Cambridge Innovation Center
An American innovation community and flexible-workspace company that hosts startups, corporate ventures, investors, and public-sector innovation programs.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) is an American innovation-community company founded in 1999 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates Timothy Rowe and Andrew Olmsted. It began as a small shared office in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and developed into a large-scale environment for startups, corporate innovation teams, venture capital funds, and other organizations working on technology and entrepreneurship. Rather than operating only as a conventional serviced-office provider, CIC has presented its locations as innovation ecosystems in which companies can share infrastructure, interact with investors and researchers, and participate in programs intended to help businesses form connections across sectors and countries. The company opened its first facility in 2,700 square feet at 238 Main Street in Kendall Square. In April 2001, it moved across the street to One Broadway, where it occupied approximately 18,000 square feet. Its office design received an Honor Award for Design Excellence from the Boston Society of Architects for 2000. CIC expanded rapidly during the early 2000s, doubling its footprint twice by 2004 and reaching approximately 71,000 square feet and 75 companies. By August 2008, the Cambridge center housed about 170 companies, and by July 2013 it reported more than 500 companies. CIC's growth was not uninterrupted. In December 2006, a transformer fire in an NSTAR electrical vault beneath One Broadway forced the building and CIC to close for approximately five weeks. Around 150 companies, including Google, had to be relocated temporarily, with emergency space supplied by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The disruption nevertheless did not end the center's expansion. Google had established its New England headquarters at CIC in 2005, while other companies associated with the site included HubSpot, Maven Technologies, and GreatPoint Energy. HubSpot occupied space at CIC from 2006 to 2010, and GreatPoint Energy raised $103 million while based there in 2007 for its coal-gasification technology. The company began expanding beyond Massachusetts in 2013, announcing CIC St. Louis as its first location outside the state. It later pursued an international model that combined physical innovation campuses with programs supporting the globalization of innovation. CIC locations and initiatives have hosted or supported programs involving governments including Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands. In 2018, CIC signed a lease for approximately 90,000 square feet at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street in Kendall Square, close to the Kendall/MIT subway station. That year it also closed a $58 million funding round involving HB Reavis. In 2020, CIC opened campuses in Tokyo and Warsaw and established CIC Health, a subsidiary focused on COVID-19 testing-site management. During 2021, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts contracted CIC Health to manage scheduling and logistics for mass-vaccination centers at Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and later the Hynes Convention Center. Medical procedures at those sites were performed by contracted physicians and hospital workers, while CIC Health handled operational coordination. The health subsidiary broadened CIC's practical role from workspace and entrepreneurship infrastructure into public-health logistics during the pandemic. CIC is also associated with one of the early bikeshare programs in the Boston area, operated in 2008. Its overall model remains centered on flexible workspace, startup support, innovation programming, and links between private companies, investors, research institutions, and governments.
