Harvard, MIT, Tufts, UMass: These academic powerhouses also power a continuous migration of innovators to the state. "Our academic institutions are the greatest importer of talent," said Kofi Jones, spokeswoman for Massachusetts' Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. "That talent in turn is a great base for those independent inventors."
The highly educated population attracts a lot of investment money. Massachusetts leads the nation in venture capital per capita, according to a study from the John Adams Innovation Institute, a state economic development organization.
Most patents in the state are filed in the life sciences, communications, computer, medical equipment fields, according to Jones. The combination of smart people and lots of money make "an ecosystem that is ripe for patents," she said.
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