• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFuture of Work

University of California Is Putting Money Into an Alumni VC Fund

By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 12, 2016, 12:49 PM ET
Travel 5 Free Things Berkeley and Oakland
In this photo taken Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014, late light falls on Sproul Hall behind the Sather Gate on the University of California campus in Berkeley, Calif. This famously liberal college town is known as the cradle of the Free Speech Movement, but speech isn’t the only thing that’s free here. Whether you’re strolling the redwood-shaded University of California, Berkeley, campus, or slipping across the Oakland border for a dose of Golden State history, you can exercise your limbs and your intellect without giving your wallet a workout. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)Photograph by Eric Risberg — AP

The University of California is giving its student entrepreneurs a big endorsement.

During a scheduled public meeting of its regents’ finance committee on Friday, the school revealed that it has invested into the House Fund, a young $6 million fund. The fund, established by UC Berkeley alumnus Jeremy Fiance, focuses on very early stage startups founded by UC Berkeley alumni.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with the University of California,” Fiance told Fortune via email. “This partnership enables us to align with the one of the world’s top university systems, collaborate to strengthen its ecosystem, and equip our startups with its tremendous resources, while still operating like a startup to support Berkeley founders and help them build the foundations for great businesses.”

The investment into the House Fund is part of UC Ventures, an initiative from the University of California to invest $25 million from its endowment into small local funds focused on companies affiliated with its university campuses across California. Though terms of the investment were not shared, it should be no more than $3 million, according to UC Ventures’ website.

Fiance also announced during Friday’s meeting that two UC Berkeley alumni and successful entrepreneurs are joining his fund as part-time partners. Jason Wang, co-founder and CEO of food delivery app Caviar (acquired by Square for $100 million), and Brett Wilson, founder and CEO of TubeMogul, a publicly traded advertising software company, will help advise the fund’s portfolio companies, as well as help vet new potential investments.

“TubeMogul wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Berkeley—we started the company on campus,” said Wilson in a statement. “I look forward to mentoring the next generation of Berkeley founders as part of The House Fund.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Fiance came up with the idea for the fund while a student at UC Berkeley. He ventured into entrepreneurship himself but quickly realized that his university’s startup community lacked a unified community, a strong culture that encourages students to pursue entrepreneurship, and a clear path and resources to make that possible. While still a student, he helped start Free Ventures, which provides student entrepreneurs with regular guidance and even academic credits so they don’t feel like they’re sidelining their studies. He’s also involving fellow alumni: some of the investors in his fund are UC Berkeley graduates.

Though he prefers not to turn into a competition with age-old rival Stanford on the other side of the Bay Area, it’s hard not to compare the two. Stanford’s brand is strongly associated with startups, and local investors and entrepreneurs flock to the school to help guide students interested in entrepreneurship and technology. The school even has its own startup accelerator program.

Two weeks ago, Fiance helped unveil an additional piece of his vision for UC Berkeley’s startup community: The House, a new office space near the university campus. In the 7,000 square-foot space, students, alumni, and faculty will be able to access various startup resources. The new center is funded by a $2 million philanthropic fund, and managed by another UC Berkeley alumnus, Cameron Baradar. Fiance’s venture capital fund will also contribute some of its carry, or profits, to fund The House as a way to continue to reinvest into UC Berkeley’s startup community.

Of course, Fiance and his fund still need to show returns, and as Forbes pointed out in April, university-focused funds only work if they do, regardless of the level of school spirit.

Fiance plans to invest in about 50 companies out of his $6 million and has already invested in several, including Lily (a drone with a camera), Instant eSports (a news site for competitive gaming), and Superhuman (an upcoming email service).

Fiance declined to disclose how many investments he’s made so far.

About the Author
By Kia Kokalitcheva
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

AIautonomy
Waymo chaos during San Francisco power outage likely due to ‘operational management failure’ instead of software flaw, expert says
By Jaimie Ding and The Associated PressDecember 22, 2025
5 hours ago
BankingBank of America
Bank of America’s Moynihan says AI’s economic benefit is ‘kicking in more’
By Katherine Chiglinsky, Steve Dickson and BloombergDecember 22, 2025
8 hours ago
man in suit
Personal FinanceCryptocurrency
Notorious crypto conman Sam Bankman-Fried has a prison passion project: giving legal advice to other inmates
By Carlos GarciaDecember 22, 2025
9 hours ago
AI nude
CybersecurityEducation
13-year-old girl attacked a boy showing an AI-generated nude image of her. She was expelled
By Heather Hollingsworth, Jack Brook and The Associated PressDecember 22, 2025
9 hours ago
AITech
In 2000 Larry Page said Google was ‘nowhere near’ the ultimate search engine—25 years later, Gemini might be close
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 22, 2025
9 hours ago
Photo of Colin Angle
InnovationAutomation
‘It’s a cage match’: Beleaguered iRobot founder says the biggest reason why the Roomba-maker failed was because of growing Chinese competition
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 22, 2025
12 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Meet a 55-year-old automotive technician in Arkansas who didn’t care if his kids went to college: ‘There are options’
By Muskaan ArshadDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeDecember 22, 2025
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Multimillionaire musician Will.i.am says work-life balance is for people 'working on someone else’s dream'—he grinds from 5-to-9 after his 9-to-5
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
After pouring $450 million into Florida real estate, Larry Ellison plans to lure the ultrarich to an exclusive town just minutes from Mar-a-Lago
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 22, 2025
14 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Mitt Romney says the U.S. is on a cliff—and taxing the rich is now necessary 'given the magnitude of our national debt'
By Dave SmithDecember 22, 2025
12 hours ago