Latest news with #JonChesto
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Aviation startup Merlin Labs valued at $800 million in deal to go public
Advertisement Last year, the company landed a $105 million contract with the Department of Defense to integrate Merlin Pilot software into the C-130J airlifter manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Inflection Point chief executive Mike Blitzer will join the Merlin board as a result of the upcoming deal; Inflection Point's recent successes include two other companies launched through similar SPAC deals, USA Rare Earth (current market cap of $1.7 billion) and Intuitive Machines (worth $1.6 billion today). Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
27-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Josh and Amy Boger give $1m to close out Boston Arts Academy's $35 million campaign
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'It's just energizing to see up close and personal the students and how serious they are,' Boger said. Advertisement He said he's impressed that admissions are not based on applicants' middle school grades, but instead on auditions and portfolios. He also believes many students who are artistically inclined can go on to become great mathematicians and scientists; the pursuits of arts and of science are more similar than many people realize. He added: 'Don't judge somebody by the fact that they were bored to death in seventh grade.' Advertisement He probably gets as much out of the student visits as the kids do — if not more. 'It's the questions they ask, and I realize that they're seeing certain aspects [of my photography] for the first time,' Boger said. 'That makes me more interested in those aspects. ... It reminds me to look at it more carefully.' This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene. Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
10-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
The 2025 Tech Power Players in the sustainability sector
The choice of Cambridge puts Vernova near MIT and at the center of a leading clean-energy cluster as Strazik, its CEO, pursues a bold future for the company. Already, Vernova has made a Strazik sees opportunities to bring the best ideas of clean-tech startups into mass production and get their inventions into the hands of big customers. Advertisement 'We're in a better position to play offense than we were even 12 months ago,' Strazik says. 'Now we're in a position of strength.' Strazik, 46, led Vernova specializes in three lines of business: power generation (natural gas, steam, and nuclear); wind turbines; and electrification (primarily grid infrastructure such as transformers and circuit breakers). Revenues are expected to reach as high as $37 billion this year and grow to $45 billion in 2028. Vernova sustained a setback last summer when a blade for the Vineyard Wind offshore project broke apart and debris washed up on nearby beaches. The company is working with the wind farm developer to replace blades at the site and complete the project. Advertisement Investors are bullish on Vernova because electricity demand is forecast to grow. Tech companies will need more and bigger data centers to advance artificial intelligence. Consumers will use more power for electric vehicles, heat pumps, and induction stoves. Governments and companies will rely on electricity to move closer to net-zero carbon goals. In Canada, for example, Vernova is building the next generation of smaller, safer nuclear reactors. At Vernova labs in Niskayuna, New York, scientists are working on technologies to capture carbon emissions from power generators. 'It's very easy to get up in the morning and very clearly see the impact that our work can have,' Strazik says. 'It just feels like our time. That's a privilege but it's one we need to manage carefully.' More tech power players to watch in the sustainability sector: Explore more sectors Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
24-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Final piece of Fan Pier put in place with luxury condo tower topping-off
Advertisement On Friday, Fallon and colleagues joined the Iron Workers Local 7 and general contractor Turner Construction to help put the final piece of Fan Pier into place in a topping-off ceremony. They raised a steel girder to the top of the 14-story frame of what will be a 122-unit luxury condo project, dubbed 'One Harbor Shore.' It's one of the few active construction sites with crane activity in Boston right now, amid the construction sector's doldrums. (Bank OZK provided financing last year, and MassMutual is Fallon's equity partner.) The Fallon Co. celebrated a topping-off ceremony of its 122-condo project at Fan Pier on May 23. The Fallon Co When it opens in mid-2026, the building, designed by CBT Architects, will be notable for another reason: It will be among the first major privately developed structures in the city to rely almost entirely on electric heat. (Gas-fired boilers will kick in for heat only when the temps get close to or below zero degrees Fahrenheit.) The developer says the building will easily exceed the city's new stringent energy codes. Advertisement For Fallon and his firm, the building also represents the final chapter in the Fan Pier development saga. The Fallon Company is now putting most of its attention outside of its home city for growth, such as with a sprawling After a few starts and stops, Fallon says it's satisfying to see the end in sight. Fan Pier now includes the two Vertex towers, the One Marina Park Drive tower where his company is located, as well as office buildings for MassMutual and Goodwin. Plus: more than 200 luxury waterfront condos at 22 and 50 Liberty — and now The Collaborative Companies will start marketing the units at One Harbor Shore in the coming weeks. People who haven't been to this part of Boston recently tell Fallon they can't believe the amount of change that's taken place. And it all began with that fortuitous balloon ride. 'We're proud of what we have, and we're proud of what it did for the city,' Fallon said. 'This site really became the catalyst for the whole Seaport.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
24-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Charles River Regional Chamber gives free memberships to retail shops
Advertisement 'There is, maybe for us, $10,000 in revenue at risk, assuming those members don't all renew or some of them convert to the free membership,' Reibman said. 'We think a lot of them will take this at least on a temporary basis because this is really a tough time for them.' That's the main motivation: helping local merchants get more exposure, and helping local consumers find them. Many have struggled in the era of online shopping and big-box competition. Now they face new uncertainties including tariffs and a crackdown on immigrants. Some bigger businesses, led by Comcast's NBC10 Boston and Wellesley consultancy Insource Services, have agreed to help cover the costs of the free memberships (which don't include a few services available to full-paying members, such as promotions through social media and ribbon-cuttings). The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Massachusetts recently did something similar in Boston, offering free memberships for one year to dozens of small businesses participating in the city's SPACE program, which offered financial assistance to entrepreneurs opening in vacant storefronts. Reibman estimates hundreds of shops could be eligible in his chamber's coverage area. Sure, he hopes some might pay to upgrade to full membership. But he says that's not why he's launching this program. 'The goal for this year, and the next three years, is really to help businesses get through this challenging, uncertain time,' Reibman said. 'These folks need our collective support.' Advertisement This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene. Jon Chesto can be reached at
