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We're excited to share that Elizabeth Redman Cleveland (City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development) has been named UC Berkeley's nominee for the inaugural UC Regents Innovation Awards in the Community Changemaker category.
This recognition reflects Liz's longstanding commitment to bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, civic leaders, and community partners to strengthen Berkeley's innovation ecosystem. Her collaborative approach has helped foster connections that support startups, advance groundbreaking research, and create opportunities for innovation to benefit our community.
The Berkeley Startup Cluster is fortunate to have Liz at the helm along with so many incredible partners who make Berkeley a world-class place to build and grow transformative companies.
Congratulations, Liz, on this well-deserved honor, and congratulations to all of this year's nominees! Read more about UC Berkeley's nominees.
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 Industry leaders, developers, and investors gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina for Bisnow's Berkeley State of the Market on July 22, where speakers highlighted the city's strong momentum in housing, innovation, and economic development. Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii opened the event by highlighting Berkeley's efforts to support startups and investment through business-friendly policies, including exempting R&D grants from taxation and creating a more pro-development environment. City of Berkeley Planning Director Jordan Klein shared that Berkeley permitted 463 housing units and entitled 470 more over the past year—an encouraging sign of continued housing production. He also emphasized the city's enduring strengths, including its excellent schools, vibrant dining scene, mild climate, and access to outdoor recreation. Elizabeth Redman Cleveland from the City's Office of Economic Development shared how Berkeley is rehabilitating older buildings to support innovation. Examples included the transformation of the former Masonic Temple into UC Berkeley's Quantum Hub and the adaptive reuse of a former West Berkeley auto shop to house Sunchem, a startup recovering critical minerals from e-waste. She also highlighted the strong partnership between the City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley under the leadership of UCB Chancellor Rich Lyons, Mayor Ishii, and City Manager Paul Buddenhagen.
Closing the discussion, Nhan Nguyen Le of Valiance Capital noted that Berkeley is well positioned to benefit from the Bay Area's leadership in AI investment, creating an opportunity to evolve into an even stronger center for innovation, entrepreneurship, and next-generation industries.
 At the July 16 "Corridors: The Opportunity Along I-80" event at the DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina, the San Francisco Business Times brought together leaders from across the East Bay to discuss opportunities for AI, biotech, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and economic development to occur alongside this East Bay highway.
City of Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii opened the event by highlighting the strength of the partnership between UC Berkeley and the City of Berkeley, noting that Berkeley is home to more than 370 innovation companies—many spun out of UC Berkeley—and that the city has the space to support their continued growth. In a fireside chat, Geoff Sears of Wareham Development captured the spirit of the event with a simple but powerful message: "A rising tide lifts all boats." The future of the I-80 Corridor depends on regional collaboration, not competition. During a panel moderated by Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Owens, panelists Tina Self (Bayer), Katarina Klett (Bakar Bio Labs/QB3), and Sam Swan Swan (JLL) shared several key takeaways:
- Talent is the East Bay's greatest competitive advantage. Universities, research institutions, and healthcare systems continue to produce the workforce that powers innovation.
- Growing companies need places to scale. Expanding the supply of flexible, mid-sized R&D space will help AI, robotics, biotech, and advanced manufacturing startups remain in the East Bay as they grow.
- Quality of life drives economic growth. Affordable housing, safe communities, and vibrant neighborhoods are essential to attracting and retaining talent.
- With OpenAI's expansion to Richmond and renewed momentum in biotech, the East Bay region is increasingly being recognized as a destination for innovation.
The Berkeley Startup Cluster is proud to be part of a regional ecosystem where universities, industry, developers, investors, and local governments are working together to support growth along the East Bay's I-80 corridor.
 Our partners at the Cal State University - East Bay Institute for STEM Education recently shared a report highlighting the impact of 6 STEM CareerX tours on 52 Berkeley High School students and 4 educators. The results were incredibly encouraging. 100% of end-of-year student survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the visits:
- Helped them see how STEM is used in the real world.
- Introduced them to different pathways into STEM careers.
- Increased their understanding of the wide range of jobs available in STEM fields.
Students were especially inspired by hearing founders and industry leaders share their career journeys, challenges, and perseverance. Many also expressed surprise at the diversity of STEM companies and careers right here in Berkeley.
