aeroshield first came to FORGE with a problem: eager, early customers wanted proof that they could produce their super-insulating transparent, silica aerogel window insulation at scale. After first connecting with us in 2020, Aeroshield has won a FORGE grant to buy key production-grade equipment, leveraged our educational resources, attended our Manufacturing Readiness workshops, and consulted with our Innovation Advisors. We’ve cheered on Aeroshield as they completed a first pilot, built supply chains, and secured increasing funding and accolades. In 2024, Aeroshield opened a 12,000 square foot facility that will employ more than 30 employees.

Stories like this are what fuel the team at FORGE as we work to accelerate the success and impact of manufacturing hardtech innovations at scale.

We open the doors to the expertise, resources, and relationships that advance product development, manufacturing, and local supply chains. This work delivers unique value to innovators, manufacturers, suppliers, and the local economy – and ultimately, it drives the successful deployment of the next generation of high-impact, innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time.

In 2024, we served nearly 200 new startups, a new annual record for us! We continued our work providing hyperlocal, curated, innovator-friendly manufacturing and supply chain referrals, making hundreds of connections to facilitate the local manufacturing of innovative products. Seventy-two percent of our connections in our current service area were within 100 miles of each other.

The businesses we collaborate with are making the solutions of tomorrow. They are the backbone of the U.S. economy. We are here to support them.

Read on to celebrate everything our network of innovative companies, supply chain members, and ecosystem collaborators achieved in 2024. Together, we made a tangible impact on physical product innovation in New England this year, and we look forward to continuing to fulfill our mission in 2025 and beyond.