Start-Up Activity Continues at DEC's Old Mill

My most recent Globe column focuses on a hardware start-up, SiCortex, that is based in the Maynard mill complex that was once home to Digital Equipment.

From the piece:

If you want to understand the phenomenal regenerative ability of Massachusetts' innovation economy, head for the hulking brick mill in Maynard, close by the Assabet River. Carpets were made there in the 1840s, until an economic downturn, sparked by bank failures, killed that company. A new textile firm at the mill made blankets and uniforms for the military during the Civil War. That business failed in 1898, and was replaced by American Wool Co., which shut down its production facility in Maynard in 1950.

Starting in 1957, for more than three-and-a-half decades, the mill was Digital's world headquarters. In the 1990s, the career site Monster.com made the mill its base. And more recently, it has been home to dozens of start-ups, including the video game company 38 Studios, founded by Curt Schilling, and SiCortex, founded by Leonard and two fellow Digital alums, Matt Reilly and John Mucci.

Here's the video, which features SiCortex CEO Christopher Stone talking about the energy-efficient design of his products.



You can find out more about the mill's history here... and there's still an active group of DEC alums with a site here.