Welcome to the

Berkeley Gateway to Innovation

Why Berkeley?

The University of California, Berkeley is home to one of the most vibrant innovation ecosystems in the world. In 2020, Pitchbook ranked UC Berkeley as the #2 university for entrepreneurship. As of 2020, alumni startups have raised more than $36B in venture capital and helped create the world’s most valuable companies such as Apple, Softbank, Intel, Gap eBay, Tesla, and many more.

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Public University

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Public University

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Roadmap for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at UC Berkeley

Classes
Events
Student Groups
Competitions
BearX
Research

Campus Life

New Venture Education

Acceleration

Funding

Angels
Government grants
Incubators
Industry
Venture Capital

Deadlines

Startup Law Initiative – Client Application Form Spring 2021

Through the Startup Law Initiative (SLI), law students team up with law firms to provide free legal incorporation services to local entrepreneurs. SLI’s services allow Bay Area founders to overcome…

Startup Fundamentals: FORM+FUND

Apply Now for Berkeley Law’s Startup Program! APPLICATIONS DUE SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Startup Fundamentals: FORM+FUND Applications for FORM+FUND Fall 2020 — Berkeley Law’s workshop series for Berkeley-affiliated entrepreneurs — close…

Have a startup idea? Bay Area I-Corps can turn this idea into a reality! Deadline – 3/26

The Bay Area Regional I-Corps Node offers a one-week course based on Steve Blank’s Lean LaunchPad (Business Model Canvas + Customer Discovery). The three evening sessions will teach you to…

Classes

FAQ

How can I become an entrepreneur?

Where can I find seed funding?

Many competitions and acceleration programs have cash prizes and stipends that can help startups move forward.

Here are some other sources of to help you get started:

Bay Area I-Corps - provides small grants to help startups validate their value proposition.

SBIR/STTR grants - The US federal government runs the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. For more information, visit the SBIR/STTR website.

The House Fund - A fund started by UC Berkeley alumni providing early-stage seed funding to all types of startups.

Where can I find legal advice?

How can I recruit teammates?

Building a team is one of the most important parts of building a startup. Finding people with diverse skills, strengths and perspectives will increase your likelihood of succeeding.

There are many ways to find teammates. One way is to participate in a competition or hackathon. You can also find people to work with in a new venture education course or one of your other classes.

There are also platforms designed specifically to help founders connect, such as BearX.

I lead a Berkeley-affiliated entrepreneurship program, how can I get my organization listed on the Begin site?

Where can I find more information about licensing and intellectual property including patent rights and software copyrights?

How can I find out about available office space in Berkeley?

Didn't find what you were looking for? Try our concierge.

Events

Master of Translational Medicine Symposium

The Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) Program cordially invites you to attend our 16th Annual Symposium! This event will highlight the capstone projects of the MTM Class of 2026,…