This article was originally reported in September 2025 and has been updated with the PitchBook 2026 rankings.
UC Berkeley produces more startup founders than any other university in the world, according to PitchBook. In its 2025 university rankings, released September 15, 2025, PitchBook ranked Berkeley No. 1 for the third year in a row for venture-backed companies founded by undergraduate alumni: 1,650 companies started by 1,804 Berkeley undergraduate alumni (Berkeley News, September 15, 2025).
The 2025 ranking
PitchBook’s undergraduate ranking counts alumni who founded companies that raised a first round of venture funding in the previous 10 years. In the 2025 edition, Stanford placed second, followed by Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT. PitchBook also reported that no other university had more female graduates who founded venture-backed companies than Berkeley (Berkeley News).
“The data here are independent confirmation that we’ve built something truly remarkable here at Berkeley,” Chancellor Rich Lyons said. Darren Cooke, Berkeley’s interim chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer, said the university’s startup leadership had been “years in the making.” Berkeley marked the result by pointing to Startup Campus, a book published in August 2025 on the history of Berkeley as a startup hub (free in digital form to students, faculty and staff), a new website inviting Berkeley founders to share their stories, and the Bakar BioEngineering Hub, which gives startups lab space and expertise.
Latest: No. 1 again in 2026
PitchBook’s 2026 rankings, published in early September 2026, put Berkeley first for undergraduate alumni founders for the fourth consecutive year. The 2026 edition analyzed the educational histories of more than 222,000 venture-backed founders. Berkeley was also first in PitchBook’s female founders category for the third straight year, fourth among universities whose graduate alumni start companies, and ninth in the MBA category (UC Newsroom, September 4, 2026). Six University of California campuses appeared in the 2026 undergraduate top 100:
| Campus | PitchBook 2026 undergraduate rank |
|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 1 |
| UCLA | 15 |
| UC San Diego | 38 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 58 |
| UC Davis | 66 |
| UC Irvine | 89 |
Source: UC Newsroom.
How to read founder rankings
- They measure size as well as success. PitchBook counts founders and companies, so large universities with many alumni have an advantage. Berkeley enrolls far more undergraduates than most private universities on the list.
- They count venture-backed companies only. Businesses that grow without venture capital, and founders who never raised money, are not counted.
- They look back a decade. The ranking reflects alumni who graduated years ago; it says more about a university’s long-run culture and network than about any current program.
For international students interested in startups
- Cost. For 2026–27, UC systemwide tuition and fees plus nonresident supplemental tuition total $54,848 for undergraduates who are not California residents, before campus fees, housing and health insurance (Legislative Analyst’s Office, May 2026).
- Rankings. Berkeley is No. 20 among national universities in the 2027 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, No. 5 in the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities and No. 9 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 (Forward Pathway school page).
- Working on your own startup. F-1 students can generally build a business idea and take part in campus entrepreneurship programs while studying, but being paid by or working for their own company is employment and needs authorization. After graduation, post-completion OPT can be used for self-employment if the business relates to the student’s program of study (Study in the States, DHS: International Students and Entrepreneurship). The 24-month STEM OPT extension has stricter employer and training-plan requirements, so check with Berkeley International Office before relying on it for a startup.
References
- Berkeley News: No. 1 again: UC Berkeley generates more startups and founders than any other university (September 15, 2025)
- UC Newsroom: UC campuses in the PitchBook 2026 university rankings (September 4, 2026)
- Study in the States (DHS): International Students and Entrepreneurship
- Legislative Analyst’s Office: UC tuition and fees, 2026–27 (May 2026)
- Forward Pathway: University of California-Berkeley