Pac-12, Inertia Fusion Energy, SavvyMoney, Calyxo, and Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Named Among Region’s Most Transformative Companies and Institutions

DUBLIN, Calif. — 6 May 2026 — Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITV) today announced
the honorees for the ninth annual #GameChangers Awards — the Tri-Valley’s signature
celebration of breakthrough innovation, visionary leadership, and the companies and
individuals reshaping one of the most dynamic regional economies in the world.

The 2026 honorees represent the full breadth of the Tri-Valley’s innovation ecosystem: a
reinvented sports and entertainment powerhouse, a fusion energy company that may hold the
key to the planet’s clean energy future, a fintech platform changing how millions of
Americans understand and manage credit, a medical device company attacking one of
urology’s most painful and persistent problems, and a healthcare institution that has
fundamentally transformed how Tri-Valley residents access world-class care.

The awards will be presented on Thursday, May 21, 2026, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM at The
Roundhouse at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon.

This year’s honorees include:

PAC-12 CONFERENCE — San Ramon Innovation in Sports & Entertainment

Few institutions in American sports have undergone a transformation as dramatic — or as
closely watched — as the Pac-12 Conference. Having relocated its operations to San Ramon,
the Pac-12 is rewriting its own story from the heart of the Tri-Valley, building a
next-generation model for collegiate sports and entertainment that leverages Silicon Valley’s
proximity, the Bay Area’s media infrastructure, and a legacy brand that generations of fans
across the western United States know and love. The Pac-12’s reinvention is not just a sports
story. It is a story about what it looks like when a storied institution bets on the Tri-Valley as
the place to write its next chapter.

INERTIA FUSION ENERGY — Livermore Innovation in Energy & Deep Technology

Livermore has long been home to some of the most ambitious science in the world — and
Inertia Fusion Energy is squarely in that tradition. Building on the landmark fusion ignition
achieved at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in December 2022, Inertia Fusion Energy
is working to translate that historic scientific breakthrough into a viable, commercially
deployable clean energy technology. If successful, the implications are civilization-scale:
abundant, carbon-free energy produced from the same physics that powers the stars. That
this work is developing in Livermore is not a coincidence. It is the result of decades of
scientific investment that the entire region has taken stake in.

SAVVYMONEY — Dublin Innovation in Financial Technology

The vast majority does not fully understand their credit score — a number that shapes their
ability to buy a home, secure a loan, and build financial stability. SavvyMoney, headquartered
in Dublin, is changing that. The company’s credit score and financial wellness platform is
embedded in the digital banking experiences of credit unions and financial institutions serving
tens of millions of consumers nationwide, providing real-time credit insights, personalized
offers, and the kind of financial clarity that was previously available only to those who knew
where to look and what to look for. SavvyMoney’s work is not just fintech. It’s financial equity,
shared at scale, and built in the Tri-Valley.

CALYXO — Pleasanton Innovation in Biotechnology & Medical Devices

Kidney stones affect one in ten Americans and represent one of the most painful and costly
conditions in urology — with recurrence rates that make treatment a recurring challenge for
millions of patients. Calyxo, based in Pleasanton, has developed a breakthrough medical
device technology designed to dramatically improve the efficiency and outcomes of kidney
stone treatment, reducing procedure time, improving stone clearance, and enabling patients
to return to health faster. The company’s technology is the product of deep clinical insight
and rigorous engineering — and its trajectory from Pleasanton to surgical suites across the
country is precisely the kind of innovation story the Tri-Valley was built to produce and tell.

STANFORD HEALTH CARE TRI-VALLEY — Founders Award Transformative Impact on the
Tri-Valley Innovation Ecosystem

The annual Founders Award honors an individual or organization whose contribution to the
Tri-Valley’s innovation ecosystem transcends a single sector or a single year — whose presence
has fundamentally changed what is possible for the region and the people who live here. This
year, that recognition is given to Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley.

When Stanford Health Care opened its Tri-Valley campus, it did not simply add another
hospital to a growing region. It signaled to the world that the Tri-Valley was a place worthy of
competitive institutional investment — and it delivered on that signal by bringing the clinical
expertise, research capabilities, and care standards of one of the world’s leading academic
medical centers to the doorstep of Tri-Valley families. The impact has been profound: on
patient outcomes, on the region’s ability to attract and retain top talent, on the broader
healthcare ecosystem, and on the confidence of every company and family that has chosen to
build a home in the region. Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley has not just served this
community. It has strengthened it and made life and living sought after in the Tri-Valley.

The #GameChangers Awards — Nine Years of Honoring the Tri-Valley’s Best

Now in its ninth year, the #GameChangers Awards has become the most anticipated event on
the Tri-Valley’s innovation calendar — a high-energy reception and awards ceremony that
unites the region’s founders, funders, civic leaders, and entrepreneurs to honor the companies
and individuals transforming the Tri-Valley into a global innovation hub.

“The 2026 cohort is extraordinary — and equally emblematic of a Tri-Valley that is not waiting
for the future to arrive,” said Katie Marcel, CEO, Innovation Tri-Valley. “This region’s
innovation story is a huge contribution to the leadership of California. It is a bearer of hope
for the world.”

The ninth annual #GameChangers Awards will feature a hosted reception and the presentation
of this year’s honorees in a program designed to energize and inspire everyone in the room.
Tickets, sponsorship opportunities and more information are available at
info@innovationtrivalley.org.

###

ABOUT INNOVATION TRI-VALLEY LEADERSHIP GROUP
Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITV) is a collaborative network of corporate leaders,
elected and civic officials, educators, and regional champions dedicated to advancing the
Tri-Valley as a globally recognized hub of technology, entrepreneurship, and economic vitality.
Spanning the cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and the Town of Danville,
the Tri-Valley is home to two national research laboratories — Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories — more than 700 technology companies, and a
regional innovation economy generating $52 billion in GDP. ITV connects the dots between the
public and private sectors, amplifies the region’s breakthrough companies and people, and
shapes the long-term economic future of one of the Bay Area’s fastest-growing and most
dynamic regions. Learn more at innovationtrivalley.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Keesa Ocampo
Keesa@WeSparq.co