Touring Berkeley lab spaces

BERKELEY STARTUP CLUSTER HIGHLIGHTS

Berkeley High School NSBE Jr students learning from Carlos of Synvivia at Cell Valley Labs during a STEM CareerX tour, April 2022.

STEM CareerX Tours are back

The Berkeley Startup Cluster has partnered with the Cal State University Institute for STEM Education to organize “STEM CareerX” tours of local innovation companies for Berkeley High School students to learn how their STEM skills will apply in the workplace.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, different groups of Berkeley High School students got the chance to tour food-tech incubator Cell Valley Labs and All Power Labs, a global leader in small-scale gasification.  Students got the chance to talk to Berkeley STEM industry professionals and participated in hands-on activities that will hopefully inform their career decisions.

The Berkeley Startup Cluster thanks Cell Valley Labs and All Power Labs for opening their doors to local students and looks forward to another tour this week at Caribou Biosciences.

Contact the City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development if your company would like to host a STEM CareerX tour in the future or find other ways to engage in the local community, based on your interests and time constraints, on the Berkeley Startup Cluster website.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Big Ideas Contest Pitch Day & Awards Celebration

TOMORROW: Wednesday, May 4 4-7pm

B100 Blum Hall on UC Berkeley’s Campus

Come get inspired by the most innovative social ventures being developed by student teams across the University of California system at the Big Ideas Contest Grand Prize Pitch Day & Awards Celebration. Attendees may participate in person or virtually. 

Register for free on Eventbrite.

Collider Cup X

Friday, May 6 9am-12pm Bakar BioEnginuity Hub The UC Berkeley Sutardja Center will host its Collider Cup X, showcasing the best student teams from the Spring 2022 semester. Come watch teams pitch to angel investors and industry experts as they vie to win the Collider Cup. Register for free on Eventbrite.

TC Sessions Saturday, June 14, online event on Monday, June 16 Zellerbach Hall on UC Berkeley’s Campus For college students and recent grads, buy a discounted $45 pass to TechCrunch Sessions: Climate 2022 presented by Extreme Tech Challenge to meet and learn from some of climate tech’s industry experts and leaders. Other passes are available for the general public and a startup demo package is available for early-stage, climate change startups. Register today.

RESOURCES & DEADLINES

Department of Energy Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship

Application deadline: Friday, May 6

For individuals with clean energy knowledge, skills and interests, the Department of Energy Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship is a great chance to work at critical energy organizations to advance clean energy solutions. 

Apply to the Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship.

The Lab and The Accelerator at ICA Application deadline: Friday, May 20 ICA provides investment, business support, and coaching for high-potential companies ready to scale their operations and create wealth in their communities. They offer two programs based on the company stage: The Lab and The Accelerator.  Apply to The Lab or The Accelerator at ICA.

RePicture Career Exploration & Resume-Builder Summer Program

Program dates: June 21-July 29

The RePicture STEM Summer Career Exploration & Resume Builder Program is a 100% virtual 6-week program where you can explore STEM careers, build important professional skills, boost your resume, and create a unique online portfolio of work you can showcase on job and university applications.

Register now for an early bird special price.

Employment opportunities at Demetrix

Innovative, Berkeley-based synthetic biology company Demetrix is hiring for Software Engineer and Lab Services Associate (Glasswash) roles. Apply for the Software Engineer role. Apply for the Lab Services Associate role.

UPSIDE Foods is hiring

For anyone looking to work for a Berkeley-based food technology company growing at an extremely rapid pace, check out the job openings at UPSIDE.  Join the UPSIDE team.

BERKELEY INNOVATORS MAKING NEWS

UPSIDE Foods Raises $400 million Series C round

The Berkeley-based cultured meat company just raised a $400 million Series C round, to accelerate its production of delicious, humane, and sustainable meat.  The funding will help UPSIDE drive product innovation, partnerships, and the infrastructure needed to make cultivated meat at scale.

Learn more in UPSIDE’s blog post or in the Silcon Valley Business Journal.

Bakar Labs to award lab space to startups researching gene tech

The Bakar BioEnginuity Hub houses Berkeley’s newest life sciences incubator, sitting on the site of a former historic art museum, and providing a space that aims to bridge the gap between UC Berkeley graduate students and biotech companies. Located within it, Bakar Labs has partnered with the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation to hold a competition this month that will award a year of free lab space to startups focused on finding a cure for cystic fibrosis through gene technology.

Read more in Commercial Observer and The Daily Californian.

Rigetti Computing goes public

Another Berkeley company had an IPO! Quantum computing startup Rigetti Computing went public in March via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger, taking $261.75 million from the deal. It now trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol RGTI.

Read about the deal on DataCenterDynamics.com.

LOVO AI closes $2 million extension

Berkeley SkyDeck alum LOVO AI just closed a $2 million extension led by Hashed, bringing pre-Series A funding to $6.5 million. LOVO AI accelerates content production by providing highly adaptable AI Voiceovers & text-to-speech to help creators generate expressive speech for games, films, advertisements, streaming services, e-learning institutions, and much more. 

Read more on MarketTechPost.com.

Human trials on the horizon for male birth control pill in collaboration with YourChoice Therapeutics

Human trials for a non-hormonal contraceptive pill for men are expected to begin this year in a collaboration with Berkeley startup YourChoice Therapeutics. The prototype pill has proven itself to be 99% effective in animal studies. 

Learn more in ZME Science.

Twelve is transforming CO2 to fight climate change

Berkeley-based cleantech startup Twelve has developed a process that can transform CO2 into a range of everyday products — from sunglasses and car parts to laundry soap and jet fuel. Twelve is just one of 40 clean energy startups supported since 2020 by CalTestBed, a program designed and implemented by New Energy Nexus, the University of California, and the Berkeley Lab with funding by the California Energy Commission.

Learn more from UC News about CalTestBed and CA's clean energy startups.

Keep in Touch

To submit information or questions about Berkeley Startup Cluster contact: oedmailbox@cityofberkeley.info

You are subscribed to the Berkeley Startup Cluster News Releases.  Update or cancel your subscription on our subscription administration page. If you have questions or problems, contact webmanager@ci.berkeley.ca.us.