Technology based news from around the state - and the world!

Gov. Scott Walker and others may have their problems with Wisconsin’s Common Core standards, which have been in the works since 2009, but when it comes to STEM education, his office proclaimed next week as “STEM Week” in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recently rolled out a modest grants program for schools that want to enhance STEM programs, and many statewide groups are working to make science, technology, engineering and math a bigger part of the curriculum.

A new venture capital fund that will concentrate on Wisconsin-based information technology companies has named its general partner.

Greg Robinson, a veteran of the Silicon Valley venture scene, will oversee the $30 million fund created last year by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Classified national security research could be done by University of Wisconsin System professors if a bill currently before the Legislature passes.

With last fall's opening of the Global Water Center, and the creation of a neighboring business park, more apartments, restaurants and other developments are coming to the Walker's Point area, south of downtown Milwaukee.

To Al Zeise, a Green Bay-area entrepreneur, there's a simple formula for starting a company: find a problem, solve it and commercialize it. It's a formula Zeise has successfully used in the last two decades. He's founded or co-founded at least 10 companies. And he's made other investments through his involvement in two existing angel/venture funds.

Now Zeise is aiming to establish something his home turf is short on: an angel investing group. Zeise will hold an invitation-only meeting in De Pere on March 12 to discuss the planned group with potential members.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum interviews Steve Lyons from the Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition about the classified research bill being discussed in the Legislature; Tom Still explains what the recent Google Capital investment in Renaissance Learning could mean for the state's tech sector; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report covers Renaissance Learning and S.C. Johnson.

As the Wisconsin Legislature rolls toward a spring wrap-up of its work, economic development items on its agenda range from protecting intellectual property from “patent trolls” to setting the stage for more classified research to rethinking the state’s sore-thumb tax on capital raised by many young companies.

If Fitchburg life sciences products company Promega Corp. is one of the grandfathers of the Madison area’s biotech industry, and electronic health records developer Epic Systems Corp., Verona, is the trigger for a growing health information technology cluster, then Sonic Foundry deserves credit as a nexus of all sorts of entrepreneurship.

That was the idea behind a presentation of the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) on Tuesday, featuring former Sonic employees who, among them, have started at least seven new companies.

Fifty-two entries from 26 communities have advanced to the semi-final round of the 11^th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, contest producers announced Wednesday.

This is the big question: How far can Dane County ride Epic's success?

Done right, we're talking about the foundation for Dane County's 21st-century economy being built on the medical software industry: lots of good-paying information technology jobs that fuel an expanding housing market, a glittering downtown with hip restaurants and music clubs, a rising tax base to fund new community services and a lot more resources to deal with the serious problems of poverty.

In a development arising from nanotechnology research, scientists in Madison have created a spongelike material that could provide a novel and sustainable way to clean up oil spills. It's known as an aerogel, but it could just as well be called a "smart sponge."

Sixty-eight emerging companies in sectors as varied as data analytics, medical devices and software have applied to meet with major companies that will take part in the inaugural Wisconsin Tech Summit. The April 7 event at the GE Healthcare Institute in Waukesha will feature a “speed dating” format through which selected companies will meet with representatives of 14 major companies: American Family Insurance, Aurora Healthcare, AT&T, Faith Technologies, GE Healthcare, HP Enterprise Services, IBM, Intel, Johnson Controls, Kraft Foods, Plexus, Runzheimer International, Rockwell Automation and TASC (Total Administrative Services Corp). The latest addition to the major company list is Intel, which has investments in a number of emerging companies.

Produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and partners that include some well-known Milwaukee-area companies, the Tech Summit will provide an organized way for young companies and corporate giants to meet and explore likely business relationships around technology needs and innovation.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum interviews Jim Morgan of the WMC Foundation about the Future Wisconsin initiative; Tom Still explains why Assembly Bill 729 could help Wisconsin's research sector; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report discusses startup businesses and the paper industry.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, as well as archives of past shows. The show is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric and UW-Milwaukee.

MaryAnn Wright, vice president of engineering and product development for Johnson Controls Inc., and UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mike Lovell are scheduled to speak at the Wisconsin Tech Summit, to be held April 7 at the GE Healthcare Institute in Waukesha, Wis.

Google Capital has invested $40million to take a minority stake in Renaissance Learning Inc., a Wisconsin Rapids education technology company, the firms said Wednesday.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and Milwaukee Institute today announced the winners of its 2014 Computational Science Challenge Grants designed to accelerate product development and research utilizing Wisconsin’s very own high-performance computing (HPC) and storage resources.

With angel and venture capital investment dollars scarce for many young companies, the question arises: Why is Wisconsin virtually alone in taxing capital raised by those companies?

David Krakauer, the first permanent director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, will speak at the Wisconsin Tech Summit, to be held April 7 at the GE Healthcare Institute in Waukesha, Wis.

ZBB Energy Corp. reported a smaller quarterly loss Thursday even as sales fell to $961,000 from $2.75 million.

A $2 million fund to help faculty and students on University of Wisconsin campuses commercialize ideas and potentially create new businesses and jobs was launched Thursday by the UW System and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

In drilling for gas and oil, one of the biggest problems is water. Companies using fracking methods to extract gas and oil from previously unreachable rock formations must have the right quality of water to inject at high pressures into their wells, and they need to figure out what to do with the contaminated water that results. Among companies working to address these issues is Madison-based AquaMost LLC.

Just when you thought you had the politics of the pro- and anti-Obamacare debate figured out, along come some pesky numbers to upset your thinking.

Former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson has aspirations for starting an early-stage investment fund—that’s if he can achieve a few exits this year with his current personal investments. Thompson made the comments Thursday afternoon at a luncheon in Wauwatosa, WI, hosted by the Wisconsin Innovation Network, an arm of the Madison-based Wisconsin Technology Council.

EatStreet, the online restaurant ordering platform based in Madison, WI, has raised $3.7 million in a financing round, according to a document filed this month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Former GOP Gov. and national health secretary Tommy Thompson said he hopes to sell off four of his businesses within the next year and start an angel fund to help Wisconsin start-ups focusing on health care technology. Thompson made the comments in a presentation Thursday to about 50 entrepreneurial hopefuls at a Wisconsin Innovation Network meeting in Wauwatosa. Some attendees raised their hands and asked him point-blank for money.

Susan LaBelle, a veteran private sector executive and economic development leader who has taught in the UW-Madison master's in biotechnology program, has been selected to head the university's Office of Corporate Relations.

