How a startup gets into MIT Technology Review
TL;DR
MIT Technology Review is a technology publication founded at MIT in 1899, covering AI, biotechnology, climate, energy and computing. Its contact page states plainly that it does not accept unsolicited pitches, so founders cannot request coverage. The realistic ways in are the free Innovators Under 35 competition, becoming a trusted source for its reporters, and freelance writing for founders who report like journalists.
What is MIT Technology Review?
MIT Technology Review calls itself an independent media company, founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899. It explains emerging technology and its consequences for a general audience through daily news, analysis, long features and a print magazine. Its focus areas are artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, energy and climate, and computing.
Each year it names 35 Innovators Under 35, young scientists and engineers picked by its editors with help from a panel of expert judges. The 2026 list is already published.
Who should aim for MIT Technology Review?
- Deep tech startups with research behind them: AI models, biotech, climate tech, robotics or new materials.
- Founders and scientists under 35 whose work changes what a technology can do.
- Skip it for marketing tools, consumer apps without new technology, and funding news. The publication writes about what technology does and why it matters, so a funding round alone is no story.
How much does MIT Technology Review cost?
Editorial coverage is free and decided by the newsroom. Nominating someone for Innovators Under 35 is free, and self-nominations are welcome. Freelance writers get paid: the pitch guidelines quote $1 to $2 per word, depending on experience and story type.
How do you get your startup into MIT Technology Review?
- Prepare a nomination for Innovators Under 35. The 2026 call opened on 1 December 2025 and closed on 20 January 2026, and nominees had to be under 35 on 1 October 2026. No 2027 call is out yet in October 2026. Nominations go through the nomination platform, and questions go to tr35@technologyreview.com.
- Become a source. Follow the reporters who cover your field, publish your data, and answer quickly when they ask for comment.
- If you write and report, pitch as a freelancer under the MIT Technology Review pitch guidelines. News and analysis of 800 to 1,000 words go to pitch-news@technologyreview.com, and features, essays and print pieces go to pitch-print@technologyreview.com. This path is for journalism about a field, so leave your own company out of it.
- To speak at its events, use the speaker nomination form linked from the contact page.
Write every pitch yourself: the guidelines say AI-written pitches are deleted automatically.
Tips to get more out of MIT Technology Review
- Publish your research as a paper, preprint or open dataset, so a reporter has something to verify.
- Build the Innovators Under 35 nomination around the technical problem you solved and the evidence that your solution works.
- Watch for the 2027 call in December 2026. The last two calls opened in early December.
- Pitch freelance stories with a clear top line and a takeaway. The guidelines reject topic-only pitches and stories that interest only researchers.
Our verdict
MIT Technology Review is the hardest outlet on this list to reach on purpose, by design. Deep tech founders under 35 should prepare a nomination for the next Innovators Under 35 call now. Everyone else gets further by becoming a trusted source in their field.
More options: see all tech media, blogs and newsletters. Planning a launch around press coverage? The Fe/male Switch startup game walks women founders from idea to first customers.