Incubator · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

LabCentral

Nonprofit shared-lab facility in Kendall Square, Cambridge, renting permitted lab and office space, shared equipment and operations support to early-stage life-science startups, from single-scientist teams upward.

Rolling applications

Verified 18 October 2026 · From the programme's own pages

Terms

Funding
not published
Instrument
not published
Equity taken
not published
Programme fee
not published Residents pay monthly for space; bench rates are not published. LabCentral announced bench-rate cuts of more than 25% for 2026 covering current residents, new applicants and LabCentral First participants.
Duration
not published
Cohort size
not published
Cohorts
not published
Delivery
In person
Stages
Pre-seed, seed
Sectors
Biotech, Health tech
Open to founders from
not published
Perks
  • Permitted lab and office space
  • Shared equipment
  • Permitting and waste handling
  • Operations and facilities support
  • Sponsor-funded Golden Tickets

Residencies are offered for two years with the option of a third. LabCentral First (announced November 2025) gives up to 18 first-time founding teams six months of free lab space. LabCentral 238, at 238 Main Street, is a 100,000 sq ft site for process development and scale-up with private suites of 12 to 33 benches. LabCentral Ignite runs an annual Golden Ticket contest; its 2025 round offered five tickets, each a US$50,000 space credit plus a one-year fellowship.

Application dates

Rolling applications

Applications are accepted at any time.

Who can apply

  • At the 700 Main Street site, companies that have raised over US$10 million, or earned over US$3 million in revenue in the past 12 months, are not eligible
  • Once admitted, residents face no limit on further fundraising
  • Applicants complete an online form and a call with site operations, then give a 30-minute presentation to the Selection Committee
  • Stage: pre-seed, seed

What founders should check

  1. The programme does not publish how much equity it takes. Ask before you accept a place.
  2. Fees: Residents pay monthly for space; bench rates are not published. LabCentral announced bench-rate cuts of more than 25% for 2026 covering current residents, new applicants and LabCentral First participants.
  3. It runs in person in Cambridge. Plan to be there for the length of the programme.
  4. Applications are accepted at any time, so there is no deadline to plan around.

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