No. 1 again: UC Berkeley generates more startups and founders than any other university
Berkeley bested Stanford, Harvard and MIT in the annual Pitchbook rankings, a testament to the campus's investments in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Brittany Hosea-Small/For UC Berkeley
September 15, 2025
For the third year in a row, UC Berkeley graduates have founded more venture-backed companies than undergraduate alumni from any other university in the world, according to the 2025 PitchBook university rankings.
The rankings, released Monday (Sept. 15), placed Berkeley number one both in terms of number of venture-backed startups founded by undergraduate alumni, with 1,650 companies founded, and number of founders, with 1,804 undergraduate alumni going on to found companies. Pitchbook also reported that no other university has more female graduates who found companies than Berkeley. In claiming the top spots, Berkeley bested Stanford, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“The data here are independent confirmation that we’ve built something truly remarkable here at Berkeley,” said Chancellor Rich Lyons. “Our comprehensive support for innovation and entrepreneurship is just one aspect of how we consistently challenge the status quo, and a primary reason why Berkeley is, and will remain, one of society’s greatest assets.”
PitchBook, a data provider for private and public equity markets, annually ranks the world’s best universities for producing startup founders.
Neil Freese/UC Berkeley
The news follows another milestone for innovation and entrepreneurship at Berkeley.
Last month, the campus published Startup Campus, a book that stitches together the eras of Berkeley’s innovative history — from its early days of some hostility to its current place as a top-ranked institution. Free digital copies are available for students, faculty and staff. A new website invites UC Berkeley founders to share their startup stories. Additional events sharing the book and its stories are planned on campus throughout the semester.
“The work we’ve done to make Berkeley into a startup leader has been years in the making,” said Darren Cooke, Berkeley’s interim Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer. “Our students are graduating with the skills and resources to not only have great ideas but to also have ideas that others are willing to put money behind to support.”
Stanford University came in second in the overall rankings, which evaluate startups founded by undergraduate alumni that received a first round of venture funding in the past 10 years. Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT rounded out the top five.
