The Massachusetts COVID-19 Innovation Challenge was launched as a business accelerator program to identify and grow Massachusetts companies developing innovative solutions to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Challenge series included four six-week accelerator programs managed by Lever, Inc. and sponsored by the Innovation Institute at MassTech.

Each Challenge was geared toward a different focus, coaching and guiding companies as they pivoted operations to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Challenge series complemented the work of the Commonwealth's Manufacturing-Emergency Response Team, or MERT, a collaborative effort to assist manufacturers pivot to produce critical items necessary to ensure health and safety during the pandemic. The first three Challenges focused on more established companies, working to spark the leadership, innovation, and creativity typically associated with nimble startups, helping the companies to "innovate from within". The fourth challenge focused on budding entrepreneurs, identifying concepts with the potential to spark economic recovery via connective tech with the potential to enhance the flow of goods, services, and information.