19 Jan Happy New Year from The Foundry at CITRIS!
When the Foundry at CITRIS started in 2013, our goal was to help entrepreneurs from the University of California build companies that make a significant impact on the world. Our mission is to help companies tackle big problems in industries ranging from clean tech to health tech to consumer products—with a focus on the intersection of hardware, software and services.
Year in Review
2014 has been an exhilarating year for the Foundry at CITRIS as our program and team continue to grow. Here are some highlights:
- The Foundry at CITRIS is now in its third cohort, supporting over 40 entrepreneurs in 14 companies from the University of California. Our program has grown to support up to 10 startups per year, accepting up to 5 new teams per academic term.
- To date, our companies have raised more than $7 million in subsequent funding. This represents a 125x multiplier on the capital we provide, while adding $20 million to California’s economy.
- We’ve established an incredible number of partnerships, including Startup Challenges that provide industry-specific resources to winning teams. Our current Challenge Partners are Samsung, Berkeley Energy & Climate Institute (BECI) and the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3).
- Our new Foundry Fellow program brings together business, design and engineering expertise from across the UC Berkeley campus to better support our companies, including the Haas School of Business and the College of Engineering.
Looking ahead to 2015, we will be expanding our presence in Silicon Valley as well as getting ready for our fourth cohort of companies next month. Our success is built on the strength of our community. Help us cultivate it by engaging as a mentor, partner and champion of university-based entrepreneurship.
We wish you a happy and successful New Year!
Patrick, Peter, Alic and the Foundry at CITRIS Team
Missed the news from 2014? Catch up on the headlines here:
- Meet our Fall 2014 Cohort of startup companies.
- Clarity wearable air quality sensor featured in WIRED.
- Knox CEO Charvi Shetty featured in The Wall Street Journal andBerkeley Engineer with portable asthma monitoring tool.
- WattTime CTO Anna Schneider selected as Forbes 30 under 30 in Energy for bringing clean energy to the Internet of Things.
- Smartbod noted in Businessweek as a hot new university startup.
- CITRIS co-hosted the inaugural Cal Hacks event, the largest collegiate hackathon to date with over 1,500 participants from across the country.