Insurance
Home›Insurance›Industry & Deals›The Hartford partners with UC Berkeley energy incubato…
The Hartford partners with UC Berkeley energy incubator ahead of 2028 opening
The Hartford will work with UC Berkeley’s BL-EM through a pilot program, starting mentorship and risk guidance before the five-story incubator opens in 2028.
The Hartford has partnered with UC Berkeley’s Bakar Labs for Energy and Materials, or BL-EM, to support startups developing next-generation energy and materials technologies, providing mentorship, educational programming, and insurance and risk-management guidance to early tenants. The insurer said the engagement will be led by Y-Risk, The Hartford’s specialty unit focused on underwriting emerging technologies and business models. The company framed the effort as a way to study risk while technologies are still forming, with insights meant to build new expertise for customers operating at the industry’s leading edge, according to Insurance Business. BL-EM’s facility is a five-story, 145,000-square-foot building designed to house up to 75 early-stage companies, with ground broken in late 2025 and an expected opening in 2028. The Hartford’s role runs through BL-EM’s pilot program, launched to build momentum with founders and lab access ahead of the full incubator launch. As part of the arrangement, The Hartford will also join UC Berkeley’s Launch Advisory Group, positioning the company as the only insurer among industry leaders guiding BL-EM founders, with a focus on advanced energy systems and materials innovation tied to rising AI-driven power demand and broader sustainable energy goals. Insurance Business also noted BL-EM operates on the same QB3-run model as UC Berkeley’s Bakar Bio Labs, which has reported that its housed or graduated companies raised $1 billion across 55 companies as of early 2026.