Oakland, California – Outstanding innovative companies and organizations will be honored at the 8th Annual East Bay Innovation Awards on Thursday, October 15, 2020 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The highly-anticipated virtual event will be hosted by Scott McGrew of NBC Bay Area and broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube. More than 200 East Bay companies and organizations were nominated, showcasing the best examples of innovation in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. This robust list was reviewed by subject matter experts and narrowed down to twenty (20) finalists in ten (10) competitive categories. The 2020 East Bay Innovation Awardees will be revealed on Thursday, October 15. Register for the event at iawards.eastbayeda.org.
Donations will be solicited to support COVID-19 economic recovery efforts through the East Bay Business Recovery Fund. The event will also feature live musical performances by D’Wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné!, a soul/R&B group from the East Bay.
Presented by the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, the East Bay Innovation Awards celebrates and honors the extraordinary companies and organizations that contribute to the East Bay’s legacy of innovation. Held annually at the historic Fox Theater, the awards ceremony in Oakland showcases outstanding organizations that embrace innovation in their manufacturing, products, services, design and information. Many East Bay Innovation Awardees have built iconic global brands and transcended their industries, including Bayer, Impossible Foods, Tesla, and many others. Although the coronavirus pandemic continues to challenge us every day, we are certain that the East Bay’s excellence, resiliency and ingenuity will carry us forward.
Finalists in the competitive categories are listed in alphabetical order:
Advanced Manufacturing
C3Nano (Hayward)
Mizuho OSI (Union City)
Arts and Culture
Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Berkeley)
Zoo Labs (Oakland)
Built Environment
Designing Justice Designing Spaces (Oakland)
UrbanBloc Inc (San Leandro)
Community Impact
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (Oakland)
Oakland Genomics Center (Oakland)
Education
Idea Builder Labs (Alameda & Oakland)
Ohlone College, Smart Manufacturing Technology Program (Fremont)
Engineering and Design
Bolt Threads (Emeryville)
Enovix (Fremont)
Food
Perfect Day (Emeryville)
Tsar Nicoulai Caviar Company (Concord)
Life Sciences
EnChroma (Berkeley)
Pivot Bio (Berkeley)
Sustainability
Back to the Roots (Oakland)
Porifera (Hayward & San Leandro)
Technology
Medinas Health (Berkeley)
Zymergen (Emeryville)
The Port of Oakland is the winner of the 2020 Legacy Award.
About East Bay EDA
The East Bay Economic Development Alliance (East Bay EDA) is a cross-sector, public-private partnership that promotes strategic economic development throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Our organization was founded 30 years ago out of the recognition by senior leaders in business, government, and the broader community of the need to work together and tackle shared challenges at a regional level. Today, East Bay EDA has evolved into an organization of more than 150 members from a variety of sectors and serves as the regional voice and networking resource for strengthening the economy, building the workforce and enhancing the quality of life in the East Bay.
For more information on finalists and the awards ceremony, contact iawards@eastbayeda.org or (510) 272-6746. For more information about the East Bay Innovation Awards, visit iawards.eastbayeda.org