Berkeley SCET’s “MoFarm” Startup Team to Compete on National TV for ACC InVenture Competition
MoFarm, a standout startup born at Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET), is heading to the University of Notre Dame on March 27, 2026. They will represent the Golden Bears in the prestigious ACC InVenture Challenge, competing against top undergraduate teams from 14 ACC schools for $30,000 in prizes.
A New Era of Competition
Following UC Berkeley’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2024, a new door opened for Berkeley’s undergraduate student innovators. The ACC hosts an annual pitch competition for all ACC schools to participate and compete to see which has the best startup. To select a representative for this year’s challenge, representatives from the UC Berkeley Innovation & Entrepreneurship Council—including leaders from SkyDeck, eHub, the Blum Center, and SCET—nominated the campus’s brightest ventures, and ultimately MoFarm was selected as the most competitive team to send to the ACC event.
“This is truly a Berkeley enterprise in all respects,” says Darren Cooke, UC Berkeley interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, “The team was formed in a Berkeley SCET course, uses technology created by a UC Berkeley nobel prize winner, and aims to change the world by reducing methane emissions and helping farmers succeed, a true win-win-win proposition. I am excited to see team MoFarm win at the ACC InVenture competition.”
Innovation via the Collider Model
MoFarm is a product of SCET’s signature Collider Model, which demonstrates that bringing diverse minds together can create unique and transformative ideas. The six-member team first met in the Regenerative Ventures course taught by Rana Kanaan in Fall 2025. The 6 team members are: Ethan Foong (’26 Data Science) Zac Gibson (’28 Architecture, Structural Engineering) Tom Blake (’27 Data Science and Logistics Research) Ray Tsao (Master’s Development Engineering) and Ibrahim Noon (’27 Economics and Data Science).
The startup is tackling two problems at once: capturing harmful methane greenhouse gases generated by cows and helping struggling farmers create a new revenue stream. By leveraging Metal-Organic Frameworks (a Nobel Prize-winning technology), MoFarm captures ultra-low-concentration methane emissions that were previously unreachable. Their mission is to turn dairy’s climate liability into a profitable new frontier of revenue.
The startup was the top project from the Regenerative Ventures course and answered the essential question of the course: How can we create startups and businesses that are sustainable in every sense? MoFarm’s work is a step towards making farming a more sustainable enterprise.
A Track Record of Success
MoFarm has been widely recognized for its innovative work across campus:
- Collider Cup XVII: Won 2nd place and the People’s Choice award.
- SkyDeck: Received an unprecedented on-the-spot invitation from GM Sibyl Chen to join the Pad-13 program.
- Big Ideas: Team Finalist
Watch their winning pitch from last semester
Help MoFarm Win the People’s Choice Award!
We are calling on the entire UC Berkeley community to help MoFarm bring home the gold. You can vote for our team to win the ACC People’s Choice Award via text.
- How to Vote: Text “Cal” to 415-965-7445
- When: Voting is open from Monday, March 23, through Friday, March 27.
Let’s help MoFarm become the entrepreneurship champion of the ACC!
MoFarm, a standout startup born at Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET), is heading to the University of Notre Dame on March 27, 2026. They will represent the Golden Bears in the prestigious ACC InVenture Challenge, competing against top undergraduate teams from 14 ACC schools for $30,000 in prizes.
A New Era of Competition
Following UC Berkeley’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2024, a new door opened for Berkeley’s undergraduate student innovators. The ACC hosts an annual pitch competition for all ACC schools to participate and compete to see which has the best startup. To select a representative for this year’s challenge, representatives from the UC Berkeley Innovation & Entrepreneurship Council—including leaders from SkyDeck, eHub, the Blum Center, and SCET—nominated the campus’s brightest ventures, and ultimately MoFarm was selected as the most competitive team to send to the ACC event.
“This is truly a Berkeley enterprise in all respects,” says Darren Cooke, UC Berkeley interim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, “The team was formed in a Berkeley SCET course, uses technology created by a UC Berkeley nobel prize winner, and aims to change the world by reducing methane emissions and helping farmers succeed, a true win-win-win proposition. I am excited to see team MoFarm win at the ACC InVenture competition.”
Innovation via the Collider Model
MoFarm is a product of SCET’s signature Collider Model, which demonstrates that bringing diverse minds together can create unique and transformative ideas. The six-member team first met in the Regenerative Ventures course taught by Rana Kanaan in Fall 2025. The 6 team members are: Ethan Foong (’26 Data Science) Zac Gibson (’28 Architecture, Structural Engineering) Tom Blake (’27 Data Science and Logistics Research) Ray Tsao (Master’s Development Engineering) and Ibrahim Noon (’27 Economics and Data Science).
The startup is tackling two problems at once: capturing harmful methane greenhouse gases generated by cows and helping struggling farmers create a new revenue stream. By leveraging Metal-Organic Frameworks (a Nobel Prize-winning technology), MoFarm captures ultra-low-concentration methane emissions that were previously unreachable. Their mission is to turn dairy’s climate liability into a profitable new frontier of revenue.
The startup was the top project from the Regenerative Ventures course and answered the essential question of the course: How can we create startups and businesses that are sustainable in every sense? MoFarm’s work is a step towards making farming a more sustainable enterprise.
A Track Record of Success
MoFarm has been widely recognized for its innovative work across campus:
- Collider Cup XVII: Won 2nd place and the People’s Choice award.
- SkyDeck: Received an unprecedented on-the-spot invitation from GM Sibyl Chen to join the Pad-13 program.
- Big Ideas: Team Finalist
Watch their winning pitch from last semester
Help MoFarm Win the People’s Choice Award!
We are calling on the entire UC Berkeley community to help MoFarm bring home the gold. You can vote for our team to win the ACC People’s Choice Award via text.
- How to Vote: Text “Cal” to 415-965-7445
- When: Voting is open from Monday, March 23, through Friday, March 27.
Let’s help MoFarm become the entrepreneurship champion of the ACC!