History
Cambridge Innovation Center was founded in 1999 by MIT graduates Timothy Rowe and Andrew Olmsted. Its first premises occupied 2,700 square feet at 238 Main Street in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The location placed the organization near MIT and within an emerging concentration of technology companies, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors. In April 2001, CIC moved across the street to One Broadway and expanded to approximately 18,000 square feet. The new office attracted attention for its design, which received an Honor Award for Design Excellence from the Boston Society of Architects for 2000. CIC continued to grow through the early 2000s, doubling in size twice by 2004 and reaching roughly 71,000 square feet while hosting 75 companies. A major operational disruption occurred in December 2006, when a transformer fire in an NSTAR electrical vault in the basement of One Broadway caused the building and CIC to close for five weeks. Approximately 150 companies were located in the building, including Google, and many required emergency relocation. MIT provided temporary space. Despite the disruption, CIC's community continued to expand. Google had established its New England headquarters at CIC in 2005, and the center later became associated with companies including HubSpot, Maven Technologies, and GreatPoint Energy. HubSpot was a CIC tenant from 2006 to 2010. GreatPoint Energy, which was based at CIC in 2007, raised $103 million for coal-gasification technology. CIC's Cambridge site had about 170 companies by August 2008. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick visited the center in January 2009, reflecting the organization's growing role in the state's technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem. By July 2013, the center had grown to more than 500 companies. The organization also operated an early bikeshare program in the Boston area in 2008. In May 2013, CIC announced CIC St. Louis, its first expansion outside Massachusetts. The company helped popularize the innovation-center model in which private operators, local governments, investors, universities, and companies use shared facilities and programs to promote entrepreneurship and economic development. Its sites combined conventional office and coworking functions with innovation programming and space for corporate spin-outs, venture funds, and startup companies. CIC subsequently developed an international dimension. Its facilities and programs supported innovation-globalization initiatives involving more than a dozen governments, including Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands. In February 2018, CIC signed a lease for approximately 90,000 square feet in Kendall Square at Broadway and Main Street. The site included a street-facing video screen and was located near the Kendall/MIT Red Line station. In March of the same year, CIC closed a $58 million funding round involving HB Reavis. In 2020, CIC opened campuses in Tokyo and Warsaw. It also founded CIC Health, a subsidiary created to manage COVID-19 testing sites. CIC Health focused on scheduling, logistics, and site operations, while contracted physicians and hospital workers carried out medical procedures. In 2021, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts engaged CIC Health to manage mass-vaccination centers at Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and later the Hynes Convention Center. This work extended CIC's operating model beyond office infrastructure into large-scale public-health logistics. CIC is therefore best understood as an innovation infrastructure company whose activities have included flexible workspace, startup and corporate-community services, international innovation programs, and pandemic-response operations.
- 2021
CIC Health supports Massachusetts vaccination centers
[1]CIC Health manages logistics for mass-vaccination centers at Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and the Hynes Convention Center.
- 2020
CIC opens Tokyo and Warsaw campuses
[1]CIC expands its international physical network with campuses in Tokyo and Warsaw.
- 2020
CIC Health is founded
[1]CIC creates CIC Health to manage COVID-19 testing-site scheduling and logistics.
- 2018
CIC signs a 90,000-square-foot Kendall Square lease
[1]The company signs a lease for a large new facility at Broadway and Main Street in Kendall Square.
- 2018
CIC closes a $58 million funding round
[1]CIC closes a funding round involving HB Reavis.
- 2013
CIC announces expansion to St. Louis
[1]CIC announces its first campus outside Massachusetts, with CIC St. Louis planned to accommodate up to 100 companies when fully occupied.
- 2008
CIC reaches approximately 170 resident companies
[1]By August, CIC houses about 170 companies and operates an early bikeshare program in the Boston area.
- 2006
Transformer fire forces a temporary closure
[1]A transformer fire in an electrical vault beneath One Broadway closes the building and CIC for approximately five weeks, requiring emergency relocation of about 150 companies.
- 2005
Google establishes its New England headquarters at CIC
[1]Google opens its New England headquarters at CIC; Android co-founder Rich Miner is identified as the first person to move into the office.
- 2004
Early expansion reaches 71,000 square feet
[1]After doubling its size twice, CIC reaches approximately 71,000 square feet and hosts about 75 companies.
Products and positioning
Innovation ecosystem infrastructure combining flexible workspace, startup community services, corporate innovation support, and public-sector innovation programs.
Flexible workspace and innovation infrastructure · 1999
CIC innovation campuses
CIC campuses provide shared and flexible office environments for startups, established companies, corporate innovation spin-outs, venture capital funds, and related organizations. The campuses are designed not only as real-estate offerings but also as communities where companies can access common facilities, professional networks, investors, and innovation-oriented programming.
Business support services · 1999
Startup and entrepreneurship support
CIC's startup-oriented services center on providing workspace, proximity to entrepreneurial networks, and access to an environment shared by founders, investors, researchers, and corporate innovators. The model supports companies at different stages rather than limiting occupancy to a single accelerator cohort or industry.
