California Innovation Fund

California Innovation Fund is an early-stage venture capital fund founded in 2021 that backs high-potential startups emerging from UC Berkeley and other entrepreneurial university ecosystems. Its first fund, Fund I, makes seed and Series A (late seed) investments in companies affiliated with the University of California - through founders, technology, or origins in the UC ecosystem - and holds reserves for follow-on financing. Check sizes range from $250,000 to $1 million, and the portfolio stands at 27 companies.

The investment mandate concentrates on biotech and data and AI, alongside an opportunistic approach to early-stage technology ventures and university research commercialisation. Beyond capital, the fund offers portfolio companies access to a network of entrepreneurs, executives, faculty, alumni and industry specialists, founder coaching, and connections to the UC alumni network - support aimed at turning research and breakthrough ideas into companies.

A distinctive structural feature is the fund's economics: 50% of general partner carry - the share of investment profits typically retained by a fund's managers - is directed back to the University of California public school system to support future entrepreneurs and education. The fund is based in California, USA, and operates within the UC Berkeley and wider University of California ecosystem.