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

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NOTE: Our blogs are typically “assisted by AI”. We use AI to assist us in research and style the way a human editor would.

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Neil Erickson 11/4/26 Neil Erickson 11/4/26

A Santa Cruz Teen Wants to Make Shopping Local Easier

Santa Cruz native Noah Mitnick, 19, is developing a new shopping app that could make it easier for residents to support local businesses without sacrificing the convenience of online shopping.

Adrian Dolatschko 11/25/19 Adrian Dolatschko 11/25/19

Young Professionals Mixer In Photos

Thank you to everybody who came to the Young Professionals Mixer on November 20th. The event was cosponsored by Santa Cruz Works, MBEP, Think Local First, LINK, and YFIOB and was the first of its kind in the Santa Cruz area.

A Santa Cruz Teen Wants to Make Shopping Local Easier

November 4, 2026

Calorify Acquired by Maurten

Calorify, the startup that brought gold-standard metabolism testing out of the lab, has been acquired by Swedish sports fuel maker Maurten.

Joby Expands Autonomous Flight Contracts with U.S. Air Force to Nearly $37 Million

Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation lands nearly $37 million in Air Force autonomy funding after completing the first autonomous flight across the U.S.

Downtown Pops! Accepting Applications for Former Logos Space

Downtown Pops! is the City's program designed to lower the barriers to entry for businesses looking to open a brick and mortar space.

November 3, 2026

Submissions Are Open for the Santa Cruz Works 2026 Holiday Gift Guide!

Local makers, it's your turn to shine: submit your product for our 2026 Holiday Gift Guide by midnight, Monday, November 23.

November 2, 2026

When an AI Agent Asks "What Did You Mean?", Who Answers?

A UCSC student team working with Scale AI has found a soft spot in agentic AI: ambiguity. At New Tech on November 5, they'll show how attackers exploit it and how to defend against it.

November 1, 2026

The AI Money Machine: Circle Jerking?

AI is either curing cancer or ending humanity, or so we’re told. A third possibility: it runs out of money. Using Ed Zitron’s conversation with Jon Stewart, one self-confessed simple mind traces the dollars from chipmakers to AI labs to startups and back again, asking who’s paying, and for how long.

Your Molecules Are Ready for Their Close-Up

UCSC's Biomolecular cryo-EM facility can image molecules and materials at near-atomic resolution. Director Vitor Hugo Balasco Serrão is now open to local companies ready to push their research and products further.

October 29, 2026

New Tech #198: We're Lighting the 20th-Anniversary Fireworks Early

Santa Cruz Works New Tech turns 20 in February 2027. Why wait? On Thursday, November 5, ElevationXR, Farmblox, g-SPACE, Printed Living, and Scale AI light the fuse at our 198th New Tech showcase.