Santa Cruz Works News — Updates on Events, Community Stories & Local Innovation

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Doug Erickson 6/30/26 Doug Erickson 6/30/26

Santa Cruz County Is Secretly the Underwater-Robot Capital of the World

A team of 20 Santa Cruz County high schoolers just won the MATE ROV World Championship in Newfoundland — the latest chapter in a five-year run that's turned a sunny beach town into a global robotics dynasty.

Doug Erickson 7/5/23 Doug Erickson 7/5/23

Underwater Robotics Championship: A Deep Dive into XAcademy's Journey

XAcademy's Hephaestus Robotics team, a talented group from Santa Cruz, made a splash at the global MATE ROV World Championship, showcasing their engineering prowess by securing 5th place with their innovative underwater robot designed to tackle sustainable development challenges.

September 10, 2026

SCWorks New Tech Photos

Thank you to River Row for allowing us to host our New Tech event at their space, and to the six presenters who shared what they're building right here in Santa Cruz! View the photos.

The Ducks of Santa Cruz

A Dutch database, an Amazon acquisition, and a surf town's most improbable export: how Looker's alumni quietly built the strange, tangled, occasionally hilarious family tree behind DuckDB and MotherDuck.

Investment Advice in Troubling Times

Thomas Wynn from Wynn Capital Management, gives his investing advice during a time of uncertainty and all time highs in the markets.

Paystand Rolls Out AI Agents to Automate Finance Teams' Busywork

Santa Cruz-based Paystand launches AI agents that take on accounts receivable, spend management, and reporting for finance teams.

Joby Aviation Kicks Off Texas Flight Campaign as Autonomous Aircraft Crosses the Country

Joby Aviation is running two demonstrations at once this week: electric air taxi flights across Dallas-Fort Worth and a coast-to-coast tour of its autonomous J208 cargo aircraft.

September 9, 2026

Betting Big on AI: Lessons from Omni's 10x Scale-Up

How a scrappy team of ex-Lookers turned Santa Cruz roots into a $1.5B AI-powered data company, and what they learned along the way.

A Different Pace in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Reggiardo Ranch invites Santa Cruz’s tech community to trade constant connection for redwoods, good food, and a slower pace.

September 8, 2026

Santa Cruz HardTech Launches to Support the County's Physical Builders

A new SBDC-backed initiative, Santa Cruz HardTech, is organizing the county's hardware, robotics, biotech, and clean energy founders — offering free advising, capital guidance, and a monthly meetup at Idea Fab Labs.

Westly Prize Now Accepting Applications for 2027

The Westly Prize is an annual award from the Westly Foundation for young social innovators in CA that gives out up to $145,000 total, including three $40,000 Grand Prizes, as unrestricted funding to early-stage founders tackling social challenges in areas like AI, education, health, environment, and youth development.