STEM CareerX is a collaboration between the City of Berkeley Office of Economic Development, Berkeley Startup Cluster, Cal State East Bay's Institute for STEM Education, and Berkeley High School's Career & Technical Education (CTE) program. The program serves students from Berkeley High School's National Society of Black Engineers Jr. (NSBE), Hispanic Engineering and Science Club (HES), Robotics Club, CAD program, and Mechatronics courses, helping expose historically underrepresented students to STEM careers and future educational pathways.
Students explored careers in:
-Quantum computing at Rigetti Computing
-Energy storage at Form Energy
-Robotics and automation at Ambi Robotics
-Neuroscience-based health technology at Magnetic Tides
-Acoustics and audio engineering at Meyer Sound
-Architecture, design, and housing construction at Type Five
Thank you to the incredible companies that opened their doors and shared their stories with our students. Your investment in Berkeley's future workforce is making a real difference.
Read the full report on the Berkeley Startup Cluster website.
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EVENTS
TODAY, Tuesday, August 11 6-9PM
Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship
2232 Piedmont Ave Berkeley, CA
If you're an operator curious about new AI tools, or just excited about what's being built at the intersection of AI and real-world operations, you might want to join this evening's event featuring a panel of founders building AI for industrials, followed by curated networking with the Berkeley and broader startup community. Expect to find founders, operators, students, and industry leaders to explore how AI is transforming back-office operations, manufacturing, and the future of work across Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Robotics, and Industrial sectors.
Join the waitlist to attend tonight's event.
Thursday, August 13, 5:30-7:30PM
Berkeley Gateway Accelerator
2168 Shattuck Ave. Downtown Berkeley
The first wave of AI-bio was about discovery. What comes next? As AI capabilities become table stakes, the frontier is shifting — toward deployment, closed-loop systems, real-world data, and defensibility. Join Berkeley Gateway Accelerator, DiagnoBacs, and Bits in Bio for a sharp, debate-forward panel on what it actually takes to build enduring AI-native biology companies.
Register to attend.
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Thursday, August 20, 2026, 5-7 PM
Berkeley Commons
600 Addison St. Berkeley
Biocom's annual Summer Bash will enable life science professionals to connect while enjoying hand-crafted cocktails, refreshing mocktails and tasty appetizers at the incredible Berkeley Commons waterfront building.
Register for the event. Free for Biocom Members.
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August 30 - September 2, 2026
DoubleTree By Hilton Berkeley Marina
200 Marina Blvd. Berkeley
The 37th Annual Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops (AAIC) will bring together researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to explore the latest advances in industrial crops, biotechnology, and the bioeconomy. Plenary speakers include UC Berkeley Professor Jay Keasling, CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute, and Karen Ambrose of BioMADE. The program also features oral and poster presentations on rubber and resin, oilseeds, fiber and cellulosic crops, medicinal and nutraceutical plants, and general crops.
The conference will highlight the growing role of industrial crops in advancing a sustainable bioeconomy and strengthening innovation in California.
Learn more at aaic.org.
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Saturday, September 12, 9-12:00 PM
Berkeley Gateway Accelerator (BGA)
2168 Shattuck Ave. Downtown Berkeley
Quantum computing is coming fast, and BGA is bringing the East Bay Black community together to unpack what it means: from cybersecurity risks to new job, startup, and investing opportunities. Expect keynotes, panels, and breakout conversations with founders, investors, and researchers over breakfast.
Register here.
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Wednesday, September 30
Berkeley SkyDeck is gearing up for another Demo Day, where accredited investors can meet its Batch 22 venture-scale startups developing breakthrough technologies in AI, robotics, enterprise software, and more. The event includes founder pitches followed by a Startup Expo, offering attendees the opportunity to connect directly with the companies shaping the future.
Accredited investors: register to attend.
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RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
Application Deadline: Monday, August 17
Top 10 Announcement: Friday, August 28
East Bay Regional: Thursday, September 10 5-8 PM
Cal State East Bay, UU MPR Room Hayward, CA
Hosted by Pegasus Tech Ventures, Startup World Cup is a global conference and competition that brings together the top startups, VCs, entrepreneurs and world-class tech CEOs. The East Bay Regional Finalist will compete in the Grand Finale for $1M Investment Prize on November 6, 2026 at Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. East Bay Startup teams, Founders, Entrepreneurs and Investors are encouraged to attend and network.
All startups are encouraged to compete; fill out the application form to get started.
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Application Deadline: August 21
Course takes place online: September 14, 17, & 24 5-8 PM
Do you have a startup idea? Are you looking for a proven method to validate your idea? NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest (Berkeley) 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 de-risk your path to market. Outside of class, you'll do at least 20 interviews with potential customers.
