This article may rely excessively on sources
too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being
verifiable and
neutral. (May 2020) |
Industry | Seed accelerator |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Headquarters | |
Key people |
Caroline Winnett (Executive Director)
|
Products | Venture capital |
Website |
skydeck |
Berkeley SkyDeck (SkyDeck) is a high-tech entrepreneurship startup accelerator and incubator program at the University of California, Berkeley serving as a joint venture between the Haas School of Business and Berkeley College of Engineering. [1] Founded in 2012, SkyDeck promotes high-tech entrepreneurship in the Silicon Valley. [2]
With Pitchbook ranking Berkeley alumni second to Stanford in producing venture capital-backed entrepreneurs, SkyDeck has become a top university incubator within the United States. [3] [4]
Startup companies join the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator for six months (one university semester). [5] Startups accepted into the highest level cohort track receive $50,000 when they join, and $50,000 three months in—a total of $100,000 to use to build their businesses. [5] In exchange, SkyDeck takes a five percent equity in each cohort startup. [6]
The six-month SkyDeck term finishes with a demo day when startups in the SkyDeck cohort present to hundreds of investors, seeking venture capital financing. [7] [8]
SkyDeck alumni startups include unicorn Lime, a transportation company with motorized scooters, electric bikes, and carsharing, and Kiwi Campus, a food-delivery service using autonomous robots. [9] [10]
In 2018, SkyDeck raised a $24 million, oversubscribed venture fund from investors including Sequoia Capital, Mayfield and Sierra Ventures. [6] [8] With this fund SkyDeck is allowed to invest up to 10 percent in each cohort startup's first funding round, up to $2 million. [5] [6] In 2022, SkyDeck announced it had raised $60 million, in an oversubscribed Fund II. [11]