Recognition highlights hundreds of founders and engineers commercializing hardtech and manufactured products at mHUB in Chicago
CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Fast Company today announced its seventh annual Best Workplaces for Innovators list, recognizing businesses that foster a culture of innovation across all levels. mHUB, a leading innovation center for developing and commercializing new physical products, earned a spot at No. 29. This recognition highlights mHUB's unique environment where over 1,200 innovators converge across diverse disciplines and perspectives to drive innovation in key industries.
The community is anchored around mHUB's 80,000-square-foot innovation center that has incubated over 500 startups and features integrated programs that connect founders to capital, technical expertise, pilot opportunities, and supplier networks. In the past year, mHUB has expanded its accelerator programs, launched new pilot and funding opportunities for early-stage companies, and advanced its venture arm, mHUB Ventures, to further close the gap between prototype and deployment.
Since its founding in 2017, startups in the mHUB community have collectively raised more than $2 billion in capital. It took five years to reach the first billion; the second was achieved in just three.
"mHUB believes in advancing technologies that solve complex societal challenges in the physical world and improve lives," said Haven Allen, mHUB Co-Founder and CEO. "This requires more than great ideas—it takes collaboration between entrepreneurs, industry leaders, funders, and policymakers. Thank you, Fast Company, for recognizing the importance of creating a forum where these voices come together to shape the health of our economy and communities and to keep America's engine of innovation moving forward."
In addition to supporting early-stage startups, mHUB partners with established manufacturers to reduce the cost, time, and risk of product and process innovation. By tapping into the deep talent pool that has coalesced at mHUB, corporate partners and industry can accelerate innovation pipelines and foster stronger cultures of experimentation within their own organizations.
mHUB has advanced critical technologies in energy, healthcare, and manufacturing with a focus on smart capabilities, efficiencies, and enabling emerging tech.
To be considered for the 2025 Best Workplaces for Innovators list, applicants detailed their investment in innovation, internal programs, and company culture. Final selections were made by Fast Company's editors, who evaluated every application and conducted extensive research to generate a score for each company. A distinguished panel of judges then reviewed the top-rated companies.
Learn more about what makes mHUB a great workplace for innovators: Why mHUB Is a Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators.
mHUB is the nation's leading independent innovation center dedicated to accelerating hardtech development—where physical products are designed, built, and launched to solve real-world challenges in energy, healthcare, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing. At the intersection of innovation and industry, mHUB incubates high-potential startups to commercialize critical technologies faster and with intention. Based in Chicago, mHUB operates an 80,000-square-foot prototyping and micro-factory alongside deep technical and entrepreneurial mentorship, a robust investor and pilot network, and U.S.-based supplier and manufacturing expertise. mHUB's model includes mHUB Ventures, which has invested in over 50 startups across smart manufacturing, energy tech, and medtech, and HardTech Development Services, an R&D consultancy for manufacturers. Since launching in 2017, mHUB has supported over 1,200 entrepreneurs and 500 startups that have generated more than $1.96B in revenue, launched over 1,700 products, created nearly 7,000 jobs, and raised over $2B in capital. mHUB plays a critical role in strengthening U.S. competitiveness and building the physical future from the heart of the Midwest.
Media Contact
Kim Blomquist, mHUB, 1 872.222.5279, [email protected], https://mhub.org
SOURCE mHUB
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