CITRIS Foundry

CITRIS Foundry is a prominent deep tech startup accelerator based in Berkeley, California, operating under the umbrella of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS and the Banatao Institute) at the University of California, Berkeley. Established as a vital component of UC Berkeley's innovation ecosystem, the Foundry is dedicated to bridging the gap between cutting-edge academic research and commercial viability. Its core mission revolves around empowering deep tech founders by providing them with the essential resources, expert mentorship, and a robust network necessary to translate their groundbreaking research into scalable, impactful ventures.

The accelerator program is specifically designed for early-stage startups leveraging complex scientific and engineering breakthroughs. Participants benefit from a structured curriculum that guides them through critical phases of product development, market validation, and business strategy. A distinguishing feature of the CITRIS Foundry is its commitment to non-dilutive support, meaning it does not take equity from the startups it nurtures. This approach allows founders to retain full ownership of their intellectual property and company, which is particularly appealing to research-intensive ventures.

Financial support from the CITRIS Foundry comes in the form of non-dilutive grants, specifically up to $2,000 per startup. This funding is primarily intended to facilitate crucial early-stage activities such as prototyping and customer discovery, enabling teams to validate their concepts and build initial versions of their technology without immediate equity concerns. Since its inception in 2014, the CITRIS Foundry has played a significant role in fostering innovation, having supported the launch of over 100 startups. This track record underscores its effectiveness in transforming academic ingenuity into viable commercial enterprises, contributing significantly to the deep tech landscape.

The Foundry's model emphasizes long-term growth and sustainability for its portfolio companies, leveraging the vast academic and research capabilities of UC Berkeley. By focusing on non-dilutive capital and comprehensive support, CITRIS Foundry positions itself not as a traditional venture capital investor, but as a crucial early-stage catalyst for deep technology, preparing startups for subsequent rounds of investment from external sources.