Industry Partnerships

QB3 believes that partnering with industry is essential for early stage science to move forward, and ultimately benefit society.

QB3 connects academic scientists and early stage entrepreneurs to potential collaborators in industry, with the hope of creating mutually beneficial industry partnerships. QB3 seeks to connect scientists from the 3 QB3 campuses as well as the 100+ companies within the QB3 network to scientists in industry to explore mentorship, information exchange and funding opportunities.

QB3 acts as a hub to facilitate these relationships by hosting industry visitors, managing formal industry alliances, and working with potential industry partners to explore how these interactions can be mutually beneficial.

QB3 has made it a priority to foster productive, collaborative partnerships. We have established several models to engage with industry and are open to experimenting further. Some examples include:

  • Our partnership with Pfizer, now in its third year, has provided over $9 million to more than 20 faculty at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and UCSF. QB3 initiates collaborations between Pfizer scientists and UC researchers, with funding focused on innovative projects. Pfizer is also interested in seed stage investments in QB3 incubator network companies.
  • The QB3 Collaborative startup program has attracted 4 large industry partners who are keen to identify, fund and partner with early stage QB3 startups.
  • Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology has partnered with QB3 to co-fund the QB3 Bridging-the-Gap Awards, which enable researchers to explore and de-risk technology with commercial potential before launching a company. This is an unusual partnership because, instead of looking to license technology, Johnson & Johnson wants to build relationships with early-stage entrepreneurs.
  • GE Healthcare loans QB3 major capital equipment such as the InCell 2000 analyzer for high-content drug screening, and offers our scientists a twice-yearly lab course on advanced processing of biological molecules.
  • Top-level industry scientists speak at QB3’s Quadrant seminars, which are open to all. While on campus, Quadrant speakers often meet with university faculty and representatives from companies nearby.

To find out more about these and other partnerships, contact Neena Kadaba, QB3’s director of industry alliances.