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Did you know that government and philanthropic R&D grants can be exempt from the calculation of your annual City of Berkeley business license taxes? (The taxes are based on your company’s gross receipts.) While the deadline has passed for completing an R&D grant tax waiver form for 2025, we are thrilled to report that 15 Berkeley startups received tax relief through this program.
If you already hold a Berkeley business license, annual business license renewals are due before March 1 – visit the City’s business license renewal webpage for details. If you don't have a required Berkeley business license, please refer to the City’s step-by-step guide to get started.
Please contact the City’s Business License department with questions about business license renewals. For general support doing business in Berkeley, contact the Office of Economic Development.
 Berkeley biotech had a strong presence at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM2026), where the City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development (OED) and the Berkeley Startup Cluster shared materials positioning Berkeley as a place for life sciences, AI, and robotics firms to innovate and grow.
At the Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase, 24 UC Berkeley life science startups delivered rapid-fire pitches across therapeutics, drug discovery, and sustainable biotech. OED's Elizabeth Redman Cleveland welcomed attendees and highlighted Berkeley’s nearly 130 biotech and healthcare companies, plus more than two million square feet of R&D space.
Almost 370 startups have an address in Berkeley. Check out the Berkeley Startup list to learn which companies are choosing Berkeley to grow their businesses.
 As part of the inaugural Berkeley Civic Innovation Challenge, UC Berkeley students are tackling some of the City’s most pressing issues through a fast-paced, hands-on design sprint. Led by UC Berkeley's Big Ideas Contest, this seven-day intensive brings student teams together to apply their creativity, technical skills, and entrepreneurial mindset to real-world challenges identified by City of Berkeley staff. The sprint kicked off on Jan. 30 at Berkeley SkyDeck where City employees shared local challenges facing our community. The following day, dozens of student innovators gathered at the Blum Center for Developing Economies to learn from Phillip Denny, Jill Finlayson, Annum Quraishi, and mentors, advisors, and sponsors from the Big Ideas network and City of Berkeley.
We look forward to seeing the ideas they propose to help make Berkeley safer, healthier, and more equitable at this Friday's (Feb. 6) Grand Prize Pitch Event. Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii (a previous Big Ideas champion!) and UCB Chancellor Rich Lyons will be among the judges.
Learn more about the Berkeley Civic Innovation Challenge and follow the Berkeley Startup Cluster LinkedIn for event recaps.
At the 17th UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) Collider Cup, student teams from the Fall 2025 venture classes pitched startup ideas tackling real-world challenges. Ideas ranged from a predictive migraine solution (Halo), to AI tools helping brands rank first in search (ElectAI), to a grocery deal and recipe app designed for students (Bite Balance).
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First Place went to Dealprint, led by Sebastian Krappe and Robert O’Brien. Founded at UC Berkeley Haas, the team is building an AI-native due diligence platform that streamlines small business acquisitions by replacing fragmented, manual processes with a faster and more transparent system. Dealprint will soon operate out of Berkeley SkyDeck’s Pad-13 incubator.
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Second Place and People’s Choice was awarded to MOFarm, which turns methane emissions into revenue for farmers using metal-organic frameworks to capture methane and convert it into natural gas.
- The Most Innovative Award was won by Six Sense for a wasp-inspired biopsy needle designed to enable more precise soft tissue sampling.
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The next Collider Cup will take place in May. Visit the website for more details.
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EVENTS
Application deadline: February 27, 2026
Online course sessions March 23, March 26, & April 2 from 5-8 PM
Do you have a startup idea? Are you looking for a proven method to validate your idea? Berkeley NSF I-Corps offers a free remote 10 day course based on Steve Blank's Lean LaunchPad. The three evening sessions teach you to identify your top customer segment and value propositions, and accelerate finding product market fit. The March course will have a second class happening at the same time: I-Corps @ LSEC, a collaborative course with the UC Berkeley Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center tailored to early stage biotech startups.
Eligible teams that complete either course and receive Hub recommendation might also qualify for the National NSF I-Corps program, which includes a $50,000 National Science Foundation customer discovery grant. Teams that complete the National program have a much higher funding rate, including SBIR grants and investment.
Apply for the Berkeley NSF I-Corps course here and for the I-Corps @ LSEC course here. You'll be contacted 2-3 weeks before the first day of class to schedule a team interview with the I-Corps instructor.
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February 24 - 26, 2026
The Lodge at Torrey Pines
11480 N Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037
Biocom's exclusive partnering and investor forum brings together over 500 investors and senior executives, including CEOs and heads of business development, biotech, and research and development from leading pharmaceutical, biotech, and research organizations from over 20 countries. This prestigious conference features panel discussions, one-on-one partnering meetings, presentations from small companies and leading research institutions, and endless networking opportunities.
Learn more and register for the conference.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2026
West Berkeley Location TBD
5:30–8:30 PM
Join BioPioneers, the Berkeley Startup Cluster & Wareham Development for an evening celebrating the female founders, operators, and leaders shaping what’s next in biotech. During Women’s History Month, we’ll bring together an incredible group of women executives for a candid conversation on building companies, navigating career inflection points, and supporting the next generation of leaders. The event will allow plenty of time to network with the Berkeley + Bay Area life sciences community.
