Science and Innovation

California’s stock in trade is innovation. From ideas to capital to talent, the critical mass exists in California’s complex business networks to deliver almost any concept to its fullest potential. As California produces success in innovations impacting every industry, industries have responded with new approaches to scouting and investing in the startup universe. In addition, California’s diverse economy and history of innovation make it well positioned to capture future growth in many manufacturing sectors, but state and local governments will need more targeted policy tools to stimulate commercialization of new products, close the workforce gap, and incentivize more manufacturers to locate within the state. While the offshoring of production and automation technology have fundamentally transformed the industry, high-skilled manufacturing jobs are essential to a balanced, competitive economy.

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Insights

Taxing Patents – the Worst Idea Ever?

December 5, 2025 Patents are at the root of the United States intellectual property system, and innovation-led economy, both of which are amongst the best in the world. In this article in the San Francisco …

Insights

AI’s Impacts and its Governance: A Silicon Valley Perspective

November 1, 2025 AI is transforming both public and private sectors, driving major gains in efficiency, productivity, and innovation—especially in fields like medicine—but also causing job and skill disruptions. In this article in the Times …

Report

Innovation, Adoption, and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a defining technology of the 21st Century. Like the digital revolution on which it builds, AI will over time impact every industry, the competitiveness of both large and small companies, the provision of government services, and the personal lives of billions of people across the planet through health and other outcomes. How it is developed, deployed and governed is a matter of growing consequence for large and small businesses, private individuals, and their governments.
Insights

Industrial Policy Takes a Wrong Turn

September 25, 2025 U.S. industry policy has shifted from avoiding direct government involvement in markets to actively taking stakes in and extracting profits from private companies. In this article in the San Francisco Business Times, …

Insights

From NASA to Startups: How the Bay Area is Shaping the Future of Space Exploration

July 25, 2025 When you say the world “space” most people think of Southern California, Texas or maybe Florida. The Bay Area, however, hosts a large and dynamic space sector that is uniquely contributing to …

Report

Space in the Bay Area

Silicon Valley and the Bay Area have long been identified with technological innovation, the creation of new industries, and the disruption of old ones. In recent years, digitalization has served as the unifying thread, as both large corporations and startups from across the United States and around the world have migrated to the region to be part of the digital revolution and contribute to its advancement. This movement isn’t limited to one industry or sector but has spanned a broad range of disciplines as companies and governments consider the impact of digital technologies on their competitiveness. The region is also identified with entrepreneurship and the creation or application of technology by emerging companies that disrupt existing industries or create new ones. This applies to space. In the popular mind, the Bay Area—which includes Silicon Valley—is identified with industries such as computer hardware, software, semiconductors, or social media, while the space industry is primarily identified with Southern California, Florida, or Texas. The Bay Area, however, has a deep history in the space sector and is playing a revolutionary role there as well. This report assesses the space industry in the region—its roots and development, its current focus, and its contributions to US competitiveness and the national space mission.
Insights

Science Cuts Will Mortgage Our Tech Future

May 8, 2025 The Trump administration’s cuts to federal science funding threaten the U.S.’s innovation pipeline, which relies heavily on federally supported research at universities and labs. In this article in the Silicon Valley Business …

Insights

Democratize AI: How the AI Tide Can Lift More Boats

February 25, 2024 AI is fueling economic recovery in the Bay Area. Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s open-source R1 model has raised concerns about AI investment, but its energy-efficient and low-cost innovations could accelerate AI adoption. …

Insights

Will We Lose the Global EV Market?

February 18, 2024 The Biden’s administration’s support for electric vehicles (EV’s), including tax incentives and funding for charging infrastructure, is being rolled back. In this article in the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Sean Randolph, Senior …

Report

Seizing the Semiconductor Opportunity

California has the opportunity to capture a significant share of CHIPS Act funding, but competition will be intense and other states (Texas, New York, Arizona, Oregon and Ohio among others) are already shaping their own initiatives. Succeeding at a level that meets the state’s potential will require a strategy, a proactive outreach, and a well-organized partnership between the state, local governments, the business and economic development community, universities (including the University of California, CSU, and community colleges), and workforce development agencies.
Report

The Future of Advanced Technology and Basic Research

California is globally recognized as the world’s leading center for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurial opportunity. While most concentrated in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley Bay Area, technology assets are spread throughout the state. The economic strength that flows from this unique capacity has produced high-value jobs and world-leading companies and puts California at the leading edge of current and emerging technologies that will transform the world’s economy in coming decades. The income that this activity generates is also a critical source of revenue for the state through personal income taxes (PIT) due to the substantial workforce dedicated to advancing technology in California. In the state’s 2019-2020 fiscal year, PIT accounted for 66.19 percent of California’s General Fund revenues, much of which are driven by taxation on technology initial public offerings (IPOs) and stock gains.
Report

The Bay Area Innovation System

This report examines the scientific roots of the Bay Area's innovation system and the contribution of public investment to the research on which much of the region's technological success has been built. It provides data and analysis on how the ecosystem has evolved, discusses the roles of industry, federal, and state funding, and examines how research generated with public support has broad impacts on the economy.
Report

Entrepreneurs, Startups and Innovation at the University of California

This report examines a broad range of initiatives at the University of California’s ten campuses—plus UC Hastings Law School, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory—that are designed to support entrepreneurial development and startup formation, and through them stimulate economic activity in surrounding regions and communities.
Report

Reinventing Manufacturing

Technology is revolutionizing manufacturing processes through innovations in 3D printing, robotics and big data (the Internet of Things) – often based on innovations that come from California. A range of factors, including rising labor costs in China, are leading some manufacturers to bring production home. California is in a good position to capture much of this growth, but needs policies that support and incentivize investment.
Project

UC Berkeley

Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship

This analysis documents the economic contributions of companies founded by UC Berkeley students, alumni and faculty and estimates a minimum economic impact of entrepreneurial activity associated with UC Berkeley. It was prepared by the Economic Institute for UC Berkeley, which funded the project.

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