Swellcycle achieves full client retention, including Duke Aipa and sees accelerating demand across major entertainment, surf, and action sports partnerships.

A new UC Santa Cruz thesis pairs wave-pool experiments with cloud CFD to prove what shapers have felt for decades: bottom contour quietly governs how a surfboard turns — and “feel” is measurable.

The Western Flyer—the 1937 boat that carried Steinbeck and Ricketts through the Gulf of California in 1940—has been restored as a modern marine research and education vessel. The Western Flyer will present at Santa Cruz Works New Tech on July 1, 2026.

Six months after Santa Cruz Works first introduced BrandCapsule, the AI discovery company has launched, signed paying customers across both B2B and B2C, and is proving out a thesis that’s only gotten more urgent: AI doesn’t just help buyers find brands anymore — it decides which ones they see.

A solo Santa Cruz engineer is building Lucid, an "organizational intelligence operating system" that scans a whole company like an MRI — and he's unveiling it at New Tech on July 1.

There is a startup in town that has been quietly building AI infrastructure since September 2025 — no venture money, no press tour, just a small team shipping fast as AINative Studio.

NASA is offering up to $500K and a ride to orbit. Their Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge is open to startups and entrepreneurs ready to send their tech to space. Phase 1 closes August 12.

From climate protest to climate awardee: Alba Forns Named a 2026 Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow.

Future Motion founder Kyle Doerksen opened his Santa Cruz factory to a sold-out crowd of 40, tracing the Onewheel's path from garage prototype to a category he invented — and still dominates.

Rope Partner, the rope-access wind specialist with deep Santa Cruz roots, has been acquired by Danish wind giant FairWind — a milestone exit for a company that turned climbing culture into clean-energy infrastructure.

On the eve of a trillion-dollar IPO, Anthropic published proof its AI is building itself — and asked the world for a brake pedal. Is this the Cuban Missile Crisis, or the best-timed press release in history?

Builder Night welcomes builders to Pleasure Pizza on Monday night to build the Oracle!

MotherDuck — the cloud data warehouse built on DuckDB — just launched Flights, letting AI agents build data pipelines from a prompt. Santa Cruz's own Margaret Rosas, formerly of Looker, is right at the center of it.

Amotions AI founder and CEO Pianpian Xu Guthrie — a Yale-trained sociologist turned product leader — brings her emotionally intelligent sales teammate to Santa Cruz Works New Tech on July 1.

Born at CruzHacks, SmartBrowse is an AI shopping agent that does the tab-hoarding, Reddit-spelunking, price-checking grind for you — then shows its work in a transparent dashboard. See them live at New Tech on July 1.

Treeswax founder Christian Shaw — Santa Cruz Accelerates graduate and Demo Day winner — on the improbable chain reaction that turned one conversation into a Treeswax x Oshman's co-brand in Japan.

For the last New Tech before the summer break, we return to River Row with a slew of great companies and a new program format.  We talked and surveyed many of those who attended the June New Tech. And we heard you. Reduce the admission price: DONE. You loved the River Row venue - a combination of outside and inside activities.  And the proximity to the San Lorenzo River!  And you have asked for more time to network.

Hartnell College and Monterey Bay DART, are launching a two-year workforce initiative designed to connect local residents to careers in drones, aerospace technology, and advanced aviation.

Local Med‑Tech startup mimofit advances quickly after New Tech.

Meet Noemi, an intern at Radi8, an AI social media tool that grows your business in your own voice.