CITRIS FOUNDRY | Empowering Innovation

Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is front and center at the CITRIS Foundry. 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.

We support emerging technology innovators working across every sector to deploy their IT innovations within the following social impact areas: health, climate, and education.
California’s robust innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem both statewide and within the UC system is primed for activities that level the playing field for diverse founders and promote accessible, equitable entrepreneurship.
We support entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, especially people of color, women, and other groups that have been historically underrepresented in tech. We believe that diverse and inclusive teams identify and solve challenges that may otherwise be overlooked, and a multitude of perspectives and experiences creates more innovative and informed technology solutions.

In Spring 2022 we are launching a new student-workforce innovation program in partnership with industry to break down the barriers for student career success, especially for those who have been historically unrepresented.

With your gift, this is all possible!

We help innovators and entrepreneurs from UC make a significant impact on the world.

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.

Click to listen to founder testimonials - Link to testimonials
Founder Story: Knox Diagnostics (Aluna) - Link to Video

A gift to CITRIS Foundry would support accelerating careers and expanding opportunities in inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship. Categories with examples of success stories are shown below.

1. FEMALE FOUNDERS - students & faculty [Enable the next generation of STEM leaders to represent all of us]

Lioness - Destigmatizing women's sexual health through information and conversation.

Liz Klinger (CEO)
Anna Lee (Lead Engineer)
James Wang (COO)

Respira Labs - AI-powered sensor platform to track, predict, and prevent chronic lung disease.

Maria Artunduaga, MD (CEO) - UC Berkeley, Master of Translational Medicine (MTM)

Sundial Foods - macro and microstructural engineering approach to create plant-based meat alternatives for conscious consumers.

Jessica Schwabach (CEO)
Siwen Deng (CTO)

Eysz, Inc. - Transforming epilepsy care by detecting and predicting seizures with oculometric data analytics.

Rachel Kuperman, MD (CEO)

2. UNDERREPRESENTED INNOVATORS - Graduate Students [Support proof-of-concept innovations being researched by historically underserved graduate students]

Ronald Rodriguez is a Ph.D. candidate in Plant and Microbial Biology in the Stanley Lab at UC Berkeley

Co-founder of MycoPhage Technologies - leveraging RNA technology to design novel antibacterial sequences for eliminating antibiotic-resistant genes in bacteria.
He is interested in developing a technology that will utilize genetically engineered bacterial viruses for treating drug-resistant bacterial infections. “If we can figure out why patients develop a certain bacterial disease, it can help us revolutionize medicine. It will allow us to deliver personalized strategies instead of generalized therapeutic approaches.”

3. DIVERSE INTERNS in STEM - Undergraduates [Create onramps for diverse student talent to accelerate their careers]

Naveen Bahadur interned at CITRIS Foundry startup Gridware through Cal Energy Corps

Naveen Bahadur is a rising senior studying Energy Engineering with a minor in EECS. He is passionate about renewable energy, circuit design, and smart grid technologies. Naveen is also a member of the UC Berkeley Solar Vehicle Team, CalSol, where he helps design and test the vehicle's solar array. For enjoyment, he plays the saxophone in the Cal Band and also plays basketball and ping pong in his free time. Naveen is thrilled to participate in this program and can't wait to bring his energy (pun intended) to a startup environment.

We invite you to consider making a gift before this campaign ends, on December 31, 2021, and help us increase the impact of this important initiative.

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