ANDREA CARAFA

I currently lead the Blackstone Launchpad powered by Techstars, advise startups as CIED & QB3 entrepreneur in residence, and teach innovation at UCSC. 

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Through the Blackstone Launchpad powered by Techstars, my colleagues and I help founders launch and grow pre-seed and seed startups by providing them with funding, mentorship, access to networks and more. We support AI, deep tech, and other technology ventures originated in academic settings and often created by underrepresented founders. Our alumni have presented their startups at venues such as the UN and CES, and have raised capital from venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins, top U.S. angel investors, and accelerators such as Techstars, Skydeck, and Y Combinator.

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At CIED and UCSC, I advise startup founders and have taught several innovation and entrepreneurship courses addressing global challenges. Jointly with a stellar team of ocean science, technology, and entrepreneurship experts, I currently teach "Hacking for Oceans", the first-ever lean startup course focused on coastal and ocean-related issues. We have partnered with NOAA, WWF, the Nature Conservancy and other organizations to source problems and field experts from around the world. Hacking for Oceans is currently offered to all UC students as a UC system-wide online course, and has also accepted students from academic institutions within the Association of Pacific Rim Universities.

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I also serve as QB3 entrepreneur in residence. QB3 is the University of California’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in biotech, energy, and materials. With five incubators, two seed-stage venture capital firms, the Rosenman Institute and three centers at UC Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz, QB3 helps UC faculty & students to launch startups that so far have created more than 17,000 jobs and raised more than $13 billion in capital. I support faculty/student founders of AI and deep tech startups in health, energy, and materials, and contribute to workforce development and translational research efforts at UCSC, and to tri-campus collaborations such as the QBI hackathon at UCSF, and UC system initiatives such as the Bioengineering Institute of California.

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Back in 2019, I joined the UC Office of the President's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, aimed at enabling the UC system to continue creating bold solutions to today’s biggest global challenges by turning discoveries and ideas into innovations and ventures. In light of such a long-term commitment, I have participated in UC system meetings and groups to discuss priorities such as AI, venture creation, accelerators, strategic partnerships, infrastructure, and more. I have also participated in Born in California, the annual event where the top UC startups pitch in front of investors.

 

To conclude, I've trained as well as funded academic entrepreneurs through the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps (I-Corps) site program, which helps students and faculty to turn scientific discoveries and ideas into startups. Thanks to the generous funding made available by the NSF, my colleagues and I have selected and funded promising ventures, and many of them end up applying for additional NSF funding later on. An outstanding example of NSF-funded startups that I often refer to is Cruz Foam, a climate tech venture that also raised capital from Leo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, and other top investors. The startup made it into Time magazine's Best Inventions of 2023 and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024.