From Berkeley Skydeck Newsletter (6/5/24)

The UC Berkeley AI Hackathon is ramping up to be the biggest in-person AI hackathon ever, organized in partnership between SkyDeck and Hackathons@Berkeley once again. This time around, 10 additional hackathon groups and accelerators from top universities have joined as marketing partners, such as Stanford’s TreeHacks, HackMIT, UCLA's LA Hacks, Johns Hopkins' Pava Center for Entrepreneurship, UMich's MHacks, UPenn’s PenHacks, and more.

Last year, hackers from all over the world applied to attend and with so many partners onboard, this summer's hackathon will be even more competitive to get into and will produce amazing projects. Since the Hackathon opened registration two weeks ago, 2K+ applications have already been submitted for 1,200 spots. Hackers will have access to some of the best and most-cutting edge LLM hacking tools. Applications will remain open until June 10.

The Berkeley SkyDeck Fund has committed $50k in investment for winning projects and there will be $50k in grants from the Academic Innovation Catalyst (AIC), along with prizes such as AI PCs from Intel, and more. Hackers interested in applying to join the Hackathon, can apply here.

SkyDeck’s Climate Tech Track grows

SkyDeck's Batch 18 Climate Tech Dinner in San Francisco last week was an inspiring celebration of innovation and collaboration that welcomed our community of climate tech founders, advisors, and mentors! Launched in July 2023, our Climate Tech Track has been steadily expanding to support SkyDeck startups as they revolutionize the climate, sustainability, and energy sectors. SkyDeck is also driving a Climate Tech track at this month’s UC Berkeley AI Hackathon. Learn more about our Climate Track here.

SkyDeck alumna shares honest & real insights with B18 female founders

Dr. Katrina Roundfield (co-founder & Chief Clinical Officer of Appa Health - Batch 12, Pad-13 and Batch 13, Cohort) joined Batch 18 female founders for an intimate conversation with Sibyl Chen (General Manager & Head of Program, Berkeley SkyDeck). SkyDeck’s Board Room was packed, and the group discussed an array of meaningful topics, from being a serial entrepreneur to leadership styles and mentorship. There was great energy from both the female founders and Dr. Roundfield, who shared candid and thoughtful insights. SkyDeck looks forward to the more Female Founder events throughout Batch 18. If you’re interested in supporting SkyDeck’s DEI efforts, please submit the interest form here.

SkyDeck Startup Fundraising News

Echandia Marine AB

Echandia Marine AB (Batch 17, IPP), based in Sweden, develops advanced maritime battery systems that reduce fossil fuel emissions and fuel costs. In addition to recent work with the world's largest electrified ferry fleet and NATO naval vessels, it has received an $11M+ contract with a major Northern European ferry operator and is expanding into the USA. Read more here.

Gellycle 
Gellycle (Batch 17, IPP) has secured $1M in funding from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) to further develop their hydrogel for tendon regeneration. Learn more here.

Dowork.ai
Dowork.ai (Batch 16, SkyDeck Europe) has launched its new AI voice agent that automates up to 80% of online and phone customer interactions. The best part? It doesn’t require writing code to set up! Click here for a demo.

Enkrypt.ai
Enkrypt.ai (Batch 16, Cohort) is committed to advancing the safe, secure, and ethical deployment of generative AI and have launched their LLM Safety Leaderboard to guide enterprises in selecting the safest and most reliable LLMs. Read more in VentureBeat here.

CoGrader
CoGrader (Batch 17, Cohort) is an AI teaching assistant that saves teachers time by streamlining grading and can even detect when students use ChatGPT in their assignments. It’s been featured in top education publication, Edutopia. Read it here.

 Manot
Manot (Batch 15, Cohort) launched its all-in-one feedback intelligence solution, allowing AI teams to build reliable LLM products faster, turning user feedback into actionable insights to analyze root causes and resolve issues. Check out the product demo here.

Squishy Robotics
Squishy Robotics (Batch 9, Cohort) offers air-deployable sensor robots for real-time ground-level data in hazardous areas. It was showcased at the Robotics Showcase and Demo Day in Washington, D.C., an event an attended by Congress and co-hosted by the U.S. Senate’s Artificial Intelligence Caucus, Carnegie Mellon University, the Computing Research Association, and IEEE-USA (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).