News roundup from the launch

We’re not the only ones excited about the possibilities that Bakar Labs will unlock. Check out this coverage following the public launch of Bakar Labs and the Berkeley BioEnginuity Hub on Tuesday, May 11:

UC Berkeley press release by Ivan Natividad
“In the face of daunting global challenges, such as climate change and a catastrophic pandemic, it is evident that the world urgently needs science-based solutions to tackle society’s greatest problems.

At the University of California, Berkeley, the next generation of emerging scholars and entrepreneurs will work to confront those challenges in the BakarBioEnginuity Hub (BBH), a new campus initiative that aims to launch the world-changing startups of today, while cultivating the innovative leaders of tomorrow. These innovators can launch their startups at BBH’s Bakar Labs, a world-class incubator open to teams from around the world — a space where anyone can leverage all that Berkeley has to offer.”

Ron Leuty in the San Francisco Business Times: How Cal and a foundation are taking the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup approach to developing tasty biotech startups
“The way UC Berkeley bioengineering professor Amy Herr sees it, a Brutalist former art museum on campus is being transformed into the business equivalent of a 40,000-square-foot Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

The Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, which is expected to open in October in the former Berkeley Art Museum in Woo Hon Fai Hall, is all about combining ingredients, embedding drug, food technology, medical device and diagnostics companies of today in professional development and student-focused programs designed to create the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. It also is a unique project, its backers say, that brings together philanthropy and academia.”

Devin Coldewey in TechCrunch: Berkeley has a big new biotech incubator in Bakar Labs
”The University of California has always embraced the startup ecosystem in the state, including running a few of its own incubators and accelerators. Now Berkeley will have a huge new incubator of its own, Bakar Labs, which will host as many as 80 young companies a year and provide access university facilities and networks.

Hosted at the lovely brutalist Woon Hon Fai Hall, formerly the Berkeley Art Museum, the incubator is just part of the greater Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, an ongoing cross-disciplinary initiative within the university. It will be run by QB3, a pan-UC organization that organizes entrepreneurship efforts, and replaces a much smaller biotech-focused program at Berkeley.”

Melody Bomgardner in Chemical & Engineering News: UC Berkeley gets new start-up hub
“A start-up incubator focused on life science, engineering, and data science is coming to the University of California, Berkeley, this fall. The non-profit Bakar BioEnginuity Hub will stand out in the entrepreneurial Bay area, organizers say, for its size, affiliation with the university, and focus on innovations that benefit society.

The hub will be located in Berkeley’s former art museum. When renovations are complete, Bakar Labs will have 3,700 m2 of space for as many as 80 start-ups. Other programs will include fellowships and programming for Berkeley students and researchers, paid access to advanced facilities on campus, and connections to potential investors. Founders can get help from experts at the university’s business and law schools.”

Amber Tong in Endpoints News: The incubator that hatched a Jennifer Doudna CRISPR startup blueprints new ‘destination for life science entrepreneurship’
Long before Caribou and Zymergen made their mark in CRISPR therapeutics and synthetic biology, they had begun at the same place: an incubator in California by the name of QB3.

More accurately, QB3 is a network of incubators aimed not just at hatching life sciences ideas born on the campuses they’re often housed in — from Stanford to UCSF to UC Santa Cruz — but also drawing entrepreneurs to put down roots in the area.

Those aspiring startup founders now have a new place to go. QB3 is launching its sixth incubator, which is also its biggest yet.

Kelly Suth in the Daily Cal: ‘Entrepreneurship for good’: UC Berkeley launches Bakar BioEnginuity Hub

On Tuesday, UC Berkeley virtually launched the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, an initiative aiming to empower budding entrepreneurs in the East Bay and campus alike.

The initiative, which will be opening its doors in the fall, is being developed in collaboration with QB3, a state institute designed to support research and entrepreneurship.

The project will entail the opening of Bakar Labs, an incubator that will be providing space to promising startups in the STEM field.

“The whole purpose of the incubator is to get companies that are really positioned to make significant changes or advances against challenges that the world has,” said Bakar Labs Managing Director Gino Segrè.