Free Ventures

Accelerator · UC Berkeley · Berkeley

Free Ventures is a student-run non-profit pre-seed startup accelerator at UC Berkeley designed to help student founders build and scale their startups with equity-free support.

About

Free Ventures is a student-run non-profit pre-seed accelerator based in Berkeley. Founded in 2013 at UC Berkeley, the program focuses on helping student founders launch and scale their companies with equity-free support. The organization remains sector-agnostic, backing ventures across fields ranging from enterprise software and consumer products to healthtech, virtual reality, esports media, and drones.

What they run

The organization has run seven events across the Bay Area since 2017. Their activity includes three mixers, two demo days, and two general community events. Moving forward, their scheduled programming includes the Fall 2026 UC LAUNCH Demo Day set to take place in Berkeley in December 2026.

Who attends

Events draw a mix of collegiate founders, early-stage operators, and supporters from the university startup ecosystem. Because their portfolio covers diverse areas such as drones, healthcare, and software, gatherings attract pre-seed entrepreneurs seeking peer feedback and connections. Attendees at their mixers and demo days typically include student teams preparing early launches alongside observers interested in collegiate innovation.

https://www.freeventures.org

Upcoming events

Past events

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