Fund Milwaukee, a grass-roots investment network providing an alternative to traditional business financing, has hit a milestone — more than a million dollars advanced to small local firms.

State lawmakers are looking to change a University of Wisconsin System research policy that dates back to the Sterling Hall Bombing of August 24th, 1970.

Novelos Therapuetics Inc., a publicly traded developer of drugs for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer, has changed its name to Cellectar Biosciences Inc. Cellectar is in the process of moving its headquarters back to Madison from Newton, Mass. The company was founded in Madison in 2003 by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Jamey Weichert.

Baird Venture Partners, a division of Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co., plans to raise $150 million for a fourth fund, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Imagine a showcase building in downtown Madison featuring entrepreneurs, nonprofits, technology companies and financiers all interested in environmental sustainability. The concept has been floating around for a couple of years but is moving forward with the recent hiring of the group involved with development of Chicago’s "Green Exchange," the country's largest sustainable business community.

Two Madison-based biotechnology companies will present at separate investor conferences in New York City this week.

Enhancing cybersecurity to protect against threats from abroad, as well as close to home, is a national priority that touches just about everyone in our digital age. The risks can range from breaches of department store credit card data to attacks on America’s lifelines – including its energy grid, its water supply, its health-care institutions and its financial institutions. Read Milwaukee Journal Sentinel version of Tom Still's column here.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation isn’t the only organization accusing Apple Inc. of infringing on a high-tech patent.

Entrepreneurs from 87 communities across Wisconsin submitted 292 entries in the 11th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, contest organizers announced Thursday.

Madison's MobCraft Beer LLC bills itself as the world's first completely "crowdsourced" brewery. It brews small batches of craft beer based on recipes or ideas submitted by beer drinkers.

Microsoft named University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee grad Satya Nadella as its next CEO, only the third leader in the company's 38-year history. The announcement lifts to the top of one of the world's best known companies a relatively young man — Nadella is 46 — who 25 years ago studied graduate-level computer science at UWM.

A thin piece of silicon that serves as the brain of the latest high-end iPhones and iPads is at the heart of a lawsuit the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has filed against Apple Inc.

At issue is whether Apple's A7 processor — used in the iPhone 5S, theiPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display — incorporates technology patented by Gurindar Sohi and three other University of Wisconsin-Madison professors in 1998.

Somna Therapeutics has raised $700,000 from individual angel investors, an amount the company says will allow it to market its adjustable neck band that keeps stomach acid from rising into the throat.

"This is an encouraging sign for others of how a company that started just a few years ago in Wisconsin is continuing to attract angel investment," said Dan Blake, director of the Wisconsin Angel Network.

Michael and Patrick Hull, two Madison stockbrokers whose aggressive money management strategies led to a shortfall of as much as $24.5 million in the Wisconsin Funeral Trust, aim to raise a $30 million venture capital fund with Teresa Esser, managing director of the Silicon Pastures angel investing group.

"Access to larger pools of capital, especially international pools, can be an important part of the game today when it comes to building a fund," said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. "It will be interesting to watch the development of Greenpoint, given the varied experience of the players and their connections to the Asian markets."

Produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and partners that include the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the Wisconsin Tech Summit will provide an organized way for young companies and corporate giants to meet and explore likely business relationships around technology needs and innovation.

Emerging companies can apply through Feb. 24 to meet with major firms and explore likely business relationships around technology needs and innovation as part of the first annual Wisconsin Tech Summit.

The entry deadline for the 11^th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest is 5 p.m. Jan. 31. Don’t miss an opportunity to share in more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. Get started at www.govsbizplancontest.com! Here are 10 reasons you should enter your business idea.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum interviews Lorrie Keating Heinemann of the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation, the non-profit organization that is jump-starting the early stage investment field; Tom Still discusses advancements and opportunities in farm science and technology; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for late January 2014 covers biotechnology and the bitter cold weather.

Small- and medium-size Wisconsin businesses have until Jan. 31 to apply for grants of up to $50,000 to receive access to specialized high-performance computing systems and services under a program sponsored by the Milwaukee Institute, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and Mason Wells. The program is geared toward businesses that can benefit from financial support for projects requiring modeling, simulation, visualization, analytics on high-performance computing systems. 

State businesses that would like to be acknowledged for their efforts in exporting have until Jan. 31 to apply for the 2014 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards.

Entrants in the 2014 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest will once again compete for more than cash this year. The entry deadline for the 11th annual contest is 5 p.m. Jan. 31 at www.govsbizplancontest.com.

Wisconsin Youth Entrepreneurs in Science, a statewide youth business plan contest modeled after the successful Governor’s Business Plan Contest, is open for online entries from Wisconsin middle- and high-school students through 5 p.m. March 17, 2014.

In a society where fewer and fewer people have any ties to farming, even a generation or two removed, how will agriculture meet its many challenges? Managing information better and using science and technology to solve problems will be part of the answer.

Wisconsin’s bioscience industry continues to expand, often led by spinoff companies that are established to commercialize groundbreaking university research.

More than 85 judges have volunteered to judge entries in the 2014 Governor’s Business Plan Contest, a record number that includes judges from a cross-section of disciplines that help define Wisconsin’s startup culture.

Sun Mountain Kegonsa, selected to oversee the state-sponsored venture capital effort, envisions creating a handful of funds across Wisconsin that seeds as many as 100 early-stage, job-creating companies and breeds a new generation of young venture capitalists.

One speaker after another at the Renew Wisconsin Policy Summit cited examples of how other states, often Midwest neighbors but also politically “red” states around the country, are forging ahead with strategies that involve solar, wind, biomass and other renewable generation sources.

Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Milwaukee, which is developing compounds for treating schizophrenia and other central nervous system disorders, has attracted $2.9 million in a second round of capital-raising.

Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch encourages Wisconsin entrepreneurs to enter the 11th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest in a two-minute video describing the contest and its results over time.

Mark Cook is interim director of Discovery to Product, or D2P, a new UW-Madison effort created to coordinate all of the entrepreneurial support programs across campus and develop university research with the most commercial promise.

"It's going to create a whole change in the entrepreneurial spirit on campus," Cook said.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum talks with Rose Oswald Poels of the Wisconsin Bankers Association about how new lending laws will affect mortgage borrowers and lenders; Tom Still discusses exciting new prospects for Wisconsin's early stage investors in 2014; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-January 2014 includes the port of Green Bay and alternative energy. 

