It’s not the Pats or the Red Sox that are the elite athletes of Boston, it’s the construction workers — specifically the construction workers who worked on the Big Dig.
Even today people’s jaws drop when they learn how extensive the Big Dig was.
The project rerouted a large portion of above-ground downtown highways to underneath the city. It built 161 miles of highway, half of which were funneled into tunnels, and created four major highway interchanges in a 7.5 mile area, according to the state.
The Massachusetts state government website includes some of the project’s most notable measurements — like how the Big Dig removed enough dirt to fill up 16 stadiums to the rim.
Perhaps most notable, though, was how the project transformed the downtown area to better serve the people of Boston. Where the highways used to be there are now more greenspaces and parks — more than 300 acres of new parks and open space were added, and so were more than 2,400 trees and 7,000 shrubs to downtown. Driving is also radically different. The number of hours that cars spend on the highway dropped by 62 percent when the Big Dig was done, and there was a 12 percent drop in carbon monoxide levels.
One blog referred to the Big Dig as a feat of engineering not unlike the Panama Canal.
To sum it up, Boston puts people first — and it's builders who made that happen.
In the spirit of highlighting builders, Built in Boston found four local tech companies that put customers first and are willing to undergo massive projects to make life a little easier for them.
What Rapid7 does: Rapid7 is a cybersecurity company with the mission to create a secure digital world for customers, the industry and its communities.
Professional Development Perks
- Continuing education stipend
- Job training and conferences
- Online course subscriptions available
- Paid industry certifications
- Promote-from-within culture
- Lunch-and-learn sessions
- Continuing education available during work hours
Advances in AI: In June, Rapid7 announced that the AI built into its global security operations center would have a generative AI addition rolling out. Rapid7 uses AI to enhance threat detection by “leveraging a massive and diverse set of risk and threat data to automatically distinguish between malicious and benign alerts,” according to the press release. By adding generative AI to this engine, the internal SOC experts now have instant access to the insights of the team’s robust data.
“For years, we’ve pioneered the application of AI technologies, establishing patented models and incorporating them into our technologies to better and more efficiently solve customer challenges,” said Laura Ellis, vice president of data and AI at Rapid7, in the same press release. “We remain at the forefront with generative AI, enhancing our world-class managed detection and response services, ensuring that we continue to deliver unparalleled results for our customers.”
What 3Play Media does: 3Play Media is a software company that uses the power of AI to provide closed captioning, transcription, translation and audio description to customers across higher education, media and entertainment, enterprise and government.
Healthcare Perks
- Health, dental and vision insurance
- Disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Pet insurance
- Flexible spending account
- Wellness programs
- Mental health benefits
- Transgender health care benefits
- Abortion travel benefits
Industry research: 3Play Media works with all aspects of automatic speech recognition technology, including studying the state of the industry. The 2024 State of ASR report shared the significant improvements that were made in the industry over the last year. The report’s researchers studied things like hallucination errors, the need for more nuanced evaluation frameworks and the importance of human review in the transcription process.
“The ASR market continues to evolve and is fiercely competitive. It is clearly reaching a maturation stage in its evolution,” said Josh Miller, co-CEO and co-Founder of 3Play Media, in a press release for the report. “This year, it has become clear that not all errors are equal, challenging the standalone metric of accuracy rate. Ultimately, ASR alone is still insufficient for the captioning use case, especially regarding formatting and hallucinations. Human-in-the-loop captioning and transcription workflows remain critical for accuracy, quality and accessibility.”
What Simply Business does: Simply Business is a fintech company that makes small business insurance simple and accessible.
Office Perks
- Commuter benefits
- Company-sponsored outings and happy hours
- Onsite gym
- Onsite office parking
- Recreational clubs
- Free snacks and drinks
- Some meals provided
- Home-office stipend for remote employees
- Meditation space
- Mother's room
Growing fast: Simply Business’ platform helps small business owners select an insurance that works for them by offering customized coverage recommendations and a side-by-side comparison. In March, Simply Business surpassed 1 million active customers worldwide.
“This milestone is a testament to the collective efforts of the Simply Business team, the trust of our customers and the resilience of the businesses we serve,” said U.S. CEO Samantha in a press release. “As we celebrate this achievement, we also reaffirm our commitment to continuous innovation, customer satisfaction and being the go-to insurance partner for small businesses.”
What NuvoAir does: NuvoAir is a healthtech company that helps patients understand their lung health.
Diversity-Focused Perks
- Documented equal pay policy
- Mean gender pay gap below 10%
- Mandated unconscious bias training
- Diversity employee resource groups
- Hiring practices that promote diversity
Ribbon cutting: In October, NuvoAir Medical announced the opening of an outpatient pulmonary clinic in Prescott, Arizona. The clinic transferred from Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Group.
“By bringing our services to Prescott, we’re extending our commitment to providing personalized and timely care for patients with chronic lung conditions,” said NuvoAir Medical’s CEO, Lorenzo Consoli, in a press release. “We aim to empower patients to better manage their health with the support of an integrated, expert care team.”