For the upcoming course, a a collaborative course with the UC Berkeley Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center will happen at the same time: I-Corps @ LSEC, with a curriculum tailored to early stage life sciences startups. Eligible teams that complete either course and receive Hub recommendation might also qualify for the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program, which includes a $50K National Science Foundation customer discovery grant, or the Hub National program with $5K in customer discovery funds. Teams that complete the National program have a much higher funding rate, including SBIR grants and investment.
Apply here for the upcoming Berkeley NSF I-Corps course and apply for the I-Corps @ LSEC course here. Reach out to Dave Weiner if you have any questions about the NSF I-Corps program or application.
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Application Deadline: August 21
Applications for SkyDeck Batch 23 are now open, through August 21.
The SkyDeck Berkeley Acceleration Method is a 6-month acceleration process for promising startups in any vertical. Between 20 and 25 selected Cohort teams receive a $210K investment from Berkeley SkyDeck Fund. Cohort teams participate in mandatory sessions, are matched with a Lead Advisor, have designated work space at SkyDeck, and present at Demo Day.
Between 60 and 80 selected Pad-13 teams have access to some of the same resources as Cohort teams, excluding the guaranteed fund investment, aspects of the mentorship program, and ability to pitch to 900+ investors at Demo Day.
Learn more about the programs and apply.
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Deadline for Public Comment: August 28
The California Department of Finance is accepting public comments through August 28 on which census tracts should be recommended for the federal Opportunity Zone 2.0 program. Although Berkeley has seven eligible census tracts, none were included in the State's current recommended list.
Opportunity Zone designation can help attract private investment for housing, commercial property revitalization, infrastructure, clean energy, and business growth.
How you can help:
- Visit the California Opportunity Zones 2.0 Public Comments page.
- Search for Berkeley, CA and select one of the eligible census tracts.
- Submit a brief comment explaining why that Berkeley census tract should be included.
- Repeat the process for the State of CA to recommend more than one Berkeley tract.
Every comment helps demonstrate community support for bringing new investment opportunities to Berkeley. Enter your public comments here.
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Looking for a job in Berkeley?
BERKELEY INNOVATORS MAKING NEWS
Berkeley is creating the conditions for more startups to launch, grow, and stay here. From policy reforms that make it easier for innovative companies to establish themselves to UC Berkeley's expanding Innovation Zone, the article highlights the momentum building across Berkeley's innovation ecosystem and how the strong collaboration between the City of Berkeley, UC Berkeley, investors, developers, and ecosystem partners is helping shape the next chapter of Berkeley innovation.
Read the article in the San Francisco Business Times.
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FutureBio celebrates important milestone with published research study
On Aug. 3, FutureBio celebrated an important milestone with a published open access research study in Nature Biotechnology. Conducted before FutureBio was established, the study demonstrates how biological engineering, computational modeling, polymer synthesis and materials testing can work together to advance bio-to-materials discovery. This interdisciplinary approach helped shape FutureBio’s broader mission. Today, the team brings together capabilities in biology, computation, and materials development to build an integrated, data-driven discovery platform. By connecting design, experimentation and validation in a closed learning loop, the company aims to turn every experiment into structured, high-quality data that improves predictive AI models and guides what to design next—creating a compounding data engine for the discovery of advanced, sustainable materials.
Read the study in Nature Biotechnology.
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UC Berkeley has again been named the nation’s No. 1 public university—and ranked No. 7 worldwide—in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Global Universities ranking. UC Berkeley also ranked fourth among U.S. research universities, with top-five global subject rankings in physics, biology and biochemistry, economics and business, environment and ecology, and space science.
Read about the rankings in UC Berkeley News.
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Two new Berkeley Lab updates highlight the region’s role at the intersection of advanced materials, fusion and AI for science. Researchers have opened a path toward “materials-driven fusion,” while Berkeley Lab is also leading core AI capabilities for the federal Genesis Mission—including tools for AI-ready scientific data and model evaluation.
A Berkeley Lab-led collaboration has also brought GRETA, the world’s most advanced gamma-ray detector, into scientific operation. Designed, assembled and tested with Berkeley Lab leadership, the instrument will help researchers study rare isotopes and improve models used across physics, energy, medicine and national security.
Read about recent accomplishments at the Berkeley Lab.
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Keep in Touch
For questions about the Berkeley Startup Cluster, contact: oedmailbox@berkeleyca.gov
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