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric and UW-Milwaukee.

Madison Vaccines Incorporated (MVI), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing innovative therapies for prostate cancer, announced an initial close of an $8 million Series A financing. 

Johnson Controls Inc. has agreed to sell its automotive electronics business for $265 million to Visteon Corp., bringing to nearly $1 billion the proceeds from the company's recent divestitures.

Will 2014 be the “Year of the Early Stage Investor?” While mid-January is a bit early to make predictions for the next 50 weeks, there are some encouraging signs that angel, venture and other private equity investors are warming to Wisconsin’s startup and emerging companies.

Wellintel Inc., a Shorewood start-up  developing an inexpensive system to give homeowners with wells more information than ever before about their water supply, has been chosen as a finalist in  Imagine H2O's  Global Water Start-up Competition.

WiSys Technology Foundation Inc., the technology transfer agent for the University of Wisconsin System, has a new executive director and a new chairman.

Statement from Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council:

“Chancellor Ray Cross is an educator who understands business and the necessary linkages between the two. His background in New York as well as the UW System speaks to his ability to work across private and public lines to get things done. He appreciates entrepreneurship and knows the value of emerging companies, beyond the startup level, in moving regional economies ahead. He will provide excellent leadership for the UW System and serve as a trusted partner in the communities those campuses serve.”

The amount of startup activity in Wisconsin over the past few years, particularly forming new funding sources and supporting tech startups, has venture capitalists from Milwaukee and Chicago cautiously bullish about the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. That was the consensus from a Thursday panel discussion between VCs hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council ’s Wisconsin Innovation Network in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin Technology Council applauded the state's selection Friday of Sun Mountain Kegonsa as the manager of the early stage capital program that will invest in Wisconsin's most promising startup companies.

The build-up to I.C.D.-10, a new set of computerized medical codes, is why a group of Madison-based health IT experts and artists combined to produce “Struck by Orca,” an illustrated guide to some of the more obscure and often hilarious situations that have found their way into the federal code.

At a startup-themed Wisconsin Innovation Network meeting, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said he would like to see state startup investment become a conversation point in the governor's race.

Stemina Biomarker Discovery Inc. said Thursday is has received a contract from the Environmental Protection Agency that will generate more than $10 million of revenue over the next five years.

Gener8tor has accepted five young companies, including a water measurement start-up from Mexico, into its 12-week-long winter program.

From an entrepreneurial perspective, it was as if Wisconsin awoke from a long slumber in 2013. Support for a vibrant start-up community, which many say is needed to boost the state's mediocre business growth trends, finally appears to be gaining steam.

The Internet of tomorrow has arrived, and it's about much more than Facebook, Netflix, Twitter and email, the services we use to connect with one another. This new Internet already has its own acronym, IoT, for "Internet of Things." And while many of its architects are well-known Silicon Valley companies, longtime Milwaukee industrial stalwart Rockwell Automation Inc. has positioned itself at the heart of the phenomenon, which some consider the next industrial revolution.

It all starts with an idea and a plan to take it from cocktail napkin notes to reality. That’s what the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest has done for hundreds of entrepreneurs since its inception in 2004.

As the Wisconsin Technology Council looks forward to 2014, we want to close out the year with the many accomplishments of our sponsors, members, volunteers, board of directors and staff in 2013.

Can you name more than one or two major companies that have ever picked up and moved to Wisconsin, especially from farther away than Illinois or Minnesota? It rarely happens.

Whether it was adding space, encouraging young entrepreneurs or even taking one noteworthy company public, the Madison area tech sector dominated much of the business news in 2013.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards. Deadline is January 31 for companies that have had exporting success. 

Wisconsin businesses that want to learn more about exporting to the Middle East and establishing contacts there have until Friday, Dec. 20, to apply for a Global Trade Venture to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in January.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum  talks with Mark Gehring of Propeller Health about his experience with building startup companies; Tom Still discusses the evolving bioenergy field in Wisconsin; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report covers advanced manufacturing and jobs.

Venture Investors' John Neis speaks about the challenge of putting together syndicates for life-sciences investment, how returns are improving and the need for biotech companies to perform after going public.

A source close to the toy industry has once again leaked a copy of Santa’s perks list for Wisconsin politicians and newsmakers. Here’s what the good boys and girls in Madison and Washington will reportedly find in their stockings this Christmas. But they better not pout and they better not cry if an alert district attorney asks why gifts were delivered down chimneys after midnight.

The 11th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest is accepting entries online for the 2014 competition until 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. The contest is designed to encourage entrepreneurs in the seed, startup and early growth stages of high-tech businesses in Wisconsin.

The State Journal editorial board championed six big goals during the last year. Some of our priorities fared well, including a state investment fund for emerging businesses. Other causes drew strong public support — especially redistricting reform — but stalled because of stubborn lawmakers.

The nation's three Bioenergy Research Centers — including one in Madison — are cranking out transformative research that is beginning to find its way into companies and the broader economy, said Patricia Dehmer, chief science officer for DOE.

Web-based science news has placed a higher burden on scientists to more effectively share their discoveries with the public— a challenge that CALS life sciences communicators are ready to help them meet.

As 2013 rolls to a close, many wonder: What’s our next step if we want health care coverage in the year ahead? The answer depends a great deal on the size and current coverage plan of your company – and whether you’re a one-person shop.

In an increasingly digital world, three Wisconsin start-ups are looking to claim a share of the growing amount of retail dollars flowing online.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com:The Show,” Liz Schrum talks with Bob Okabe of the Angel Resource Institute about investmentsin Wisconsin and across the country; Tom Still explains why small businessesmight prefer to wait before taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act; andthe WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-December features banks andforeclosures. 

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric and UW-Milwaukee.

Wisconsin small- and medium-sized businesses will have the opportunity to gain access to specialized high-performance computing systems and services under a new program unveiled Monday by the Milwaukee Institute, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and Mason Wells. 

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is proposing to create a microgrid combining wind, solar and battery power at a research building in Glendale.

Thompson is the chairman and chief executive officer of Thompson Holdings, a business umbrella under which one of the most familiar names and faces in Wisconsin politics is investing and advising about 30 companies, mostly in the health care space. 

The Milwaukee Institute will provide high-performance computing and storage resources to tenants in the new Global Water Center under the terms of a partnership announced Monday morning.

SupraNet Communications, Inc. is excited to offer passengers at the Dane County Regional Airport complimentary wireless Internet for the holiday season.

