Academic Innovation Catalyst accelerates Berkeley’s pipeline from breakthrough to impact
A transformational $13.5 million commitment from longtime UC Berkeley supporters Matt and Lisa Sonsini will dramatically expand the university’s capacity to translate cutting-edge academic research into ventures that address society’s most pressing challenges.
The commitment launches the next chapter of a partnership with Berkeley that began in 2023, when the Academic Innovation Catalyst (AIC) was founded with a simple but ambitious idea: to help more of Berkeley’s most promising scientific discoveries find their way out of the lab and into the world with targeted proof-of-concept grants and intensive, hands-on commercialization support. Combined with program support provided to date, AIC funding will exceed $16 million.
The expansion of AIC will fund more faculty researchers seeking to commercialize breakthroughs in deep tech areas such as energy, materials science, chemistry, aerospace and mobility, advanced electronics, quantum computing, and AI. AIC will significantly expand the funding pipeline that has powered the partnership to date, supporting two new AIC-Bakar Fellows awards each year and five CITRIS-CDSS Innovation Fellowships annually for the next five years.
It also launches an ambitious new endeavor: the Advanced Technologies Entrepreneurial Center (ATEC), housed within the Office of the Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer. Modeled on a “venture studio” approach, ATEC will provide academic innovators ready to launch a new company with hands-on, end-to-end support, including help building teams, recruiting CEOs, navigating legal and business questions, and connecting with investors. A new fellowship program for graduate students will identify promising research with commercial potential, and a robust mentoring and matchmaking platform will connect faculty with entrepreneurs-in-residence and industry partners. Founders accepted into ATEC will not be required to pay or give up equity for this support. In addition, AIC may coordinate pre-seed financing on founder favorable terms to jumpstart company formation.
