iStock photo
Tuesday’s biggest business news may have been the Spanish government’s launch of a $200 million investment fund aimed at biotech companies based here and in Spain.
But alongside it, the city of Boston, The Boston Foundation and M&T Bank announced the creation of a business recruitment initiative to try and bring more businesses to the city.
A memorandum formalizing the donation hasn’t yet been inked, but the office of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared that M&T plans to contribute “several million dollars” to seed the city’s “You Can’t Beat Boston” initiative.
“Leading companies—from Uniqlo and Hasbro to Dechra and Lovable to homegrown tech and life sciences leaders like Vertex, Gingko Bioworks, WHOOP, Klaviyo—are choosing Boston because it’s the best city to raise families and a place where talent, ideas, and innovation thrive,” Wu said in a statement. “Through this partnership, we will bring together Boston’s leadership across sectors to recruit even more companies, attract more investment, and drive economic growth.”
The mayor has recently huddled with business leaders, reportedly seeking answers to questions like “Where is Boston’s innovation engine currently getting stuck?” according to MASSterlist, and input on Wu’s search for her administration’s next economic development chief.
“You Can’t Beat Boston” and M&T Bank’s planned donation comes after business leaders of many stripes spent the last several months expressing increasing levels of alarm about Eastern Massachusetts’ innovation and higher education sectors amid federal research funding cuts – some legally disputed – and other threats. The biotech sector, in particular, has been a focus of concern, with trade group MassBio flagging 2025’s smallest haul of venture capital funding in years and a noticeable contraction in worker headcount.
CBRE research released Monday put the citywide lab vacancy rate at 32.2 percent for the first quarter of 2026, the same figure for Cambridge at 24.2 percent and the suburban rate at 28.3 percent. The region-wide availability rate came in at 32.7 percent, the commercial brokerage reported, nearly unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2025 but up 70 basis points year-over-year, with continuing signs of “tenant retrenchment.”
The city’s office market also continues to suffer, brokerage data says.
The city of Boston’s new initiative will do five things, Wu’s office said:
- Champion global investment and inclusive economic growth
- Serve as the central point of contact for businesses considering growing in Boston
- Build and maintain relationships with existing businesses to support retention and growth
- Establish a strong foundation for international businesses to launch and scale in the City
- Develop and execute comprehensive marketing strategies for Boston
“M&T Bank has a long history of investing in communities and helping businesses scale, grow and thrive,” M&T Massachusetts regional president Jeff Carpenter said in a statement. “Through this initiative, we are proud to support both local and global companies as they establish and expand their presence in Boston while reinforcing Massachusetts as a destination for innovation, ideas and investment.”
In addition to providing seed funding, M&T Bank convened public- and private-sector leaders and engaged partners including the Finance Ministry of Spain and the Richi Foundation, Wu’s office sad.
