Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.’s newly launched public-private venture capital program, known as the Wisconsin Investment Fund, has enlisted a handful of venture capital firms to infuse an initial $100 million into Wisconsin’s startup ecosystem, with a focus on the biohealth sector. Among the selected fund managers is Venture Investors Health Fund, which received $12 million of the state’s $50 million pool to match and then invest in new startups and entrepreneurs across the state. Based in Madison and Milwaukee, Venture Investors primarily targets early-stage health care startups and innovations, particularly those developed in Midwest universities, including UW-Madison and the Medical College of Wisconsin. BizTimes associate editor Maredithe Meyer recently caught up with the firm’s chief financial officer David Arnstein and associate Jenni Le to talk about the significance of this new public-private investment effort and the future of health care innovation in Wisconsin.
Why go after this opportunity?
Arnstein: “For Venture Investors, we looked at this capital as we’ve been investing in Wisconsin for 40 years, so this program for us was the perfect fit. It’s what we do, it’s what we’re focused on and what we’re good at. …
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