The program will feature:
Jennifer Hamilton, CEO, Azalea Therapeutics
Ashley Zehnder, CEO, Fauna Bio
Svetlana Lucas, CBO, Scribe Therapeutics
Melissa Kotterman, CEO, Vivere Oncotherapies
Shon Green, CEO, CGT Stealth Startup (Moderator)
This event is open to biotech founders & operators, students/postdocs, early-career professionals, investors/BD, or anyone excited about building the East Bay life sciences ecosystem. Space is limited, please RSVP to attend.
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March 26 - 28, 2026
Downtown Berkeley
The 37th Annual Bioneers Conference will return to Berkeley and will feature an exciting line-up of visionaries, authors, and activists across a diverse spectrum of social justice movements.
Save the date and visit the website to sign up for updates and announcements.
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RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Application Deadline: February 11, 2026
Pitch Event: February 24, 2026
Berkeley Angel Network is now accepting applications for their next pitch event. The Berkeley Angel Network is particularly interested in seeing companies that are formed by students and/or alumni of UC Berkeley, or that are based on technology from UC Berkeley. However, companies considered for investment are not necessarily limited to such a connection.
Learn more about the Berkeley Angel Network and apply to pitch.
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Friday, March 13 2026
Session #1: 10:30 AM - 11:40 AM
Session #2: 12:20 PM - 1:25 PM
Berkeley High, 1980 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Biotech Academy students are hard at work learning hands-on lab and professional skills in preparation for their 2026 paid summer internships. Biotech Partners, Inc are hosting Mock Interview Sessions to help students hone their interviewing skills. Volunteers are needed to lend their professional expertise to "coach" the students during the Mock Interview Sessions. Volunteers will be provided with a list of prepared questions and can sign up to interview 2-3 students each session. Your support helps students grow professionally and and secure internships!
Fill out the google form to register as a volunteer.
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Applications due February 22, 2026 6PM
The Strauch Cleantech To Market Program (C2M) is UC Berkeley’s flagship climate tech accelerator and interdisciplinary graduate course. Through a 16-week, hands-on program, C2M pairs breakthrough climate tech startups with teams of UC Berkeley graduate students — from business, engineering, science, law, and policy — to assess market opportunities and build commercialization strategies. The program culminates in a high-profile summit attended by 300+ investors, corporate leaders, and ecosystem partners, where student teams present their findings and compete for $70,000 in prize funding, generously sponsored by MetLife.
C2M is housed at the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and represents one of the leading innovation and impact-driven learning experiences available at UC Berkeley.
Climate tech startups should apply before Feb. 22 to get paired with a UCB student team.
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Following a major revitalization, 2630 8th St is now available for lease and immediate move-in. This 51,500± square foot facility is specifically optimized for advanced manufacturing, featuring a robust power supply of 2,200 A (480V) and clear heights up to 18’. The property offers flexible floor plans and can be demised into 2 or 3 units, with the smallest configuration starting at 17,000± square feet.
View the Property Flyer and contact Ken Morris at CBRE to schedule a tour.
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Berkeley startup Constellation Bio is recruiting participants for a study exploring how the gut microbiome influences cholesterol metabolism and heart disease.
Fill out this form to participate in the Microbiome Research Project.
Looking for a job in Berkeley?
BERKELEY INNOVATORS MAKING NEWS
Berkeley startup Akorn Technology, Inc. has been named a winner of the UAE FoodTech Challenge, a global competition spotlighting the world’s most promising agri-tech solutions. Akorn was selected as one of just four global winners from more than 1,200 entries across 113 countries.
As part of the award, winners will share a $2 million prize and gain entry into the UAE’s fast-growing innovation ecosystem, creating new opportunities to develop and scale their ventures from the UAE to the world. Congratulations to the Akorn Technology team on gaining global recognition!
Read more about Akorn Technology's UAE FoodTech Challenge Win.
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David Liu, founder of Berkeley climate tech startup Clarity Movement, has been named to the TIME100 Climate List for his work addressing air pollution, the leading environmental threat to human health. Founded at UC Berkeley, Clarity developed low-cost, highly accurate air quality sensors that use machine learning to identify pollution levels in real time, even without reliable power or internet access.
Clarity’s solar-powered Node-S Air Sensor is now deployed in more than 85 countries, supporting communities worldwide in building healthier, more resilient cities.
Read more in Time Magazine.
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Ripple has partnered with UC Berkeley to launch the University Digital Asset Xcelerator (UDAX), a high-impact accelerator designed to fast-track real-world innovation on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The accelerator expands Ripple’s long-running University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), which focuses on connecting academic research with practical blockchain development. The program acts as a special channel through which blockchain ideas can be transferred out of a campus environment and into the financial market.
This was reported by multiple news sources including Coin Edition, MEXC, Ripple, Crypto Ninjas and Bitget.
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Keep in Touch
For questions about the Berkeley Startup Cluster, contact: oedmailbox@berkeleyca.gov
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