Joby Aviation recently shared their impact report for 2024 which shows remarkable progress across key areas: Safety, Environment, People & Community, and Corporate Governance.

The latest passenger rail report crushes long-held dreams with harsh financial realities. Sky-high costs, exaggerated forecasts, and lack of funding make the project unviable. The only practical path now? Railbanking—and maybe finally embracing the Greenway alternative.

Santa Cruz County’s proposed $4.3B ZEPRT train could trigger massive local tax hikes, disproportionately impacting low-income residents. With no guarantee of full grant funding and just 1,750 daily riders projected, critics argue the project is financially risky, regressive, and ill-timed for a county already in a housing affordability crisis.

Joby Aviation, born in Santa Cruz, is achieving major milestones—from FAA certifications to military partnerships. With strong investor backing and soaring stock performance, Joby is shaping the future of air mobility.

Vibe Imaging Analytics, led by tech veteran Ron Hadar, uses machine vision and data analysis to revolutionize food safety. With real-world applications from USDA labs to global farms, VIA blends innovation with thoughtful, strategic growth to scale beyond agri-food markets.

Step up your holiday gifting with custom MERGE4 socks—bold, functional, and actually wearable. Trusted by UCSC, Salesforce, and Coachella, these B Corp-certified socks combine performance, purpose, and design your feet will thank you for.

Fabrana.ai, backed by the City of Santa Cruz, CIED, and Santa Cruz Works, is offering free AI “Sparks” to local teams — custom-built agents that automate tedious tasks, boost creativity, and restore flow. Apply now to join the pilot and spark your workplace transformation.

Robotics Cats, a Santa Cruz Works graduate, has joined Fire Foresight to compete in the XPRIZE Wildfire Autonomous Wildfire Response competition. Their AI-powered system aims to detect and suppress wildfires within 10 minutes, showcasing cutting-edge wildfire management technology.

Joby Aviation doubled its manufacturing capacity, added a new certified aircraft, and ramped up operations in Ohio—driving investor confidence and pushing its stock to a 52-week high amid growing momentum toward commercial eVTOL launch.

Prometheus Fuels, based in Santa Cruz, just achieved a world-first: turning CO₂ from the air into cost-effective, carbon-neutral gasoline using renewable energy. Their full-scale Faraday Reactor is now commercially viable—marking a breakthrough in clean fuel tech with global impact.

Got a big idea but can’t code? Learn vibe coding in this free, 2-hour webinar on July 29—now with 2x the brains and 2x the vibes. Watch ideas turn into apps live, no coding skills required.

Over 30 UC Santa Cruz student teams have joined the first Entrepreneur & Startup Incubator (E.S.I.), a four-week program helping young founders build real businesses with daily mentorship, brand growth, and product development.

Pie Fi is a builder-first launchpad based in Santa Cruz. We support early-stage student and community founders with mentorship, microgrants, and a physical clubhouse designed to help them ship real products.

In today's fast-paced digital world, real-time data isn't just a buzzword – it's a competitive necessity. Businesses need to process and react to information as it happens, whether it's for personalized customer experiences, instant fraud detection, or intelligent automation. This is where Confluent shines.

Santa Cruz County has spent decades and millions chasing a commuter rail dream that was never viable. With mounting costs, outdated infrastructure, and limited impact, it’s time to prioritize a safe, practical, and widely supported solution: a full-width, countywide trail.

From a Santa Cruz classroom to Zoom’s App Marketplace, PitchHub evolved from a simple teleprompter to an AI-powered sales coach. Andrew Devlin’s journey shows how timing, grit, and local roots can shape the future of video communication.

Join our FREE 2 hour fun hands-on workshop for kids ages 8–12. Ignite your child’s imagination at the 3DE Club, where they’ll become young innovators by designing their own toy or product and pitching it in a fun, supportive environment!

Linda Hirsch, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz who is supported by the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, is exploring how technology can help individuals and communities prepare for and recover from climate-related hazards.

Twenty-five years after UCSC released the first human genome online, genomics has transformed medicine, science, and conservation. With AI, global collaboration, and faster sequencing, UC Santa Cruz continues leading innovations in precision health, rare disease diagnosis, and biodiversity protection.

Vibe-coding pioneer Maor Shlomo turned a solo side project into Base44, an AI-powered app builder sold to Wix for $80M in six months. Santa Cruz Works now plans summer vibe-coding events to fuel the next wave of builders.