PLASMA Accelerator
UC Davis' flagship startup accelerator. We provide undergraduate founders with equity-free seed grants, dedicated VC mentorship, cloud credits, and a live Demo Day stage.
PLASMA and Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) are independent programs. Teams apply to each separately based on their stage.
Stipends & Demo Day Prizes
Equity-free stipends distributed throughout the 12 weeks, plus live cash prize pools awarded by judges at Demo Day.
Mini-Cohorts & 1-on-1 Mentors
Structured in tight cohorts of 5–7 teams with dedicated mentor matching across Health (Aggie Square) and Open tracks.
Alumni Dinner & Network
Graduation features an exclusive Alumni Dinner convening current founders, YC alumni, VC partners, and mentor networks.
Human & Animal Health Cohort
Dedicated biomedical, medical device, digital health, and animal health startups partnered with Aggie Square innovation mentors.
Open / General Cohort
AI tooling, physical tech, software platforms, climate tech, robotics, and consumer applications across all UC Davis disciplines.
Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program
Rolling admission for any UC Davis student team with an idea. Start any week of the year and unlock escalating stipends as you achieve verified milestones.
Validated Customer Discovery
Rigorous interviews and market discovery verifying problem urgency with real prospective buyers.
Working Minimum Viable Product
Functional hardware prototype or software build deployed for early user testing and feedback.
First Sale or Signed LOI
Securing early paying customers, clinical pilot agreements, or commercial letters of intent.
Featured Student Ventures & Case Studies
Aggie founders who built ventures through SSC programs, winning Big Bang!, Y Combinator admissions, and venture rounds.
First Bite
Neonatal endotracheal tube holder engineered to safeguard fragile infants during neonatal intensive care.
APERIS Medical
Innovative pleural fluid shunt device designed for rapid and minimally invasive drainage procedures.
MammoTEN
Innovative diagnostic and therapeutic medical technologies founded by Aggie innovators Alana Paje and Keira Patel.
Verazoi
Non-invasive continuous glucose prediction algorithms enabling early metabolic condition tracking.
The 12-Week PLASMA Roadmap
Validation & Discovery
Conducting 50+ customer interviews, value proposition testing, and market sizing.
MVP Prototyping
Rapid physical/digital build sprints in 1124 Bainer and software architectures.
Traction & Growth
Pilot deployment, user acquisition funnels, unit economics, and customer feedback loops.
Demo Day Pitch
Pitch deck polish, investor rehearsals, and live presentations before angel and VC syndicates.
Apply for PLASMA 2027 Cohort
Open to student founder teams across all majors with at least one currently enrolled UC Davis undergraduate.