Dominic Milano, third from left, launched the agricultural tech and innovation firm Milano Technical Group after graduating with an engineering degree from UC Merced. (Credit: Milano Technical Group)

By some measures, UC is the most innovative and entrepreneurial institution in America.

The National Academy of Inventors has ranked UC as the world’s #1 university for patents every year since 2013. This month, TIME magazine chose 13 ideas from UC faculty or alums for its list of the best inventions of 2025. And according to recent data from Pitchbook, University of California alums have started more companies than alumni of any other university — beating out Stanford, Harvard and MIT.

These honors reflect a university-wide commitment to ensuring UC research has a positive impact on society, including by propelling discoveries from the lab into the marketplace, spurring jobs and economic growth. UC students and faculty have access to the university’s vast ecosystem of incubators, accelerators, technology commercialization experts, clubs and curriculum programs that work together to move ideas from concept to market.

Find out what this looks like in practice!

Meet three alums who founded companies with their UC education and opportunities

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