Ben Fong is Head of Business Development at Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s flagship startup accelerator, where he leads partnerships connecting startups, universities, corporations, and governments across the global deep technology ecosystem. His expertise spans technology commercialization, innovation policy, international partnerships, and U.S.–Japan technology collaboration, with a particular focus on deep tech, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies.
Previously, Ben Fong served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer focused on East Asia and represented the United States as an APEC delegate on science and technology policy. He has also held business development and innovation leadership roles in the technology and mobility sectors. A Term Member and Education Ambassador of the Council on Foreign Relations, he holds an MBA from UC Berkeley, an MPA from Princeton University, and a BA from Stanford University.
As a JUST Fellow, his research focuses on how universities can become engines of semiconductor innovation by strengthening connections among research, entrepreneurship, industry partnerships, and commercialization, with particular attention to lessons from Japan and the United States.