C2M – the First Cleantech Accelerator – identifies promising cleantech innovations from: (1) existing startups, (2) accelerators & incubators such as Activate’s Cyclotron Road, Cleantech Open, and Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, (3) government-sponsored programs such as CalSEED and ARPA-E, funded by the California Energy Commission and the Department of Energy, and (4) top-tier universities and national labs such as UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Stanford, Caltech, Princeton & MIT. Each of the 6-8 technologies selected in April for C2M's annual cohort receives 1,000 hours of FREE technology, market, strategy, and business model assessment from late August through early December.
C2M handpicks graduate student commercialization teams from 20+ UC Berkeley disciplines, and matches their academic/work experience and interests with each project. C2M supports the teams with leading cleantech professionals who bring deep subject matter expertise. They help guide the students as speakers, mentors, and contacts. Students experience the rewards and challenges of taking cleantech to market; startups gain valuable market feedback on their technologies and business plans; and professionals engage with fresh talent and new ideas.
C2M has guided 300+ entrepreneurs in their efforts to bring promising cleantech solutions to market to mitigate climate change and promote low-carbon energy use, clean water, and green chemistries. C2M’s graduate student teams have helped fuel the commercialization of 50 technologies. C2M-supported start-up companies have raised more than $140 million in funding—with more than half profitable or revenue-generating—and employee nearly 300 people. C2M alumni have gone on to become a “who’s who” in cleantech leadership.
A recent C2M study offered nine years of cohorts the chance to describe—in their own words—what C2M’s value meant to their startups. Here are some of their comments:
“We received an SBIR grant thanks in large part to the incredible work of our C2M team! We are constantly using the market research we received from C2M.”
“C2M stands out. While other accelerators simply tell you what should be done given infinite resources, C2M actually works cooperatively to help achieve those goals. Really valuable market research – overall top notch.”
“We have a small, full-time staff mostly dedicated to developing the technology. Without C2M we wouldn’t be nearly as prepared as we are now.”
“They did a superb job in terms of technology positioning, market analysis, and business proposition. Bottom line: excellent work.”
“They came up with appropriate business models we thought made sense. I was impressed with how quickly they came up to speed.”
“We asked: ‘What markets best leverage the benefits of our system?’ and ‘Should we be pushing efficiency or cost?’ The answers were exactly what we needed.”
“They found interesting and unexpected applications for our technology. The students thought about things that hadn’t occurred to us before.”
“It is helpful to have cost and materials data from a market perspective as compared to a prototype perspective.”
“I am constantly using C2M documents when working with partners and investors. The program is extremely helpful.”
Sign Up 