Zywave Inc., a software company that employs 366 people in Wauwatosa, has sold its insurance division and the Zywave brand name to Aurora Capital Group, a private equity firm in Los Angeles.

The same problems and trends that are challenging the University of Wisconsin System these days are confronting other public universities across the country. That was evident at the annual conference of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, held recently in Washington, D.C.

Al Wearing, an insurance executive for Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, spoke at the Nov. 26 Wisconsin Innovation Network meeting in Madison. Wearing said that a good deal of the original health reform law has been modified by changes to regulations and delays and it might be best for small employers to sign up for early health insurance renewals and wait out some of the changes.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum talks with Wendy White Eagle of Native Capital about the investment opportunities in the upper Midwestern region; Tom Still explains how colleges and universities in other parts of the country are working to face the challenges in the higher education system; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for late November 2013 discusses the Brightstar Wisconsin Foundation and the holiday shopping outlook for this year.  

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric and UW-Milwaukee.

As we gather this Thanksgiving to share time with family, friends and food, let us count the blessings of our digital age… using zeros and ones only, of course.

Two years ago, Wisconsin could connect local businesses with trade partners in five countries. Today, the number of countries has grown to 36 — more than in any year since the state began offering such assistance in the 1970s. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. now contracts with 15 trade representatives, also a record, and at a lower cost than in previous years.

The wave of remembrances tied to the 50^th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination have necessarily stressed his role in pushing the frontiers of space exploration, but his contributions to innovation in other realms of science and technology reach well beyond. 

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Mark Bakken, CEO of the Epic consulting firm Nordic Consulting, about the growth potential for health information technology in the state; Tom Still congratulates George Mosher on his recent induction into the Wisconsin Investor Hall of Fame; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-November 2013 features Talgo Inc. and the Oshkosh Corp.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Sonic Foundry Inc., a Madison provider of video communication services, said Thursday it plans to acquire two companies — one in Japan and the other in the Netherlands — and increase its presence in the global market.

Wisconsin businesses wanting direct market access to two of the world’s wealthiest economies will have a unique opportunity to meet leading customers, importers and other market intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as part of a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Trade Venture in January.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — HP Enterprise Services has announced the Wisconsin Department of Health Services has signed a $221 million agreement for HP to continue its 36-year relationship as the state’s Medicaid fiscal agent.

While Wisconsin continues to lag in the creation of net new companies, directions in sectors that are sources of young, high-growth companies promise to help over time. Here are 10 trends shaping the future of Wisconsin’s tech-based economy.

University Research Park in Madison, and its MGE Innovation Center that houses many emerging companies when they first arrive at the park, has been listed in a Forbes magazine ranking on "12 business incubators changing the world." Others listed are located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Read more: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/feki45hekd/mge-innovation-center/

Three years back, Matt Howard, Eric Martell and Alex Wyler were UW-Madison students with a bright idea and not much money. But they had a solid corps of friends, and sometimes that can get you by. The three are co-founders of EatStreet Inc., a promising young Madison tech firm that supplies restaurants with software for handling online orders. They weren't the first in the field. Other companies — GrubHub, Seamless, Eat24 — were quicker to start plowing this digital-convenience ground, but the Wisconsin crew figured there was still plenty of acreage to cover.

The 2013 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium attracted more than 550 attendees over two days. Thanks to all who participated! See the full attendee list and read all the coverage of the conference here.

Two days after Typhoon Haiyan left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines, some of the nation’s leading climate scientists gathered at a higher education conference to talk about how to better predict the next mega-storm. Their conclusion: Whether or not people and policymakers buy into the notion of man-made climate change, the science of forecasting the strength, target and frequency of such storms must qualitatively improve. 

Angel and venture capital investing in Wisconsin has many faces. They range from sophisticated fund managers, inside the state and out, who handle multi-million-dollar deals to the casual investor who may join a hometown angel network and take part in one five-digit deal a year. One of the most familiar and humble faces belongs to George Mosher.

American Family Insurance is leading the way among state companies in terms of its involvement in Wisconsin's entrepreneurial scene, a State of Wisconsin Investment Board portfolio manager said Wednesday.

See pictures of the ninth annual Elevator Pitch Olympics, held Nov. 6 at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison.

More than 525 people took part in the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium at the Monona Terrace Conference Center on Tuesday, up from 488 last year, organizers said. Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, attributed the increased number of attendees at the annual matchmaking event for investors and nascent companies to a slowly improving economy and a broader range of technologies.

More than 45 early stage companies spanning products as diverse as medical devices, dairy products, a portable jet ski and a diesel aircraft engine presented to potential investors and others during the 2013 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium.

It's a common question, often voiced inside the Capitol and within Wisconsin's business community: How can the University of Wisconsin System better align itself with the state's economic future?

Still on the fence about attending the annual Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison? Here are 10 reasons to drop in Tuesday and Wednesday for one of the Midwest’s premier events for entrepreneurs. 

It’s rarely a bad idea to compare-and-contrast when it comes to business development, whether it’s city to city, state to state or region to region. It can be a really bad idea, however, to get hung up on it. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be the case these days in Wisconsin, where a slow recovery from the Great Recession has sent business, government and economic development leaders scrambling for answers wherever the grass looks greener. 

Investors from Wisconsin, the Midwest and beyond will share their expertise with entrepreneurs and others at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, to be held Nov. 5-6 at Madison’s Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.

Four examples of academic innovation that could become tomorrow’s commercial successes will be unveiled Nov. 6 during the annual “First Look Forum” at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium.

More than 45 early stage companies spanning products as diverse as medical devices, dairy products, a portable jet ski and a diesel aircraft engine will present to potential investors and others at the 2013 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, to be held Nov. 5-6 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison.

The concept of equity crowdfunding was embraced by the JOBS Act, within certain investment limits, but it ran head-long into the SEC’s historic concern about society inventing new ways to swindle grandmothers and other unsuspecting investors. So, while most of the nation waited for the SEC rules, several states moved ahead with crowdfunding on their own – including Wisconsin, where the Legislature has passed legislation to rewrite state securities law.

Entrepreneurs often pitch their business plans to investors – but what happens when the shoe is on the other foot? That’s the concept behind the “Reverse Elevator Pitch,” new this year at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium. Also new this year is “Office Hours,” a series of five small-group discussions at which entrepreneurs can discuss specific issues with experts and their peers.

