Innovation and Entrepreneurship News and Opportunities

On February 8, 350+ UC Berkeley students attended the UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) entrepreneurial mixer. Attendees had the opportunity to network and learn about local resources available to help them in their entrepreneurial journeys.

Check out the resources and networks showcased including: the SCET Summer Venture Lab, the Berkeley Startup Cluster, Big Ideas Contest and STUDENTpreneurs.  

Join the Innovative Genomics Institute for the HS Chau Women in Enterprising Science (WIES) Open House!

Meet the current WIES fellows, learn about the Women in Enterprising Science program and opportunities to apply, and network with the WIES program team, alums, investors, and biotech entrepreneurs.

RSVP here.

Thursday, March 21, 5:00-7:00 pm
Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Berkeley 94704

Join the Berkeley Chamber at Berkeley City Club (walking distance from the Cal campus) for a cool, fun & inspiring event to unwind after your long workday. Mingle with other members of the business community while enjoying refreshing beverages and delicious snacks.

RSVP on Eventbrite. 

The East Bay is a world-class leader when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship. Often referred to as the “Academy Awards of the East Bay,” the East Bay Innovation Awards is the premier program of its kind that celebrates and honors the extraordinary companies and organizations that contribute to the East Bay’s legacy of innovation. For over a decade, the annual awards ceremony has showcased outstanding organizations that embrace innovation in their manufacturing, products, services, design, and information.

Congrats to Berkeley companies Bayer, Twelve, Ambi Robotics, Climax Foods, and Bakar Labs for getting selected as finalists for a 2024 East Bay Innovation Award!

Purchase tickets to join the celebration.

The Bioneers Conference, one of the pre-eminent eco-themed gatherings in the nation, now in its 35th year, will bring thousands of attendees to Downtown Berkeley with a wide array of presentations, panel discussions, performances, films, networking events, and more. Keynote speakers will include: world-renowned forest ecologist Suzanne Simard; biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of the bestselling Entangled Life; Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn, and many more.

Register to attend with discount code Berkeley20 for 20% off the listed ticket price before prices go up for the final time on March 13.

Deadline: March 14, 2024

Do you know a business, nonprofit or institution that has innovative ideas to prevent waste? StopWaste is offering grants with a total of $1.1 million available in funding for projects in six categories. The focus is on innovative approaches to preventing waste in Alameda County and supporting local communities.

Apply here.

Deadline: March 17, 11:59 pm

ICA Fund mentors and invests in founders of color and women entrepreneurs. They support high-potential companies through a 12-week accelerator program and long-term, flexible capital from the ICA Growth Fund. Their accelerator will make you a more confident entrepreneur with a clear plan for growth, the tools to reach your goals, and most importantly, a community to turn to.

Apply here.

Deadline: April 12, 2024, 2pm PDT

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the Solutions for Lasting, Viable Energy Infrastructure Technologies (SOLVE IT) Prize is now accepting submissions.   

The SOLVE IT Prize will support communities as they identify and work to implement innovative clean energy solutions in a way that works best to address their unique needs and challenges. By empowering communities to solve their energy-related challenges, the SOLVE IT Prize looks to promote the commercialization of promising energy technologies in a way that will lead to an equitable and just energy transition.  

Solve the challenge here. 

Deadline: April 12, 2024

The WIES Program at the Innovative Genomics Institute is an exciting opportunity for researchers who are committed to addressing gender inequity in biotechnology and are driven to commercially develop solutions for some of the world’s greatest problems for the benefit of the public. The WIES program is a one-year fellowship to explore turning your research into a business with the exclusive opportunity to receive a no-strings donation of up to $1,000,000 directly from our donor.

Apply here. 

Deadline: April 16, 2024

The Cleantech Open (CTO) has trained over 3,750 entrepreneurs from 2,000 early-stage clean technology startups through its annual business accelerator. CTO alumni have raised over $1.8 billion equity, and in recent cohorts, 50% of founder CEOs self-identified as BIPOC and/or women.

Appy here. 

An "Innovation Zone" is coming to Downtown Berkeley thanks to UC Berkeley. The zone will have two large laboratory buildings for research and development, including one for genome engineering.

In addition, as UC Berkeley's first-ever Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer, Richard Lyons is driving the university's reputation as a hotbed for founders and startups.

Read more about the innovation zone and Richard Lyons' efforts.

KoBold Metals, a mining startup that uses AI to explore for materials key to green energy, said it has discovered a massive copper deposit in the African country of Zambia. Shareholders include Breakthrough Energy Ventures – backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

Read more on the San Francisco Business Times. 

Congratulation to Activate Fellow company, Twelve for taking a major step towards producing sustainable aviation fuel by launching its commercial-scale carbon transformation unit! Twelve also featured on the Cleantech Group's 2024 100 Global Cleantech List.

Read more about the carbon scale transformation unit and review the Global Cleantech list. 

Umaro and HOPO Therapeutics, both tenants of Bakar Labs, have partnered to extract rare earth elements from seaweed. This project has been funded by a $1.78 million grant from the US Department of Energy.

Learn more from Bakar Labs.

Akorn Technology hosted a group of Berkeley High School students for a STEM CareerX tour, organized by the City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development and Cal State University's Institute for STEM Education. Led by CEO and Founder Anthony Zografos, students learned how Akorn's all natural fruit coatings extend the shelf life of peaches, mangos, pears and other foods to reduce food waste. 

Read more on Akorn's website.