Meet Our 2023 Big Bang! Finalists

The 23rd annual UC Davis business competition drew students and alumni from across campus, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California.

The 2023 Big Bang Business Competition's 17 finalist teams all have a co-founder affiliated with an institution of higher education in California. This year UC Davis, UCLA, Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo and the University of Southern California are represented.

Startups Make a Splash at Big Bang!

The UC Davis campus is always full of fresh ideas, but innovation was at an especially high pitch last Thursday during the 22nd annual Big Bang! Business Competition awards ceremony. Held in person for the first time since 2019, the ceremony presented over $100,000 in prize money and in-kind awards to early-stage startups in the food and agriculture, health, energy/sustainability, and social enterprise sectors. 

Congratulations, 2021 Big Bang! Finalists

Congratulations, 2021 Big Bang! Finalists Forty-five teams—representing 135 aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs—entered the 21st annual UC Davis business competition.

The competition drew students and alumni from across UC Davis, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California. Together, the Big Bang! and Little Bang!

$100K Loan to Help Local Entrepreneurs, New Ventures

Inventopia, a Davis startup incubator launched by 2008 Big Bang! winner Tim Keller, recently landed a $100K loan from the City of Davis to add specialized space needed by local entrepreneurs and new ventures. Its newest tenant, Peakb, develops naturally derived blue food coloring and was founded by UC Davis Professor Justin Siegel. Read the article>

Video: Making a Big Bang!

Benjamin Wang, 2014 Big Bang! Business Competition winner and founder/chief medical officer of NeVap Inc., shares how winning the competition helped launch his entrepreneurial journey, notes his successes since then—and explains how the Big Bang! helps innovators go from concept to company. Watch video >

Congratulations, 2020 Big Bang! Finalists

113 teams—representing 315 aspiring entrepreneurs—entered the 20th annual UC Davis business  competition, the greatest number in Big Bang! history. The competition drew teams from across UC Davis, as well as from the Sacramento region and throughout California, the U.S. and the world.