Wisconsin businesses interested in learning more about opportunities in South Korea are invited to attend a Boardroom Brief event on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in Madison. The session, hosted by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and Wisconsin Manufactures & Commerce, will provide updates on exporting and other business opportunities in South Korea.

Louis Ho, the director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s seven offices in North and South America, freely admits he didn’t know that much about Wisconsin until a recent visit to Minnesota’s Twin Cities persuaded him to look across the border.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum interviews Al Wearing of Group Health Cooperative about the nation's initial response to and interactions with the Affordable Care Act; Tom Still previews the Nov. 5-6 Early Stage Symposium; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-October 2013 includes biotech firm Promega and Wisconsin's corn prices.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Click here to listen to an Oct. 15 interview with Tech Council President Tom Still on Visionary Talk Radio, in which he discusses the role of the Tech Council, the role of higher education in innovation, and attributes of successful entrepreneurs.

Mark Schmitz, whose design work for research institutions and tech-based businesses currently spans four continents and eight countries, will speak on global opportunities for emerging Wisconsin companies Nov. 5 at the annual Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium.

AquaMost, Inc. today announced the appointment of Mark Henrickson as Chief Operating Officer. Henrickson, who has served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer since March 2012, will continue to head up the company’s financial management strategy in addition to now also leading the organization’s day-to-day manufacturing operations.

Uncertainty in the markets is one of the most obvious indicators of the federal shutdown, but it’s not confined to companies that are publically traded. The story is similar for other emerging companies in the life sciences, including medical devices, and extends to firms in other sectors that may be subject federal review or a grant approval process.

Twelve panel discussions on topics of interest to entrepreneurs and investors alike will be among the highlights of the annual Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, to be held Nov. 5-6 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison.

UW Regent Tim Higgins, chair of the board's Research, Economic Development and Innovation Committee, addressed the Wisconsin Technology Council board of directors on Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Neenah. The meeting was hosted by Plexus Corp.. View Higgins' remarks, as well as the UW System's strategic plan surrounding economic development, here.

Watch Tom Still's interview on "Newsmakers," the Appleton Post Crescent's online issues program.

The United States is home to about 297,000 or so square miles (190 million acres) of federal forest and rangeland. This incredible resource has always been – and forever will be – susceptible to fire, natural as well as manmade. But the fire patterns of the last decade or more represent a worrying change: There have been more fires that are more devastating, harder to fight, and more costly to people and the environment. 

MADISON – On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum interviews Rebecca Larson of the Alliance of Health Insurers about the health care industry in Wisconsin and the impact of the new health care laws; Tom Still points out some tips for improving the state's job creation efforts; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for early October 2013 covers workforce training and coal. 

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Due to a rapidly growing number of potential deals, the Golden Angels investing network is restructuring and opening to new members, the group's director said Thursday.

Economic development investments made by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation are now open for public view through an interactive online map launched Oct. 1 by the organization. The economic impact map was developed through a partnership with the UW-Whitewater and UW-Madison. The impact map located on WEDC’s website (http://inwisconsin.com/inside-wedc/impact/) shows all of the individual investments WEDC has made since July 2011.

Madison Development Corp., a local non-profit development company helping hard-to-finance small businesses with loans, started a Venture Debt Fund to help technology businesses stretch scarce local venture capital dollars.  Since inception, the MDC Venture Debt Fund has made about 40 loans totaling $11.5 million to local tech businesses. Four loans were just closed to Intuitive Biosciences Inc., SOLOMO Technology Inc., Veridt , Inc., and Wellbe Inc.

Assuming national issues such as interest rates, the advent of health-care reform and uncertainty in Washington and abroad affect all states more or less evenly, what are the factors holding Wisconsin back? Here are some possibilities.

UW-Madison produces cutting-edge science and skilled researchers. But like other institutions in the upper Midwest, it doesn’t do enough to promote itself, the university’s new chancellor said Tuesday at a Wisconsin Innovation Network luncheon.

Brad Feld, an entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of the successful TechStars accelerators, will speak live via telepresence to open the Nov. 5 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison.

Wellintel Inc., a Shorewood company formed less than a year ago, plans to begin selling in spring an inexpensive system that will give homeowners with wells more information than ever before about their water supply.

One of the key changes enacted by last year’s federal “Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups Act” went into effect on Monday, allowing startups to advertise that they’re seeking equity investments. But the effect of lifting the 1933 ban on general solicitation of private securities offerings is still unclear, local experts said Monday.

The life sciences hub around Madison and Milwaukee, anchored by biotech firm Promega and the University of Wisconsin system, has diverse capabilities in research instrumentation, reagents, medical devices, and agricultural biotech applications, in addition to drug discovery and stem cells, says Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, a nonprofit economic development group.

Making sense of how to collect, store, use and protect your own byte of “big data” was a theme of the Sept. 18 Resource Rendezvous at UW-Milwaukee, where about 80 people gathered to hear from cybersecurity experts and others from the worlds of research, business and defense. 

Are you looking to raise startup capital that has no financial strings attached? Winning a business contest is one way to gather funds you don't need to pay back or forfeit equity to get. The same goes for small-business grants.

The remarkable growth of Wisconsin's Epic Systems Corp. over the last decade has spawned a whole new industry: Hundreds of consulting firms, paying average salaries well into six figures, have sprung up across the nation to help hospitals and other health care providers install and operate the Verona company's electronic medical records systems. Nordic Consulting Partners Inc., the biggest Wisconsin-based Epic consulting firm, illustrates the phenomenon.

When first lady Michelle Obama dropped by the southern Wisconsin city of Watertown to urge Americans to drink more water, the original healthy alternative to sugary drinks, it seemed like a good gimmick. She “dropped” into Watertown… get it? 

The first lady’s visit was welcome, of course, but there’s a lot more happening under the surface of Wisconsin’s water technology economy than even the White House might know. 

MADISON –On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum interviews Jim Rice of Piiku, an advertising company with an innovative approach to ad presentation; Tom Still explores the rising field of water technology in Wisconsin; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-September covers the Kenosha economy and mining industry jobs.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank. 

Seventeen companies from the Upper Midwest have been selected to present science and technology-based products and research Sept. 19 in Milwaukee, Wis., during the seventh annual “Resource Rendezvous.”

