MassRobotics Healthcare Robotics Catalyst Program: Cohort 6 (2027)

The MassRobotics Healthcare Robotics Catalyst Program is a four month accelerator for robotics and automation startups in healthcare and biotech. Cohort 6 is presented by Festo, Mitsubishi Electric US, Novanta and Intel, and applications opened on 15 October 2026.

The program takes no equity. Startups work with senior experts from the sponsor companies and yaxxoo, and get a clinical view from a Medical Advisory Board. The plan includes structured onboarding and goal setting, mentor working sessions every two weeks, and workshops on regulatory strategy, cybersecurity and SBOMs, clinical workflow and pilot design.

The call is open to companies worldwide. MassRobotics names lab and pharma automation, surgical robotics and rehabilitation devices as examples, and encourages Seed through Series C companies to apply. Teams that can work on a proof of concept during the four months are especially welcome.

Selection looks at technical maturity, clinical relevance, how realistic the near term milestones are, program fit and how well the team matches the mentors. Applications close on 31 December 2026. Evaluation and interviews run from 1 to 20 January 2027, and the cohort is announced on 29 January 2027.

The cohort runs from February to June 2027. It ends with startup presentations at the Robotics Summit and Expo in Boston. Questions go to info@massrobotics.org.

Quick answers

Does MassRobotics take equity or charge fees?

No. The program has no fees and takes no equity.

Do I need to travel to Boston?

Most of the program runs in a flexible virtual format, but presence at the Robotics Summit and Expo in Boston in June 2027 is mandatory. Travel support may be available.

What should the application include?

A company overview, the problem and use case, a robotics integration summary, the TRL level, proof of concept readiness, mentor preferences and a short deck. A demo video is optional.