The Rise of UC's Startup Culture

From the legend of Jobs and Woz launching Apple from their Silicon Valley garage to the hundreds of startup incubators spanning the state today, California has a reputation for bold entrepreneurial spirit.

A study released Aug. 17 by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute reflects just how essential the University of California is in fueling the state’s innovation economy. Researchers and entrepreneurs at UC have spawned hundreds of new companies employing tens of thousands of Californians, contributing more than $20 billion to the state’s economy, according to the report.

And the phenomenon is accelerating.

Of the roughly 1,300 startups that have spun out of UC since 1968, three-quarters were launched in the past 15 years, the BACEI study found. In 2015 alone, UC research led to 85 new startups and 1,756 new inventions — about five inventions disclosed every day.

Startup culture is fraught with peril. Unlike software startups that need just a few laptops and a couple of months to get going, many of UC’s nascent businesses are in the life sciences, requiring costly development runways and lengthy regulatory approval processes to get off the ground.

To address these and other unique challenges, and to feed the growing entrepreneurial appetite of students and faculty, roughly three dozen incubators and accelerators have been set up in recent years across UC’s 10 campuses, five medical centers and three national labs.

Nearly all of the startups spun out of UC incubators and accelerators have succeeded, according to UC’s 2015 Technology Commercialization Report.

“California’s leading industries are being fueled by UC research across the spectrum, from biotechnology and semiconductors to telecommunications and agriculture,” said Christine Gulbranson, who in May was named senior vice president for research innovation and entrepreneurship at UC. “The BACEI report calls out the significance of the economic activity generated by UC’s 10 campuses, five medical centers and three national laboratories. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

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By Brian Back, UC Newsroom