TEDx Berkeley

What TEDx Berkeley does

TEDxBerkeley is a California-based nonprofit organization founded in 2010 that operates under license from TED Conferences LLC as part of the global TEDx program. It produces a single annual flagship conference held at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, drawing 2,000+ in-person attendees from more than 40 countries and reaching 500,000+ additional viewers via live stream. Each year the event carries a unique thematic identity (e.g., 2024 "Butterfly Effect," 2025 "HighwayX," 2026 announced), with speakers drawn from the Bay Area and broader TED ecosystem including past presenters such as Dacher Keltner, Dr. Daniel Kraft, and Jill Tarter.

The organization's product surface is centered on the live annual event, supported by a YouTube archive of past talks, a speaker nomination workflow, Eventbrite-powered ticketing, and a corporate sponsorship program that offers VIP access, brand visibility, and speaker networking. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations are delivered through conventional web, ticketing, and streaming tooling rather than internally developed infrastructure. The 19-person team functions as a self-organized student- and community-led production unit under TED's framework guidance.

Monetization is event-driven and comprises two streams: one-time ticket sales to individual attendees (with group discounts available via direct contact) and recurring sponsorship partnerships with corporate and organizational backers. Pricing is published through Eventbrite, with refunds available up to one week before the event and ticket transfers permitted until the day prior. No grants, subscription revenue, or alternative funding instruments are disclosed, and the organization does not report financials publicly.

Name

TEDx Berkeley

Legal name

TEDxBerkeley

Website

https://tedxberkeley.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TEDxBerkeley is a 19-employee California nonprofit founded in 2010 that produces an annual TED-style conference at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, drawing 2,000+ in-person attendees from 40+ countries and 500,000+ live-stream viewers, funded by ticket sales and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conference & Event Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• TED-style conferences
• Live event streaming
• Speaker curation services
• Event sponsorship programs
• Annual conference events

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Event ticket sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets to the annual TEDxBerkeley conference. Individual tickets and group discount tickets are available for purchase through Eventbrite and via direct contact.
2. Sponsorship partnerships: Corporate and organizational sponsors provide financial support in exchange for brand visibility, VIP passes, recognition in slide shows and programs, online recognition, and networking opportunities with speakers at VIP events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

TEDxBerkeley organizes an annual TED-style conference featuring speakers and performers who share intellectually bold ideas with both an in-person audience at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus and a global audience via live streaming. The organization curates speaker lineups, sells individual and group tickets through Eventbrite, secures corporate sponsorships, and distributes archived talks on YouTube.

Product overview

TEDxBerkeley is an award-winning nonprofit organization that organizes annual TEDx-style conferences featuring visionary thinkers and leaders from the Bay Area and beyond. The organization operates a portfolio of event-based services centered around the core TEDxBerkeley Events, which include speaker and performer nominations, ticket sales, and a partner/sponsorship program. Additional services include a YouTube channel for archived talks and a mobile app for event engagement. The organization has hosted events annually since 2010, attracting over 2,000 attendees from 40+ countries plus 500,000+ live stream viewers per year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TEDxBerkeley Annual Conference Annual TED-style conference held at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, featuring speakers and performers sharing ideas worth spreading. Each edition follows an annual theme and attracts over 2,000 in-person attendees from 40+ countries plus 500,000+ live stream viewers worldwide.
• Speaker & Performer Nominations Open nomination process allowing community members to submit potential speakers and performers for upcoming TEDxBerkeley conferences. Submissions are reviewed by the curating team within two weeks to two months.
• Event Ticket Sales Online ticket purchasing for TEDxBerkeley events through Eventbrite, with individual tickets and group discount options (group discounts available by contacting [email protected]). Full refunds offered up until one week before the event and ticket transfers permitted until the day before the event.
• Partner/Sponsorship Program Sponsorship program for corporate and organizational partners offering brand exposure, VIP passes, recognition in programs and slide shows, online recognition, and networking opportunities with speakers at VIP events. Contact: [email protected].
• TEDxBerkeley YouTube Channel Online archive of previous TEDxBerkeley talks available for public viewing, extending the reach of the conference content to a global audience beyond the live event.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TED (parent organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTEDxBerkeley operates under license from TED as part of the TEDx program, which supports individuals or groups in hosting local, self-organized TED-style events around the world. TED provides general guidance for the program while individual events are self-organized.
• Cal PerformancescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCal Performances is the venue provider for Zellerbach Hall, the primary event location for TEDxBerkeley. The partnership provides the physical venue infrastructure for hosting the annual conference.
• EventbriteminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEventbrite serves as the ticketing platform for TEDxBerkeley, enabling online ticket sales and event registration for the annual conference.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TEDxSanFrancisco: TEDxSanFrancisco is a Bay Area TEDx licensee operating annual TED-style events in the same regional market as TEDxBerkeley, competing for overlapping sponsor pools and audiences with the same brand, format, and license structure.
• TEDxStanford: TEDxStanford is a university-affiliated TEDx licensee at Stanford University operating an annual TED-style conference with similar speaker nomination, ticketing, and sponsorship mechanics. It is the closest direct peer to TEDxBerkeley in geography, organizational model, and audience composition.
• TEDxNYU: TEDxNYU is a university-affiliated TEDx licensee at New York University that operates under the same license structure, format, and revenue model as TEDxBerkeley. It is a structural and operational peer differentiated only by geography and host institution.
• TEDxUCLA: TEDxUCLA is another university-affiliated TEDx event operating under the same TEDx license framework with identical revenue mechanics (tickets + sponsors) and a similar intellectually-focused student/professional audience. It is structurally and operationally comparable to TEDxBerkeley.

Broad incumbents

• TED Conferences LLC (TED): TED is the parent brand and licensor of the entire TEDx program, operating the flagship TED Conference as well as TEDWomen, TEDSummit, and a global content platform. It shares the same thought-leadership content DNA as TEDxBerkeley but operates at vastly larger scale and owns the brand.
• SXSW: SXSW is a large-scale ideas, innovation, and technology conference in Austin that overlaps with TEDxBerkeley's intellectual programming and audience of young professionals and innovators, but operates at far greater scale with a multi-track, multi-week format.
• Summit Series: Summit Series is a curated gathering of entrepreneurs, creatives, and thought leaders featuring TED-style talks alongside experiential programming. It competes for a similar young professional / innovator audience and sponsors seeking thought-leadership alignment.
• Aspen Ideas Festival: The Aspen Ideas Festival is a high-profile ideas-focused conference featuring thought leaders across science, policy, and culture. It shares the TEDxBerkeley intellectual-content thesis and speaker caliber but is a more established, broader institutional event.

Emerging players

• PopTech: PopTech is a smaller-scale innovation and ideas conference featuring speakers on technology, science, and social impact. It overlaps with TEDxBerkeley's intellectual content focus and speaker-type audience but has a more niche, innovation-oriented positioning.
• 99U Conference (Behance): 99U is Adobe's annual conference for creative professionals featuring talks and sessions similar to TEDxBerkeley's idea-focused programming. It targets a related creative and professional audience with comparable one-day event formats and speaker-driven content.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCRc7fZ7oQGxCNF2W7jl8k2w
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tedx-berkeley

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TEDx Berkeley