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]
 | |
| Industry | Seed accelerator |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Caroline Winnett (Executive Director)
|
| Products | Venture capital |
| Website | skydeck |
Program
editStartup 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
edit- ^ "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.