Uniquely situated across multiple UC campuses, the CITRIS Foundry is ideally positioned to help new generations of innovators and entrepreneurs bridge the gap from lab to market and actualize rigorous, validated solutions to society’s biggest challenges. The Foundry’s Incubator offers guidance, education, and a home-base to de-risk entrepreneurship for early-stage founders, especially supporting those who have been historically marginalized, allowing innovators to confidently identify pathways to success and reach the next stage of development and investment for their emerging technology venture.
WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS?
Team Size | You are a team of 2 – 5 founders and have technical expertise in proposed venture’s core innovation.
Type of Innovation | Your project is based on an innovation in the discipline of information technology, biological or physical sciences, or other engineering field.
Readiness Level | Your venture has raised no more than $500,000 in debt or equity funding from non-governmental sources at the time of application.
Affiliation | One founding team member must have one of the following affiliations with one of the CITRIS UCs (Davis, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Merced) or LBNL: current graduate student, undergraduate student, post-doc, faculty, staff, recent alumni, visiting scholarship.
WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
Passion for Implementation | You have a strong desire to see your innovation actually implemented in the market and will stop at nothing to make real impact. You are excited to grow personally and professionally, to develop new skills and concepts to best support your chosen venture.
Emerging Technology & Expertise | Your proposed project is on the cutting edge of technology innovation or your project’s technology has never been implemented in the complex system you’ve identified. Your team’s background and technical expertise are uniquely suited for deploying your innovation.
Participation & Engagement | You are eager to utilize the resources available to you through this program and our mentors, coaches, and support are critically necessary to set your venture up for success and meaningful impact.
WHAT IS THE APPLICATION AND INTERVIEW PROCESS?
Online Application | Our current cohort application is closed but please join our interest list.
Deliberation | Our incubator is open for applications twice a year for Fall and Spring.
Interviews | Video interviews will be conducted through Zoom will consist of a 30-minute meeting focused on learning about your team and innovation.
Orientation | Once you are accepted, you will be invited to an online orientation for onboarding and more!
OTHER QUESTIONS
Equity & Compensation | Our incubator asks for teams to provide a 1.5% equity stake in their companies to the University of California in exchange for University support and resources. There is a cash payment alternative for teams where providing equity isn’t feasible.
Intellectual Property | All projects with IP developed outside of UC own that IP, regardless of affiliation with CITRIS Foundry. Ownership of IP developed during program and conducted utilizing specific UC Berkeley lab facilities will be treated on a case by case basis depending on user facility agreement.
Incorporation | Legal incorporation of project prior to application is not required. CITRIS Foundry has several resource options to support incorporation during the program.
Time Commitment | Attend workshops 3x/month, Foundry Forum 1x/month, leverage expert office hours 3x/month, network with peers on an ad-hoc basis.