Public-private innovation programs
Innovation globalization programs
CIC houses or supports programs intended to help governments and innovation organizations connect with international entrepreneurial ecosystems. Reference material identifies programs involving governments including Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.
Testing and vaccination-site logistics · 2020
CIC Health
Founded in 2020, CIC Health manages operational elements of testing and vaccination sites, including scheduling and logistics. During Massachusetts's pandemic response, medical procedures were performed by contracted physicians and hospital workers while CIC Health handled site coordination.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Massachusetts mass-vaccination center logistics
Massachusetts
Under a Commonwealth of Massachusetts contract, CIC Health managed scheduling and logistics at mass-vaccination centers located at Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and later the Hynes Convention Center.
Outcome. The initiative expanded CIC Health's role from testing operations into large-scale public-health logistics.
- 2020CIC Health COVID-19 testing operations
United States · Massachusetts
CIC established CIC Health to coordinate COVID-19 testing-site scheduling and logistics during the pandemic.
Outcome. CIC Health subsequently expanded its pandemic-response role into management of mass-vaccination-center logistics in Massachusetts.
- 2008Boston-area bikeshare program
Boston area
CIC operated one of the early bikeshare programs in the Boston area, extending its community-infrastructure activities beyond office space.
Outcome. The program is documented as an early local bikeshare initiative; its later operating status is not specified.
Brand decisions
2020
Diversify into pandemic-response logisticsStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic created demand for organizations able to coordinate testing and vaccination-site operations.
Action taken
CIC founded CIC Health to manage testing-site scheduling and logistics and later support vaccination-center operations.
Aftermath
CIC Health became a vehicle for CIC's participation in Massachusetts's pandemic testing and mass-vaccination response.
2018
Secure a larger Kendall Square facilityStrategyBackground
CIC required additional space in its original Cambridge innovation district as its community and programming expanded.
Action taken
The company signed a lease for approximately 90,000 square feet at Broadway and Main Street in Kendall Square.
Aftermath
The lease reinforced CIC's presence near MIT and the Kendall/MIT transit station.
2018
Raise expansion funding from HB ReavisOtherBackground
CIC was expanding its campus and innovation-program network and sought additional capital.
Action taken
CIC closed a $58 million funding round involving HB Reavis.
Aftermath
The financing provided capital during a period of continued physical and international expansion.
Funding raised. $58 million (March 2018)
2013
Expand the innovation-center model beyond MassachusettsStrategyBackground
CIC had grown substantially in Cambridge and sought to replicate its shared innovation-community model in another American market.
Action taken
CIC announced CIC St. Louis as its first location outside Massachusetts, with planned capacity for up to 100 companies.
Aftermath
The announcement marked the beginning of CIC's geographic expansion beyond its original Cambridge base.
Recent events
- 2021
CIC Health manages Massachusetts mass-vaccination centers[1]
Other · Regulation
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts contracted CIC Health to manage scheduling and logistics at vaccination centers at Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, and later the Hynes Convention Center.
- 2020
CIC launches CIC Health during the COVID-19 pandemic[1]
Product launch · Other
CIC established CIC Health to manage COVID-19 testing-site operations and later expanded into mass-vaccination logistics in Massachusetts.
- 2020
CIC opens campuses in Tokyo and Warsaw[1]
Product launch
CIC expanded its physical campus network internationally with new locations in Tokyo and Warsaw.
- 2018
CIC signs a major Kendall Square lease[1]
Other
The company signed a lease for approximately 90,000 square feet at Broadway and Main Street in Kendall Square, near the Kendall/MIT station.
- 2018
CIC closes a $58 million funding round[1]
Other
CIC completed a $58 million funding round involving HB Reavis, supporting the company's continued expansion.
- 2013
CIC opens its first location outside Massachusetts in St. Louis[1]
Other
CIC announced an expansion to St. Louis, marking its first location beyond Massachusetts and extending its innovation-center model to another American city.
Sources1 sources
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