Startup accelerator and incubator
Berkeley SkyDeck (SkyDeck ) is an entrepreneurship startup accelerator and incubator program which serves as a joint venture between the Haas School of Business and Berkeley College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley .[1] Founded in 2012, SkyDeck promotes research and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley .[2] It has become a top university incubator in both the United States and also worldwide.[3] [4]
Program
Startup companies join the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator for six months (one university semester).[5] Startups accepted into the highest level cohort track receive $50,000 when they join, and $50,000 three months in—a total of $100,000 to use to build their businesses.[5] In exchange, SkyDeck takes a five percent equity in each cohort startup.[6]
The six-month SkyDeck term finishes with a demo day when startups in the SkyDeck cohort present to hundreds of investors, seeking venture capital financing .[7] [8] SkyDeck alumni startups include unicorn Lime , a transportation company with motorized scooters , electric bikes , and carsharing , and Kiwi Campus , a food-delivery service using autonomous robots .[9] [10]
In 2018, SkyDeck raised a $24 million, oversubscribed venture fund from investors including Sequoia Capital , Mayfield and Sierra Ventures .[6] [8] With this fund SkyDeck is allowed to invest up to ten percent in each cohort startup's first funding round , up to $2 million.[5] [6] In 2022, SkyDeck announced it had raised $60 million, in an oversubscribed Fund II.[11]
References
^ "About the Berkeley SkyDeck" . Forbes .
^ "Berkeley SkyDeck" . Berkeley SkyDeck .
^ "Bay Area universities, MIT, Harvard top startup ranking for grads who raise venture capital" . GeekWire.
^ "PitchBook Universities: Top 100 colleges ranked by startup founders" . PitchBook .
^ a b c Legatt, Aviva (January 7, 2019). "5 Amazing College Incubators" . Forbes . Forbes Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ a b c Said, Carolyn (August 15, 2018). "UC Berkeley startup accelerator gets a boost from venture fund" . San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst. Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ Rinker, Brian (December 5, 2019). "UC Berkeley's prestigious startup accelerator opens applications" . San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ a b Sawers, Paul (April 1, 2020). "Startup accelerators forge ahead with new virtual programs" . VentureBeat. Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ Clark, Kate (November 12, 2018). "20 startups take center stage at Berkeley SkyDeck's demo day" . TechCrunch. Verizon Media. Retrieved 7 July 2020 .
^ Knox, Liam (June 13, 2019). "Food-Delivery Robots Are the Next Big Thing for Campus Dining. No, They Don't Accept Tips" . The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 27 April 2020 .
^ "Berkeley SkyDeck Closes $60 Million Fund II" . www.businesswire.com . 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-12 .
Business incubators of the United States
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