Homepage
Forbes: A Possible Step-Change for Plant Growth By Upgrading Photosynthesis
GigaCrop was founded by CEO Chris Eiben in 2020 as part of a fellowship with the Berkeley Lab Cyclotron Road program in partnership with non-profit Activate funded by the U.S. DOE., and today (March 11th 2025) they announced $4.5 million of pre-seed round funding led by a venture capital group in California called Playground Global. Read post
GigaCrop to Advance Photosynthesis for Boosted Crop Productivity
Biotech pioneer GigaCrop today announced it raised a $4.5 million pre-seed round of funding led by Playground Global. Using machine learning to improve enzymes, the company aims to boost photosynthesis, crop yields, and farmers’ profits. GigaCrop’s technology will help plants use sunlight more efficiently, enabling agricultural producers of food, fiber, and fuel to grow more with the same water, fertilizer, and acreage. Read post Marco Lobba and Sophia Lugo Named to San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40
Many people don’t end up in the jobs they wanted when they were four years old. But Catena Biosciences CEO Marco Lobba and Radar Therapeutics CEO Sophia Lugo aren’t most people — a fact that didn’t escape the San Francisco Business Times. For their innovative contributions to biotech and precision medicine — Lobba with CatenaBio’s Multi-Payload Conjugate™ antibody-drug combinations, Lugo with Radar’s targeted mRNA therapies — the SF Business Times named both Lobba and Lugo to their 2025 “40 Under 40” class of honorees, recognizing them as two of the most influential and industrious leaders in the Bay Area. The awards will be presented on Friday, April 25 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Read post
Banksy Tags Bakar Bio Labs
Since the 60’s, Berkeley has been home of free expression, though never through graffiti. But Gino Segre, MD, was surprised to found a crowd had formed near the front entrance of Bakar BioEnginuity Hub Tuesday morning. Students, faculty, and other passersby numbering in the dozens were staring at unauthorized artwork painted on the front facade of the Brutalist landmark building. The installation provoked varied responses, many nodding vigorously that it was vibrant, bold, profane, and timely. An employee pressed through the crowd on her way into work, and muttered it looked like her recently contaminated cell culture. Read post
Fundraising Strategies & Negotiating Term Sheets with HSBC
Join us for an engaging panel discussion with HSBC diving into fundraising strategies, specifically focusing on challenges in this current market. This conversation will also cover strategies for negotiating term sheets, giving you tools to tackle these negotiations in competitive processes. This panel will feature Lindy Fishburne, Managing Partner at Breakout Ventures, Karl Handelsman, Founder and Managing Partner of Codon Capital, and Jonathan Norris, Managing Director at HSBC Innovation. Jesse Essaff, Director at HSBC Innovation Banking, will moderate the discussion. Learn more How Cyclarity Therapeutics is Taking On the World’s Leading Killer
You think you don’t know someone with atherosclerosis, but it’s likely you actually do. Atherosclerosis is the build-up of oxidized cholesterol in arteries, an underlying factor in an astonishing 50% of deaths in Western society. An indicator of dementia, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, lung disease, and more, it’s one of the first detectable signs of aging. As co-founder and CEO of scientific affairs at Cyclarity Therapeutics, Matthew “Oki” O’Connor directs a team developing a drug to neutralize this killer. Oki’s potentially life-saving breakthrough came in the form of the least scientific experiment imaginable. In early 2018, he worked in Mountain View at the SENS Research Foundation, which is dedicated to finding cures for aging-related disease. It was on a quiet Friday night when everyone in the lab was either out sick, traveling, or home, that he decided to test out their first prototype. Read post
Daiichi taps Nosis to deliver RNA therapies beyond the liver
Daiichi Sankyo is stepping up its interest in RNA therapies, teaming with Nosis Biosciences to design drug candidates capable of reaching targets beyond the liver. Read post
Verinomics Introduces Transgene-Free Gene Editing and Genomic-Driven Accelerated Breeding Platforms for Specialty Crops
Verinomics, a leader in agricultural genomics and gene editing, today unveiled two breakthrough platforms designed to accelerate specialty crop innovation: Genesis™, a transgene-free gene editing platform, primarily for vegetatively propagated crops and Genova™, a genomic-driven breeding acceleration platform for both seed and vegetatively propagated crops. Together, these technologies streamline trait discovery and product development, delivering high-value, market-ready crops faster than ever before. Read post
Daiichi Sankyo, Johnson & Johnson partner with RNA delivery startup Nosis Bio
Nosis Bio, a startup developing new ways to deliver RNA therapies to specific cells, has struck partnerships with two pharma companies that together could be worth more than $1.5 billion, the company told Endpoints News in an exclusive interview. Read postOur affiliates
Ready to run?
Startups need to focus on making milestones, not managing equipment.
Bakar Bio Labs maintains tissue culture facilities, a freezer farm, fume hoods, basic benchtop equipment and plenty of analytical instruments. Optional lab support services can also make for quick starts that help get results fast.
At UC Berkeley
Bakar Bio Labs is just steps from UC Berkeley’s world-renowned faculty and more than 40,000 students who train in top programs including science, engineering, law and business. Dotting the campus is a network of core facilities that feature a wide range of advanced equipment and services for use by startups. Recruiting student talent and scientific co-founders couldn’t be easier.
Today’s best startups blaze a trail all their own, but they don’t do it alone.
They build their support network to help them navigate the multiple challenges they face. At Bakar Bio Labs, tenants join a community of as many as 50 like-minded teams willing to share the scientific and business insights that help them advance. The incubator spans more than 40,000 square feet of lab and office spaces within the fully renovated Woo Hon Fai Hall, the iconic former home of the Berkeley Art Museum. With so much going on, investors, industry partners and new talent are already taking notice.
Built for startups. For more than 20 years, QB3 has been the University of California’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship in life science. Through pitch summits, seminars, symposia, podcasts, office hours, internships, and workshops QB3 educates, connects, and elevates the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
