Cannabis equity shortcomings | Cambridge Crossing lands lab lease | Avid goes private

Welcome to the BBJ's LinkedIn Weekly Edition! I'm Digital Editor?Jess Aloe, bringing you the business knowledge you need this week.

Bay State falls short in cannabis equity

Five years after the first recreational cannabis dispensaries opened their doors, none of the state’s largest retail companies — those with the maximum number of licenses allowed by law — are classified as equity businesses.

Massachusetts has touted itself as the first state with social equity regulations to make the marketplace more inclusive. One of these policies is an anti-monopoly law, limiting cannabis businesses to three recreational and three medical dispensary licenses for retail businesses, not including other types of licenses such as cultivation or product manufacturing.

A Boston Business Journal review of state records shows there are seven companies that have already maxed out the available retail licenses. None are part of either the social equity or economic empowerment programs, two license types given to people from marginalized groups or by people harmed by the war on drugs.

Get the details in this week’s cover story by Cassie McGrath

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Join the BBJ for our State of Diversity program on September 21st! Our panel of business leaders will be discussing DEI efforts at work and in the community and share their reflections on the priorities for Greater Boston. Get your tickets now!

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Here's what else happened this week

MIT raised millions for startup shut down after research misconduct accusations?

MIT raised millions of dollars, and even appears to have nabbed a federal grant, for what it touted as a cutting-edge agricultural startup before that program was shut down in 2020 following allegations of research misconduct, according to documents obtained by the Boston Business Journal. Get the details on the fundraising.?

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Avid goes private?

Burlington-based Avid is indeed being acquired by a private equity firm in a $1.4 billion deal, confirming rumors of a sale that first emerged months ago.

After 30 years as a public company, the provider of video and audio editing tools for the entertainment industry is being taken private by an affiliate of Palo Alto, California-based STG. Go behind the deal.

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Cambridge Crossing lands big lab lease?

Astellas Pharma US has agreed to take space on two floors of the newest lab building in the massive Cambridge Crossing mixed-use development, one of the region’s largest lab leases this year. That the Astellas lease is one of 2023’s largest speaks to how much demand for life sciences space has fallen over the past year. Read more.?

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Rapid7 cuts staff

Rapid7 announced it will lay off hundreds of workers during its Q2 earnings call in what the CEO called an opportunity to be more agile.

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