UC Berkeley Startup Accelerator Expands Global Reach

BERKELEY, CA — A UC Berkeley startup accelerator announced plans to expand its global reach.

UC Berkeley SkyDeck is at the center of a partnership launching a program aims to bring Silicon Valley expertise and resources to Europe.

UC Berkley’s global startup accelerator along with Cariplo Factory, an innovation hub specializing in entrepreneurship programs, and Lendlease, a global real estate and investment group, announced plans to launch SkyDeck Europe, which will be based in Milan, Italy.

SkyDeck Europe, Milano will set up its program at the newly developed Milano Innovation District (MIND), a $4 billion innovation district in the northern Italian city of Milan, which is considered to have the biggest startup ecosystem in the country.

SkyDeck Europe was created with the support of two Italian stakeholders: the philanthropic organization Fondazione Cariplo and the Government of the Lombardy Region.

"We're absolutely thrilled to bring SkyDeck to Europe. We've seen tremendous growth in the quality and quantity of European startups that work with SkyDeck to plug into Silicon Valley each year, and we know that's just the tip of the iceberg. Now, we can offer part of the SkyDeck program a little closer to their homes," SkyDeck Executive Director Caroline Winnett said in a statement.

"It's the best of both worlds as teams get the opportunity to learn from the programming available from our top accelerator, without necessarily committing to picking up and moving across the world."