Homepage
Our mission is to support scientific innovation and entrepreneurship for the public good.
Bakar Labs delivers the essential space and valuable programs that support the growth of transformative and impactful startup companies by leveraging resources and expertise from the University of California, QB3, and the greater ecosystem.
Key performance indicators that guide our work are startup success, tenant satisfaction, scale and quality of societal impact, financial self-sustainability, and engagement by the campus community.
Powered by QB3
QB3 supports research, innovation, and entrepreneurship to address challenges in biomedicine, energy, and materials on and across University of California campuses at Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. Founded in 2000, it’s one of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation.
Program pipeline
Integrated with Bakar Labs, and brokering connections between scientists, advisors, service providers, investors, and industry, QB3 offers a spectrum of programs from basic research through full commercialization. Further support is provided by the affiliated Bakar Fellows program.
| STUDENT TRAINING | ACADEMIC RESEARCH | STARTUP IDEATION | STARTUP LAUNCH | SEED COMPANY | SERIES A COMPANY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Internships & Training
Break Into Biotech provides training in biology basics for undergrads with no prior lab experience, making them competitive for internships. QWEST Internships place talented students with biotech startups for work experience that prepares them for careers in industry. Learn More |
|||||
|
Research Collaboration
QB3’s Collaborative Research program unites teams of scientists on the UC campuses at Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, and beyond, to pursue ambitious large-scale research projects. Learn More |
|||||
|
Grants & Fellowships
Bakar Labs Campus Programs offers support for faculty and students. Through the Bakar Fellows Program we fund entrepreneurial faculty whose research in STEM+ fields has commercial potential. The BioEnginuity Impact Grant empowers doctoral students in STEM to translate research into real world solutions to society’s challenges. Learn More |
|||||
|
Workshops & Symposia
QB3’s SBIR/STTR Grantwriting Workshops guide bio entrepreneurs through the complex process of submitting federal grant applications. The annual QB3 Symposia convene scientists, entrepreneurs, industry, and investors to explore scientific themes and generate concepts for collaborative research. Learn More |
|||||
|
Company Creation
QB3’s Innovation Discovery program reaches out to identify research with commercial potential. Our team works with scientists to build companies from scratch, ensuring that R&D is pointed in a direction that will lead to investment. Learn More |
|||||
|
Entrepreneurial Mentoring
QB3’s Early-Stage Mentoring program connects company founders with deeply experienced mentors who provide guidance on product-market fit, investable data, IP strategy, fundraising, and more. Companies are invited to pitch for $100K awards. Learn More |
|||||
|
Lab & Coworking Space
Our incubators offer fully-equipped BSL2 labs, and tenant startup companies can lease individual benches and desks in shared space, or private offices and labs. Fridges, freezers, and centrifuges are provided as well as core facility space with millions of dollars’ worth of equipment. In addition, conference rooms and seminar space enable meetings or symposia at a range of sizes. Startups can also get access to UC Berkeley campus core facilities (sequencing, imaging, cell sorting, NMR, mass spectrometry, microfabrication, etc.). Learn More |
|||||
|
Events & Networking
Connect with our vibrant community of tenants and our wider ecosystem of investors and industry affiliates at our events, from the small-room CEO Circle to banking and legal office hours to tenant lunch & learns, to our hugely popular JP Morgan mixer and other programs. Tenants have access to events at Bakar Bio Labs and our energy and materials pilot program. Select events are open to the public. Learn More |
|||||
|
VC Funding
Meet investors through concierge connections made by our staff, or at our in-house showcase events. We’re affiliated with BEVC, a VC firm that invests in companies associated with Bakar Labs and affiliated Bakar programs. Learn More |
|||||
Bringing the innovation
community together.
Bakar Bio Labs
Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials
Bakar Labs history
QB3 Beginnings
Pioneering a New Model for Early-Stage Biotech
Beginning in 2005 with the QB3 Garage at UCSF, followed by Mission Bay Capital and QB3@953 (which became the first location of MBC Biolabs), QB3 pioneered incubators, programs, and venture funds for early-stage biotech. Its success and expansion validated the need and the possibility of success for grassroots entrepreneurs.
Opportunity at UC Berkeley
Transforming a Seismic Challenge into a World-Class Bio Innovation Hub
An opportunity arose at UC Berkeley when the landmark Berkeley Art Museum on Bancroft Way was deemed seismically unfit. With leadership from QB3 and the support of a visionary donor, the building was retrofitted into a world-class bio innovation hub—Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, home to the Bakar Labs incubator. The project earned national and international acclaim for adaptive reuse.
Bakar Labs opened in 2021, offering flexible lab and office space on the QB3 model—bench by bench for early-stage bio innovators. Its unique integration with the Berkeley campus provided core facilities for companies, inspiration for future founders, and career pathways for students. The community quickly became a hub of activity, hosting over 80 biotech-focused events annually.
Open to the World
A Global Magnet for Biotech Startups
Bakar Labs filled up quickly; at half occupancy within 6 months, by the 3-year point it had housed more than 40 companies that between them had created more than 450 high-value jobs and raised more than $600 million.
Being a public-private initiative, Bakar Labs has never required that its tenants be affiliated with UC Berkeley. Two thirds of the tenants were founded outside the university, and some even moved to the US from countries including Armenia and Czechia.
Scope and Reach Expands
From Biotech to Planetary Health: Scaling the Vision
In May 2020, the Bakar Labs concept expanded from its biomedical focus when the UC Regents approved the construction of the Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials on the west side of the Berkeley campus. Construction is underway and completion expected in 2028. Then in July 2024 the Regents also approved the construction of a building on the UCSF Mission Bay campus, which will include a large biotech incubator managed by Bakar Labs.
Today
A Multicampus Ecosystem Driving Innovation for the Greater Good
With the expansion in scope, Bakar Labs reorganized into an overarching organization comprising Bakar Bio Labs, with operations at Berkeley and UCSF, and Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials. The multicampus QB3 continues to provide entrepreneurial programming for this greater whole. Going forward, Bakar Labs will take leverage efficiencies of scale to catalyze innovation in human and planetary health to the economic benefit of the state and the greater public good.
Get in touch
Address
Berkeley, CA 94704