For over 20 years, the annual UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition, the largest annual business competition in the Sacramento region, has been launching startups. The competition provides a forum for innovators to collaborate, develop and test business ideas.

Join UC Davis on Tuesday, May 23, as they celebrate this year’s finalists, announce the winners—and help them launch into their bright future!

After a networking reception, find out who wins the awards, including the $20,000 top prize and the People’s Choice Award, voted on by the audience. This year’s Big Bang! will award almost $100,000 in prize money.

Date: Tuesday, May 23

Time: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Location: UC Davis Conference Center

Cost: Free

RSVP

 

Prizes

The Big Bang! will award nearly $100,000 in prizes for the competition’s top innovation overall and the People’s Choice favorite, and for winning ventures in the following sectors:

  • First Place: Top innovation in the competition – $20,000
  • People’s Choice Award – $10,000
  • Food + Agriculture Sector Award – $10,000
  • Animal Health + Industry Sector Award – $10,000
  • Human Health + Industry Sector Award – $10,000
  • Education + Education Tools Sector Award – $10,000
  • Energy + Sustainability Sector Award – $10,000
  • Social Entrepreneurship Sector Award – $10,000
  • And 2 In-Kind Services Awards, each valued at $4,000

Vote for People’s Choice!

Online voting for the People’s Choice Award winner runs from noon on May 18 through noon on May 22. RSVP to attend the Awards Ceremony and to receive a link to view the finalist videos and vote! Or check back here on May 18.

The Finalists

The 2023 Big Bang Business Competition‘s 18 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, Claremont McKenna College and the University of Southern California are represented. Learn more about the finalists here.

  • Advize – Watch career content from diverse leaders and discover your professional potential.
  • Badaye Technologies Ltd. –  A customizable maize cleaner for everyone.
  • BioChem ML – Mini-Pitch: Drug screening microscope using machine learning algorithm.
  • BOAS Buddy – Your brachycephalic dog’s best buddy.
  • Caregiva – A wellness app that provides a care-centric, holistic approach to addressing caregiver challenges.
  • Elythea – Machine learning platform to predict complications of pregnancy before they ever happen.
  • epiSLS –  EpiSLS is bringing allergy testing into the 21st century.
  • H2OOT –  Water is precious. Give a hoot about your water usage.
  • Hydroponic (CEAID Tech) – Chemical analysis for nutrient composition of crops; data used to maximize yield/quality.
  • neo(connected) – Empowering people to take action to save money—or prevent wastage of power.
  • Pistachi-Grow – Pistachi-Grow products transform agricultural waste into valuable agricultural inputs.
  • PolyoseBio – Working to divert food waste away from landfills by upcycling it into high-value sugar polymers using a combination of insects and microbial cell factories.
  • SANA Diagnostics –  Streamlining medical testing for sexual/reproductive health.
  • SchedGo – SchedGo helps students plan their academic schedules with ease.
  • Square Solutions –  Portable incubator for cell therapy transport.
  • Vineyard Trove – Disruptive platform sets out to change how grapes are traded.
  • Vorlauf Upcycled Bakery – Elevating your favorite baked goods with upcycled ingredients.
  • Zoetic Motion –  Revolutionizing physical therapy with AI: track progress, motivate patients, streamline documentation.

Meet Last Year’s Winner

2022 UC Davis Big Bang! Winner, Storx Technology.

UC Davis doctoral candidate Kourosh Vali and Regina Hoang MBA 22 led Storx Technologies to the $20,000 First Place Award in the 2022 Big Bang! Business Competition. Storx’ innovation: a novel fetal monitoring system. Meet all the 2022 winners here.

About the Big Bang!

The Big Bang! is presented by the UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. To learn more, visit bigbang.ucdavis.edu.

Check out additional events for Startup founders in the Greater Sacramento region here.