UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology - SCET

Congratulations to SCET Advisory Board Member Charles Huang on receiving the Berkeley Founder’s Award.

Charles has spent his career turning bold ideas into transformative ventures, demonstrating the power of entrepreneurship to create lasting impact. Beyond his achievements as a founder, he has remained deeply committed to supporting the next generation of innovators.

At SCET, we are grateful for Charles’s guidance, mentorship, and belief that entrepreneurship can solve meaningful challenges. His journey reflects the curiosity, resilience, and creativity we strive to cultivate in our students and founders every day.

Congratulations, Charles, on this well-deserved honor.

https://awards.berkeley.edu/achievement-awards/berkeley-founders

"Trees don't grow roots the night of a storm." This is just one piece of wisdom our class received this semester from Dr. Sood, leading expert on resilience and wellbeing and executive director of the Global Center for Resiliency and Wellbeing.

The Applied Resilience course, created and led by Victoria Howell, brings together students and speakers from a wide range of backgrounds and fields in an effort to explore, build, and practice resilience. This course would not be possible without our continued collaboration with Dr. Sood.

During two sessions this semester, Dr. Sood taught our students about the transformative power of building habits around gratitude and kindness. He discusses consistent practice as key to anchoring oneself during times of turmoil. Through a unique blend of wisdom and science, Dr. Sood shared his philosophy on what it means to be resilient and why resilience matters.

Our class wouldn't be where it is today without Dr. Sood's guidance and partnership, and we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn from him each semester.

https://hubs.li/Q04jH8FM0

On May 15, we hosted the 2nd annual SCET Certificate Ceremony to honor our incredible Class of 2026. 🐻🎓

It was a day filled with reflection, inspiration, and Berkeley pride.We were thrilled to welcome back SCET Alumna Mallika Luther, who shared powerful insights on how the lessons learned here continue to shape her career. We also heard from our student-nominated speaker, Bobby Harden, who spoke about how SCET fundamentally transformed his Berkeley experience and redefined his future trajectory.

To our graduates: We’ve seen your hard work and creativity firsthand. We can't wait to see how you continue to shine and disrupt the status quo!!

“In a world where I can send a message across the planet in 100 milliseconds, why does moving money still feel like this?”

Debasish Behera, a founder from SCET’s Startup Semester, is working to make global payments more accessible. After building , which was recently acquired by AVFX Capital, he is now developing a decentralized platform designed to manage bank accounts across global payment systems using stablecoins and modern financial infrastructure.

Read the full article: https://hubs.li/Q04hXdY_0

“The future battle that you will face is not economic, it’s spiritual.” — Zack Kass

With recent headlines featuring students’ negative response to AI and even the Pope’s input it is especially insightful to hear Zack Kass’s perspective. Cal grad, Zack Kass, former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI, and author of The Next RenAIssance, joined this semester’s Newton Berkeley Changemaker® Series to share his perspective on the future of AI and society.

Drawing from his experience leading go-to-market efforts at OpenAI, Kass emphasized that AI should be understood as infrastructure, not just a product. He pointed to the rapid decline in cost and rise in capability as signals of a major shift, describing a future where AI agents transform how we interact with technology and reduce the need to navigate the internet as we know it.

As computing becomes more ambient, he noted that screen time may become a negative status signal, reflecting a move away from constant device use.

Beyond technology, Kass encouraged students to embrace adaptability and think beyond traditional career paths. In a world shaped by “unmetered intelligence,” he argued that the defining challenge ahead will center on meaning, purpose, and what it means to be human.

Watch the full video: https://hubs.li/Q04hYyyS0

Learn more about the Newton Berkeley Changemaker® Series:
https://hubs.li/Q04hYV-c0

Recently, at Collider Cup XVIII, SCET proudly presented the 2026 Anthony DiPrinzio Innovation Champion Award to Ayushi Deokule, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to Berkeley’s innovation and entrepreneurship community.

The award honors the legacy of Anthony DiPrinzio and celebrates students who embody his leadership, energy, and commitment to empowering others.

Read the full article: https://hubs.li/Q04hdhMq0

Two weeks ago, we wrapped up Global Venture Lab 2026 at SCET, bringing together entrepreneurship educators, innovation leaders, and university partners from around the world to explore how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship education.

Across two days, speakers examined AI agents, ethical AI use, AI-supported learning, market entry tools, assessment, student readiness, and the evolving role of universities in developing entrepreneurial thinkers.

Through peer exchange, workshops, and collaborative dialogue, participants worked toward shared recommended practices for using AI ethically and effectively in the classroom. We’re energized by the ideas, connections, and momentum that came out of GVL, and excited for what this global community builds next.

Learn more: https://hubs.li/Q04hd5YL0

Anthony DiPrinzio’s impact on the Berkeley community continues to be deeply felt.

A 2019 UC Berkeley graduate in Political Economy, Anthony brought extraordinary energy, humor, and commitment to both Blockchain at Berkeley and SCET, where he left a lasting impression on classmates, collaborators, and the broader entrepreneurship community.

After graduation, he pursued his passion for blockchain technology through leadership roles at BASF, Aleo, and Provable. His journey reflected the same curiosity, ambition, and generosity that defined his time at Berkeley.

We remember Anthony for the mark he left on this community and the inspiration he continues to provide to future innovators.

Read the full article: https://hubs.li/Q04gX06r0

On May 7, 2026 Berkeley SCET Startup Semester students celebrated the completion of the spring semester. Director of Global Academic & Startup Programs, David Law and Sr. Program Manager, Ricardo Rodriguez presented students with a certificate of completion and a "Golden Bear" pin.

This semester our 26 students came from , , , and . All semester they worked on many different types of projects, interdisciplinary teams and spent a lot of time talking to customers, researching and pitching. Startup Semester is very proud that five students across multiple teams presented at the At-Large Bid and our SCET Collider Cup Demo Day. Multiple Startup Semester students also received a spot at UC Berkeley's SkyDeck Pad-13 Accelerator Program.

SCET's challenge to all of our students heading home: Don't just ask, “What did I learn?” Ask, “What am I now prepared to do?” Build something. Improve something. Challenge something. Share what you know. And when you face uncertainty — because you will — remember that progress usually begins with people who are willing to take the first step.

You are not just returning home as students. You are returning as builders, connectors, and leaders. Go forward with curiosity, courage, and confidence. And wherever you land next, make it better than you found it.

Learn more about SCET Global Programs: https://hubs.li/Q04gWMxy0

Hosted on May 8, 2026, UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology - SCET welcomed students, mentors, and community members for an exciting showcase of startup pitches developed across SCET courses throughout the semester.

Hosted by student emcees Anika Kesavalu, Daniella Spero, and Nithyashree Prabhu, the biannual event featured ventures shaped in courses exploring , and , , , and .

Congratulations to all of the student teams who brought bold ideas, strong ex*****on, and entrepreneurial energy to the stage. The top three teams have already secured spots in Berkeley SkyDeck's Pad-13 program.

Learn more about the innovative student teams: https://hubs.li/Q04gKpPY0

Berkeley Engineering