The Big Bang! Business Competition awards over $100,000 in prize money, with additional residencies. We extend our gratitude to the sponsors listed below who make the Big Bang! possible.
Meet a Big Bang! Competitor Who Gives Back
In 2018, Denise Bronner, Ph.D., won the Big Bang! People’s Choice award for Anu Snacks. She credits the experience with launching her career and inspiring her to make a deep impact in healthcare and digital health.
Years later, Bronner is still grateful for the impact of the Big Bang! on her career. This year, she is paying it forward by returning to the competition to sponsor the Social Entrepreneurship Award. “The assumption that Social Entrepreneurship cannot be profitable is a barrier to innovation,” she said. “These businesses fill essential societal gaps, and if we continue to underestimate them, we starve our society of transformative solutions. So social entrepreneurship isn't just good ethics, it’s good economics.”
Big Bang! Business Competition Awards
| First Place | Co-Sponsor: DLA Piper | Top innovation across all categories | $25,000 |
| Food + Agriculture Sector Award | Co-Sponsor: Pam Morrone and Mick Rogers | For innovations in food and agriculture | $12,500 |
| Animal Health + Industry Sector Award | Sole Sponsor: UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine | For innovations in animal health | $12,500 |
| Human Health + Industry Sector Award | Sole Sponsor: UC Davis School of Medicine | For innovations in human health | $12,500 |
| Education + Education Tools Sector Award | Sole Sponsor: PowerSchool | For innovations in education | $12,500 |
| Energy + Sustainability Sector Award | Co-Sponsor: SMUD Co-Sponsor: Blue Tech Valley | For innovations in energy efficiency | $12,500 |
| Social Entrepreneurship Sector Award | Co-Sponsor: Denise Bronner Co-Sponsor: UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship | For innovations in social entrepreneurship | $12,500 |
| Incubator / Accelerator Residencies: | |||
| Six-month membership with one lab bench space in the Lab@AgStart. | AgStart Food, Ag and Health Incubator in Woodland | Offered to top food, ag and/or health innovation | $5,000 value |
| Six-month membership to access lab equipment and collaborative workspace in Davis. | HM.CLAUSE Life Science Innovation Center in Davis | Offered to top life science innovation, ranging from ag tech to human therapeutics | $5,000 value |
| Six-month membership with access to lab equipment and collaborative workspace. | Inventopia Engineering and Life Science Incubator in Davis | Offered to top engineering and/or life science innovation | $5,000 value |
| Awards Event | Bow Capital | $10,000 |