The history of friction between science and theology resurfaced in Wisconsin recently with the announcement that the 7,400 children who attend schools in the Madison Catholic Diocese will no longer be taking field trips to the Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery. That’s because the facility on the UW-Madison campus conducts research using human embryonic stem cells.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum talks to Dan Blake, director of the Wisconsin Angel Network, about the latest news and upcoming events for Wisconsin's investment community; Tom Still points out a few booming economic states to keep an eye on; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for early September covers health care costs and unemployment claims.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Asthmapolis, a Madison company with a mobile app for chronic respiratory disease, said Tuesday it has changed its name to Propeller Health. The company also said it is offering expanded mobile apps for asthma, COPD and other respiratory diseases, along with new sensors to snap onto inhaled medications that are pending regulatory approval.

Eso-Technologies Inc., a Middleton company that is developing a patented esophageal probe, said Tuesday it has raised $600,000 from Wisconsin-based angel investors in an oversubscribed offering. Eso-Technologies was the Grand Prize winner of the 2009 Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest.

It was dubbed "Finding Common Ground," a Sept. 5 summit to bring together state legislators, University of Wisconsin regents and other university leaders to talk about ways to mend fences after a series of trust-eroding episodes

The state Department of Administration has released a "Request for Qualifications" to select a qualifed fund manager for the recently enacted state early stage capital program. The program, passed as Assembly Bill 181 and signed into law as Act 41, will create a matching program for $25 million in state investment into a "fund of funds." Read the RFQ here.

Milwaukee's ambition to become a hub of water research and technology — aiming to lure new jobs and investment to the metro region by harnessing its stable of existing water-tech industries — reaches a milestone Thursday: Cutting the ribbon for a seven-story, $22 million, 100,000-square-foot technology and business incubator.

The planners of the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium are looking for innovative early stage companies from Wisconsin and other Midwest states to present in November at Madison’s Monona Terrace. 

The annual conference on Nov. 5-6 gives selected companies the opportunity to make presentations and meet with investors, along with other entrepreneurs and business leaders. Many firms have cited participation in the conference as a key factor for significant business growth.  Company applications are due no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, 2013.

Speakers from General Dynamics, DRS Technologies, Altamira Technologies and Johnson Controls will discuss science and technology needs within the federal government and their own companies during the seventh annual “Resource Rendezvous” in Milwaukee. 

Bill Linton, founder of Promega and a member of the Wisconsin Technology Council board, is featured in a Sept. 5 Isthmus article on the company’s “unconventional vision. The story was written by contributing editor Marc Eisen.

AquaMost, Inc. officially unveiled its new SX PECO Reactor, enabling chemical-free water treatment. The system has already been deployed at multiple sites in Texas, Colorado and Utah and was well received by operators and service providers.

 Intel Corp., the international computer chip developer, opened a new office in Eau Claire Tuesday, a good sign for the local economy, said Gov. Scott Walker. Intel will develop new products at the office located at 1825 N. Clairemont Ave., which had previously housed Sitepro.

Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, will moderate portions of a Sept. 5 University of Wisconsin Regents conference on “Finding Common Ground: Governance, Funding and Partnerships for Wisconsin’s Public University System.” Still was invited by the Regents to help lead the discussion, which will involve key Regents, UW System chancellors and administrators and leading state legislators. Guest speakers will include Charles B. Reed, former chancellor of the California State University System, and P.J. Hogan, vice chancellor for government relations in the University of Maryland System.

Industry experts will offer insights on the future of military contracting opportunities at the seventh annual “Resource Rendezvous” in Milwaukee. The one-day conference is aimed at helping companies learn how to increase their chance of receiving federal grant dollars or research agreements. Produced by the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium and the Wisconsin Technology Council, the event will be held 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Union Ballroom on the UW-Milwaukee campus.

Allscripts announced the winners of the Open App Challenge as part of the kickoff of the 2013 Allscripts Client Experience. Winning the grand prize of the Allscripts Open App Challenge, is Healthfinch, a Madison-based company whose mission is to help increase quality and productivity by reducing non-reimbursable physician time and wasted staff time to zero. The winning Healthfinch Refillwizard application is on its way to achieving this mission by providing a solution that automates prescription renewal requests.

Abodo.com, a Madison start-up that offers online apartment listings, said Monday it has raised $325,000 from angel investors.

While most of the nation waits for the SEC rules for the JOBS Act, two states have moved ahead with crowdfunding on their own. Georgia and Kansas have taken the plunge; North Carolina and Washington state are considering similar state-based platforms. Joining the march, three Wisconsin legislators said this month they will introduce a bill to rewrite Wisconsin’s securities law to allow equity crowdfunding.

On the 100th episode of the show, Liz Schrum catches up with Mark Bugher, the show's very first guest, to discuss his tenure as director of University Research Park and his upcoming retirement. Also on the show, Tom Still explains why new SEC regulations could adversely affect angel investments in Wisconsin and across the country; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for late August covers home sales and Anchor Bank.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Rebecca Blank, UW-Madison’s new chancellor and the former U.S. commerce secretary, says one of her top priorities is ensuring UW remains central to the state’s economic growth.

“We are working hard to do a better job of encouraging entrepreneurship [among students and faculty], helping them bring ideas from the lab to the marketplace, and working in collaboration with places like UW-Milwaukee and with the private sector and public sector to create ... an attractive environment for businesses to come in and to grow,” Blank said on "UpFront with Mike Gousha," produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.

An angel group that formed in March has invested $500,000 into MCT Inc., a Milwaukee start-up with a sophisticatedtechnology for cutting printed materials. Wisconsin Super Angel Fund was impressed with the company's technology expertise and the rapid growth of its market, said Tom Schuster, managing general partner for the fund.

The buzz around Sector67, a collaborative "makerspace" on the east side, reached a new pitch last month when a group of entrepreneurs unveiled plans for StartingBlock Madison, a $13.5 million start-up hub proposed for a warehouse on East Washington Avenue. Sector67 — a hands-on haven in a digital age — would be an anchor enterprise.

The efforts to change the way public money is managed are motivated, in no small part, by the big fees and lackluster performance that many hedge funds and private equity firms have delivered to their biggest clients in recent years. In Wisconsin, the state’s $91 billion public pension fund, the nation’s ninth-largest, is looking for an employee to run a new program that will make private equity investments directly rather than through a fund. The fund has estimated it will save $19.3 million in fees over the next five years on the $500 million that will be put to work.

Investor interest in Orion Energy Systems Inc. had dimmed in recent years. Under new leadership since September, however, Orion has rebounded with higher sales, a new focus on profitability and an acquisition that positions the company for growth. That has reignited interest in Orion's stock, which hit a two-year high earlier this month.

