UC Berkeley SkyDeck

Backs startups through Berkeley SkyDeck equity cohorts and Pad-13 incubation pathways with intensive mentorship and investor exposure.

Berkeley SkyDeck is UC Berkeley’s startup accelerator, built as a joint initiative of the Haas School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. It is an equity investor, not a grantmaker, and its funding is delivered through the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund.

The main Cohort track offers up to $210,000 for 7.5% equity, alongside co-working space in the Berkeley penthouse, access to more than 900 advisors, and the university’s alumni and research network. SkyDeck backs startups across AI infrastructure, biotech, climate, hardware, medtech, semiconductors, aerospace, and robotics, while the Pad-13 incubator provides a lighter-touch in-kind track for earlier teams.

SkyDeck runs two cohorts each year, typically with about 20 to 25 cohort startups and 60 to 80 Pad-13 startups per batch. Its strength is the mix of university backing, experienced mentors, and international reach, with roughly two-thirds of historical cohort founders starting outside the United States. Applicants are competing for accelerator selection and equity investment, not for a public grant call.