Boston turns research into companies better than almost anywhere — MIT and Harvard on one side, a biotech and robotics cluster on the other, and decades of deep-tech operators in between. The science is world-class; the founder rooms are fragmented across campuses. Ascent Valley runs curated, in-person events across the city: networking nights, pitch events, mixers and demo nights where founders, investors, operators and builders actually meet — verified in the room, matched by stage and focus, then kept connected across the network. No badges, no pitch-deck tourism — just the people doing the work.