Deep Tech Networking Brunch
In collaboration with the Berkeley Gateway Accelerator and COMPASS, Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials is hosting a breakfast networking event on Friday, September 18th, from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM.
This is an exclusive opportunity to network with key players in the deep tech community, including entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, corporate innovators, and government professionals.
We’d love for you to join us to share ideas, discuss industry trends, and build meaningful connections over casual breakfast bites.
About Bakar Labs:
Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials (BL-EM) is an initiative out of UC Berkeley that expands the university's renowned Bakar Bio Labs model beyond biotech into technologies across renewable energy systems, materials science, efficient manufacturing methods, food and agricultural production, waste management, circularity, and planetary health.
BL-EM has a number of programs underway including
A pilot incubation program providing physical space, shared equipment, and fractional services to Pre-Seed to Series A startups
A 2.5 day venture studio program focused on rapid commercialization and investment for pre-incorporation projects and academic spinouts
Expert symposia on frontier topics; past events include Efficient compute, AI, and climate, energy and material efficient construction, and our current symposium on strategic horizons in critical minerals and materials
As part of UC Berkeley's commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, BL-EM will move into its permanent home at the western entrance of campus, a 145,000 square foot facility scheduled to open in early 2028. The building will include highly flexible wet laboratory and office space and will serve as a dedicated hub for innovation and community with partners from across campus, the National Laboratories, and around the world.
About Berkeley Gateway Accelerator:
The Berkeley Gateway Accelerator (BGA) is a deep tech accelerator and innovation hub in Downtown Berkeley, built to move breakthrough science from the lab to the market. BGA runs small, high-touch cohorts: a five-month residency pairing a first check with roughly 800 hours of embedded commercialization support spanning IP strategy, technology readiness, customer discovery, and capital formation. Alongside the cohort program, BGA operates a coworking and events hub that convenes founders, investors, researchers, and corporate and government partners across the East Bay deep tech ecosystem.
The BGA team runs Deeptech Innovation Labs to give UC Berkeley students an opportunity develop analyze, advise, and pitch high growth deep tech startups.
About COMPASS:
COMPASS is a venture creation initiative co-developed by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories and associated National Labs, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Commercialization.
Designed to translate National Lab research into commercially viable, venture-backed startups, COMPASS offers non-dilutive grant funding, hands-on operational support, and direct investor access without taking equity. Its structured five-step path spans identifying high-impact laboratory IP, early validation with venture capital advisors, recruiting experienced founders, building operating plans prior to formal incorporation, and launching the company through non-dilutive capital and seed-stage investor connections.