Free Ventures Email Format
Venture Capital and Private Equity PrincipalsCalifornia, United States11-50 Employees
Free Ventures is a Berkeley-based nonprofit venture program operated by UC Berkeley students, focused on supporting pre-seed startup founders through a three-month incubator. The organization emphasizes individualized pathways for founders from diverse academic backgrounds and aims to make entrepreneurship accessible to Berkeley students by cultivating a broad network that includes student groups, venture capitalists, resource partners, and experienced founders. Over more than a decade, Free Ventures has helped its portfolio companies raise follow-on capital and has seen exits and acquisitions involving prominent tech firms, reflecting its position within the academic startup ecosystem. The program is described as the university’s leading pre-seed incubator and coordinates an expansive network to provide early-stage founders with resources and connections from the Valley. Based in the city and region of Berkeley, California, Free Ventures operates as the university’s only nonprofit program run by students, for students, without a focus on returns or exits.