Located in largely rural Marathon County, Wausau is a city of about 40,000 that absorbed several thousand Hmong immigrants beginning in the 1970s. Wausau was nonetheless the site of an Aug. 14 forum that demonstrated how the issue of immigration reform has become a district-by-district struggle for votes in the U.S. House of Representatives, where a Senate-passed reform bill faces an uncertain future.

Three Republican state legislators plan to introduce a bill to amend Wisconsin’s securities laws to allow online crowdfunding.

Using human pluripotent stem cells and DNA-cutting protein from meningitis bacteria, researchers from the Morgridge Institute for Research and Northwestern University have created an efficient way to target and repair defective genes.

Welcome to the SEC's tortured rule-making process for the federal "Jumpstart Our Business Startups" act. Dubbed the JOBS Act, the legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama more than a year ago.

Students skilled in marketing, writing, graphic design and social media will be available during the UW-Madison fall semester through a course taught by Tom Still, president of the Tech Council.

Why two top venture capitalists left Silicon Valley for flyover country.

A forum for early stage investors will be held Tuesday, Sept. 10, at American Family Insurance Co. in Madison. Chicago investor Robert Okabe, president of the Angel Resource Institute, will speak on trends in raising early stage capital. Other speakers will address best practices and policy isses at the state and federal level. Attendance will be limited to investors; more information is available through Dan Blake, director, Wisconsin Angel Network, at dblake@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.

A forum on federal immigration reform will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the UW Center for Civic Engagement, 518 S. 7th Ave., Wausau, on the UW-Marathon campus. Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, will be among the panelists. To attend, respond to wisconsinbbb2013@gmail.com The forum is hosted by FWD.us, a coalition of tech-based companies, and Bibles, Badges and Business.

AT&T Corp. says it has acquired 32 cellular towers in its efforts to improve wireless service in northeast Wisconsin, including towers in Brown, Door, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Pepi Randolph of the Potawatomi Business Development Corp. about a new high-end data center being built in Milwaukee; Tom Still explains Wisconsin's continuing journey out of the recession; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for early August 2013 looks at the Madison-based company Stratatech.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

The always-upbeat entrepreneur Toni Sikes was even more buoyant than usual when I caught up with her driving back to Madison from a Minneapolis board meeting. The cause of her good cheer wasn't just that her latest startup, the Art Commission, has raised $950,000 in venture capital; it was that the business model had already morphed into something bigger.

The rise of coworking spaces downtown is solid evidence of Madison's growing tech scene. Now, two more downtown spots are offering the low-cost shared space for techies who want to leave their coffee-shop offices - Cresa Madison and 100 State Street.

NCD Technologies announced that their Nanocrystalline Diamond Pretreatment (NDP) an innovative and unprecedented process for applying diamond coatings to extremely small tooling, has been selected by R&D Magazine’s 100 list for technological excellence

Baldwin’s bill, the Small Business Innovation Act of 2013, would authorize the federal Small Business Administration to set up a fund for private investors seeking to support early stage business in biotech, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

At long last, the Wisconsin Legislature has enacted a state-leveraged venture capital fund of funds. The $25 million program, which could be up and running by Jan. 1, 2014, and make its first investment sometime next year, will provide venture capital to qualified startup companies in the advanced manufacturing, engineering, agriculture, information technology, and medical-device industries. All of the funds must be invested in Wisconsin-based businesses.

After years of development, Engineered Propulsion Systems Inc. of New Richmond will put its upgrade on display when it test flies its new engine in the Mojave Desert this fall, the company said at the EAA AirVenture this week.

Educational software company Skyward will build a new headquarters valued at as much as $30 million and create 700 new jobs over the next decade in a project that could pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy. Skyward is a member of the Wisconsin Innovation Network.

We have built a secure resume database on the new Wisconsin Technology Council job board. Take advantage of this free resource and get connected to many of the key players in Wisconsin’s business community.

Speakers with hands-on knowledge will discuss the science and technology research gaps within the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Energy during the seventh annual “Resource Rendezvous” to be held Sept. 19 in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee tech startup, Find My Spot, is a service being provided to hundreds of new educators moving to Milwaukee through the Greater Milwaukee Committee’s new Teachtown MKE initiative.

Entrepreneur and investor Toni Sikes has been elected chairwoman of the Wisconsin Technology Council, a post she will assume at the Tech Council’s October board of directors meeting at Plexus in Neenah.

Asthmapolis, a Madison start-up that recently raised more than $5 million, said it has reached an agreement with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers in San Diego to use the company's mobile technology to help manage patients with asthma.

Wisconsin companies raised $10.5 million of venture capital in the second quarter, well below the same quarter a year ago, underlining the state's inability to attract healthy amounts of investment funding.

SnowShoe, which makes hardware for authenticating mobile transactions, is one of five Madison companies that has participated in a TechStar program.

Miron Livny, director of core computational technology at the Morgridge Institute for Research and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, and a University of Wisconsin–Madison computer sciences professor, has been honored for his groundbreaking contributions to the field with the 2013 High Performance Parallel and Distributed Computing (HPDC) Achievement Award. 

AquaMost Inc. has named Robert Gaudin to its board of directors. This strategic addition adds to the company’s positioning in the oil and gas industry. Gaudin is the founder and CEO of Holland Services, a complete energy land services company, serving the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years. AquaMost will be a part of a July 23 WIN-Madison meeting at which innovation surrounding the hydraulic fracturing industry will be discussed. Register at www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/events

Wisconsin Technology Council President Tom Still issued the following statement after Gov. Scott Walker signed the early stage capital bill into law.   

The Art Commission LLC, an online platform that connects artists with design professionals seeking art for their clients, said it has raised $950,000 from angel investors.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with The Water Council, announced that four freshwater technology startups have been selected to participate in a first-of-its-kind Global Freshwater Seed Accelerator Program.

The vacuum-insulated window glass designed by the founder and chief executive officer of V-Glass LLC won the advanced manufacturing category in the 2013 Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest last month.

Growth and innovation are keys to solving unemployment and keeping the U.S. in the global mix, the top executive of one of the world's biggest companies told the UW System Board of Regents Friday morning.

"Job creation and competitiveness in the end have to be the answer," said Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric Co. "If we accept potential GDP growth in the U.S. to be 2%, this never gets better. We need more growth, more innovation, more engineers."

