Deep Tech Accelerator

Application for Fall '26 cohort now open!

For founders building what comes next.

Berkeley Gateway Accelerator gives scientific founders the capital, expertise, and community to build what the world needs next.

Our Residency Program

BGA invests in inspiring founders:

- Up to $200K cash and $200K in services
- ~10% equity via SAFE, with pro-rata rights
- Flexible terms for earliest-stage founders

BGA offers a five month residency with access to:

- Furnished housing included for the full residency
- Dedicated office space at BGA HQ located in downtown Berkeley
- Hardware, media labs, and compute credits
- 10,000 sq ft innovation hub on-site

BGA offers up to 800+ hours of support over five months from our dedicated team including:

- General Partners
- Entrepreneurs in Residence with founder experience
- UC Berkeley MBA, Engineering, and Law fellows
- Workshops and Frameworks to guide IP strategy, patents, and entity formation , Go-to-market, fundraising, and customer development

Deep tech isn't built alone. BGA brings together:

- Twice-monthly events with scientists, researchers, and operators
- Access to investors and domain advisors
- Five months of shared momentum and focused build time
- Intentionally small cohorts, built around your company, your science, and the path ahead

Why partner with BGA?

120+

Technologies Evaluated

Across university and corporate commercialization programs - we have learned what fundable deep tech looks like.

12+

Sectors With Strong Networks

Experts offering targeted mentorship & support in commercialization, technical validation, and capital access.

50+

Investments in early stage startups as LPs in funds or direct

Two decades of backing founders who turned research into companies

Quantum

Space

Medtech

NeuroTech

Advanced Computing

Energy

Nanotech

Climate

Genemoics

Semiconductors

Robotics

Biotech

Some of our Founders

Kashyap Khaitan

ME, University of Michigan

Modular robotics hardware minus the integration headaches.

Carla Pinzon

BSc/MEng MIT, Activate Fellow

Solid State Power Electronics - Modernizing the grid.

Dilip Vasudevan

‍10+ years at LBNL, PhD Edinburgh

Quantum AI Hardware - Redefining compute through novel architecture.

What we look for

Technical Depth & Founder Ambition

Deep expertise in the domain of the startup. Many BGA founders emerge from national labs, universities, or corporate R&D. Solo founders and team are welcome to apply.

Deep Tech with Traction

A prototype or lab stage validation, TRL 3–5 readiness, early customer conversations, or prior grant funding. Your technology must be defensible at the science level.

Commitment to Company Building

The transition from technical expertise to being a founder is a real decision. We work with such founders, who are looking for support to commercialize their early stage technology, and relocate to Berkeley for the 5-month residency.

Apply today

BGA runs rolling cohorts throughout the year typically starting in spring and fall.

Over five months of focused build time, our intentionally small cohorts work side by side, leveraging a working community built around your company, your science, and the path ahead.

Apply Now

"I had a sense of our beachhead market coming in. BGA helped me professionalize everything around it. They refined the pitch, worked through IP trade secrets, brought in a fractional CTO from their network, and made warm intros to VCs. Some of their LPs are participating in the round too.”

Carla Pinzon

CEO, Expand Power
Solid State Power Electronics - Modernizing the grid.

Deep Tech Accelerator

Berkeley Gateway Accelerator gives scientific founders the capital, expertise, and community to build what the world needs next.

Some of our Founders

What we look for

Frequently Asked Questions

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