Happy New Year! East Bay EDA is pleased to share our first Resilient East Bay newsletter for 2026. Explore the latest manufacturing news from the East Bay, including upcoming events and resources available throughout the region.
News & Announcements
Regional Manufacturing Convening with State Senator Tim Grayson
As the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Convener for the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative, East Bay EDA, in collaboration with the Association of Manufacturers (AMBayArea) and EASTBAYWorks, will be convening an executive roundtable on February 19 to discuss regional opportunities and strategies to support the industry. A legislative champion of the industry, State Senator Tim Grayson, will join as a special guest. Manufacturers register here.
UC Berkeley is No. 1 (again!) for Founders and Startups
PitchBook’s annual list compares undergraduate and graduate programs by tallying up the number of startup founders among their alumni. For the second consecutive year, UC Berkeley claims the top spot—leading all universities worldwide in total founders and in the number of female founders. Go Bears! View the rankings here.
Port of Oakland Sees Export Increases in November 2025
The Port of Oakland continues to support increased export activity, up 3.3% year over year and 4.0% from October, reinforcing the Port of Oakland’s role as a leading U.S. gateway for agricultural commodities and the nation’s top port for refrigerated goods. Loaded imports reached 73,092 TEUs, down 9.3% year over year and 11.1% month over month, reflecting continued moderation in import demand. Read more from the Port of Oakland.
Resource Spotlight
Cal Competes Tax Credit – Deadline 1/26
Applications are now open until January 26 for the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC), an income tax credit available to businesses that want to locate in California or stay and grow in California. Businesses of any industry, size, or location compete for over $180 million available in tax credits by applying in one of the three application periods each year. Applicants will be analyzed based on fourteen different factors of evaluation, including the number of full-time jobs being created, the amount of investment, and strategic importance to the state or region. Attend an upcoming webinar on January 15.
LLNL opens applications for Machinist Apprenticeship Program
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is currently accepting applications for the 2026 cohort of the Machinist Apprenticeship Program, a four-year training path that develops the next generation of precision machinists for the Engineering Directorate. The program combines hands-on experience with occupation-related coursework, offering apprentices the opportunity to train alongside LLNL’s master machinists while contributing to mission-driven manufacturing projects across the Lab. Learn more.
Energy Project Benefits Agreement Database
The Energy Project Benefits Database is a project of CA FWD and the UC Berkeley Possibility Lab that includes 328 project benefits agreements from across the energy supply chain, from mining to manufacturing to energy generation, and across global geographies. Each agreement establishes specific commitments between developers and impacted communities, workers, or governments, outlining the distribution of social, economic, and/or environmental benefits generated by the project. This database is designed to be as helpful as possible to those actually negotiating agreements on the ground. Access the database at https://projectbenefits.cafwd.org/.
Roundtable on AI and Energy Use
The SF Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve System Innovation Office launched the EmergingTech Economic Research Network (EERN) to support a better understanding of how new technologies like GenAI are shaping the economies of today and the future. As part of the EERN initiative, the SF Fed recently convened a roundtable discussion on AI’s impact on energy demand and associated infrastructure challenges with executives who shared valuable perspectives from across the energy ecosystem, including utilities, digital infrastructure providers, semiconductor manufacturing, and AI computing. Read more on the SF Federal Reserve Bank blog.
Upcoming Events
1/15 – Accelerating Innovation – Digitization, Automation, and Supply Chains, Manufacturing USA (Virtual)
1/21 – BioMade Community Capabilities Webinar | The NCERC Experience (Virtual)
1/29 – AMBayArea Winter Forum (San Jose)
2/19 – Bay Area Regional Manufacturing Executive Roundtable (Virtual)