UCLA Venture Capital Fund

The fund draws primarily from the UCLA community — faculty, researchers, alumni founders, and campus-linked accelerators. This gives it preferential access to deal flow originating from university intellectual property and startups commercializing campus research. It also co-invests alongside established venture firms that bring deals where a UCLA connection exists.

No, it is structured as a separate investment vehicle. While it operates under the UCLA umbrella, it raises capital from alumni and other external backers rather than drawing solely from the university's endowment pool. This structure gives it a direct-investment mandate distinct from the endowment's typical fund-of-funds approach.

The fund invests from seed through pre-IPO, with an emphasis on early-stage companies. Its mandate allows it to follow on in later rounds when a portfolio company shows strong traction, providing a longer capital runway than a typical campus seed fund.

The fund is open to qualified UCLA alumni and institutional investors, functioning similarly to an alumni venture fund model seen at other major universities. It is not open to the general public and requires accredited investor status.

The fund focuses on sectors where UCLA has strong research capabilities and alumni entrepreneurship, including technology, life sciences, digital health, and engineering-driven startups. The university's strengths in medical research and engineering inform much of its pipeline.