When University of California, Santa Barbara, Chancellor Henry Yang spoke at a UCSB economic forecast event in April, his remarks underscored how deeply embedded the university is in the business community.

“Our faculty, staff, students and alumni have all been a fundamental part of the development of the Central Coast’s high-tech economy,” he said, adding that “more than 90 local companies have been created by UC Santa Barbara alumni.”

For UCSB as well as Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo — and to a lesser extent California State University, Channel Islands — spinning off businesses has become the name of the game.

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