MassChallenge is a global, zero-equity startup accelerator, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2009.

[citation needed] MassChallenge is headquartered in Boston's Seaport District in the MassMutual Building, and has additional U.S. locations in Texas, as well international locations in Israel and Switzerland.

[1] MassChallenge co-founders John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam were working as strategy consultants at Bain & Company during the global financial crisis in 2008 when they developed MassChallenge.

[2] MassChallenge secured early support from successful entrepreneurs like Desh Deshpande and Joe Fallon, the public sector including Thomas Menino the then-Mayor of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and large organizations like The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Microsoft.

[3] During its first Boston-based cohort in 2010, MassChallenge accelerated 111 startups.