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The UC Davis Innovation and Economic Development Office has launched the Aggie Venture Accelerator, an initiative designed to support early-stage startups developing solutions at the intersection of life science, food and health. Delivered in partnership with The March Group, a thematic early-stage venture capital firm, the program will provide selected startups with mentorship, structured programming and investment with the aim of accelerating their path to market.

UC Davis highlighted its expanding portfolio of translational research and university-born startups at the annual Biotech Innovation Gallery (BIG) event in San Francisco. Hosted by UC Davis Health Ventures and Venture Catalyst, under the Innovation and Economic Development Office (IEDO), the event was designed to connect UC Davis innovators with investors and industry leaders while showcasing some of the university’s most promising biomedical research and emerging biotech ventures.

The University of California, Davis, has awarded $100,000 through the autumn 2025 cohort of the Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR) Grant Program to help scientists advance innovative research with strong commercial potential.

At Venture Catalyst, part of the UC Davis Innovation and Economic Development Office, we're proud to support the translation of UC Davis research and technology into real-world applications by fostering the development of new ventures. Through strategic collaborations, training and mentorship programs, funding translational research, and proactive outreach, we foster the university’s entrepreneurial culture and ensure that the benefits of the UC Davis innovation ecosystem extend beyond the lab.

Over the past few years, our team has watched the conversation around metabolic health shift dramatically. The rise of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy has not only transformed how we treat obesity and diabetes, but also redefined how people think about food, nutrition and wellness.

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Grainge.ai, a UC Davis–born startup, is transforming food manufacturing by using AI-driven ingredient intelligence to predict how grains, starches and other ingredients behave in formulations, helping companies innovate more efficiently and sustainably.

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UC Davis saw a 34% increase in records of invention in FY 2025, driven largely by health-related innovations and first-time contributors, reflecting a growing culture of commercialization and cross-campus collaboration led by the Innovation and Economic Development Office.

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Antoinette Banks transformed a mother’s struggle for her daughter’s education into Expert IEP, a platform that combines neuroscience, lived experience, and tech to empower families and reform outdated IEP systems.

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