Wisconsin ranked 22^nd overall in CNBC’s annual list of “America’s Best States for Business.” Click here to read how Wisconsin fared in a number of categories that comprised the 2013 ranking.

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced the Small Business Innovation Act of 2013 to help fuel small business job creation and economic growth that is so desperately needed in Wisconsin. The legislation, Baldwin’s first bill in the U.S. Senate, will help provide startup businesses the capital they need to grow their companies and create jobs.

Cellular Dynamics International, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities to precise specifications, announced that it has commenced an initial public offering of 3,846,000 shares of common stock pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The producers of ‘Resource Rendezvous’ are looking for early stage companies from Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest to present at the seventh annual conference to be held Sept. 19 in Milwaukee.

Researchers at C5-6 Technologies and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are collaborating on technologies that they think can help develop next-generation biofuels and help move beyond the food vs. fuel debate that surrounds corn-based ethanol.

Math and science majors are popular until students realize what they’re getting themselves into, according to new research.

In a report for The Atlantic Cities, researcher Richard Florida ranks Madison 20th among U.S. metropolitan areas for venture capital investments.

Virent announced it has received a federal award of up to $4 million, subject to final contract negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy, to develop carbon conversion efficiency of biomass to distillate products ideal for blending into existing diesel and jet fuel infrastructures.

Madison-based Idle Free, whose APUs lower the energy consumption and operating costs of commercial trucks and school buses, recently announced that it saw remarkable year-over-year growth in 2012 of 250%, in the process doubling the size of its manufacturing facility and increasing its workforce by 30%.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation today announced approval of early stage tax credits and loans for seven emerging Wisconsin companies. 

A discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison may represent a significant advance in the quest to create a "hydrogen economy" that would use this abundant element to store and transfer energy.

A lifetime cap on state angel investment tax credits was eliminated in the $70-billion, two-year budget Gov. Scott Walker signed into law Sunday.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Sanjeev Chitre of Silicon Valley’s U Group about an outsider’s perspective on Wisconsin’s startup economy; Tom Still discusses the next steps for Wisconsin’s early-stage capital bill; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for late June 2013 covers private sector jobs and the farm bill.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Badger State entrepreneurs -- especially those with ideas for creating health-care or agriculture-related software companies -- shouldn't be shy about looking south to Chicago for funding and networking, a pair of Windy City investment pros said Tuesday.

"Madison is connected to Chicago and Chicago connects Madison to the rest of the Midwest," Jeff Carter, a co-founder of Chicago's Hyde Park Angels to a Wisconsin Innovation Network gathering.

Spaulding Clinical Research said Monday it plans to partner with Aurora Health Care to open a research unit at Aurora Sinai Medical Center. The 18-bed unit will conduct Phase I clinical trials that test the safety of potential drugs.

The Madison company is working to get its colorectal cancer test, Cologuard, on the market.

Dan Maynard twice had a chance to walk away from the company he founded. Instead, he stuck around, once buying it back for $1. Partly because he chose to stick with it, Connecture Inc. today employs more than 400 people, including 186 in Brookfield. Revenue last year totaled about $50 million, up from $30 million in 2011. This year, including a recent acquisition, revenue is projected to top $90 million.

"Vital Signs," is a new effort by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation to assess the area's social and economic well-being, spark discussion and monitor change. It's an ambitious project, stacking Milwaukee against 15 other metropolitan areas on more than 80 different criteria.

A new angel investment network with a target fund size of $1 million has formed in DeForest and will hold its first formal meeting in early August, a co-manager has announced.

Sixty-three early-stage Wisconsin companies raised $48.4 million in private funding in 2012 through a state program that offers a 25 percent income tax credit to investors in qualified businesses, according to a report released Wednesday.

On the Internet, people can communicate with thousands of friends at once, but when it comes to planning an actual get-together with a few friends, the Internet is not very effective, said Madison entrepreneur Mark McGuire.

So McGuire co-founded Nextt, “a private social network for friends to connect online so they can do more together offline,” the website http://www.getnextt.com/, says. The company announced Wednesday that it had attracted $700,000 in seed funding from investors.

Investors in 63 early-stage companies received $12.1 million of tax credits from the state in 2012 under a program designed to spur funding for young, high-tech companies, according to a new report.

Wisconsin is one of the top five states for direct jobs in the medical imaging industry, with an estimated 6,920 people employed in the manufacturing, selling and servicing of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and other equipment, according to a new study from the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance.

The AppBrewery is among a growing number of university-led initiatives crafting apps that might not otherwise get made. The group — technically known by the little-used name of UWM Mobile Innovation Lab — is planning to launch its first project in late summer. The Milwaukee County mobile app will feature bus schedules, with real-time GPS tracking of bus locations; county park maps and information; and events at the zoo.

Over the last week, several states have announced/passed new programs focused on increasing the capital available to spur small business growth and innovation. Officials from New Jersey announced the state's new angel tax credit will take effect July 1. In Arizona and Wisconsin two bills await gubernatorial approval that would rework the Arizona R&D tax credit program and establish a $75 million venture capital fund in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the Minnesota state legislature did not approve an additional $5 million for its popular Small Business Investment Tax Credit.

Exact Sciences Corp., a Madison company developing a DNA-based, non-invasive test for colon cancer, said Tuesday it is trying to raise nearly $64 million in a stock offering.

Two leaders of the Wisconsin Technology Council issued the following statement on the Senate’s 29-3 vote in support of Assembly Bill 181, the early stage capital bill: 

“On behalf of the Wisconsin Technology Council’s board of directors, we applaud the Wisconsin Senate for voting, 29-3, Tuesday to approve Assembly Bill 181,”  said chairman Mark Bugher and president Tom Still. 

See complete coverage of the bill here.

A new partnership between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Port of Milwaukee will make it easier for state businesses to take full advantage of the regional Foreign-Trade Zone. This unique effort is designed to increase the participation in the Port’s Foreign-Trade Zone and boost international trade by managing tariffs and in some cases reducing or eliminating those fees.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Brian Birk, managing director of Sun Mountain Capital in New Mexico, who attended the recent Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Middleton; Tom Still discusses Wisconsin’s expertise in health information technology; and the Wisbusiness.com Stock Report for early June 2013.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Two-time U.S. Open winner Andy North is among several new investors in Kayo Technology Inc., a Madison company that aims to modernize the practice of physical therapy.

What we know is this: Over the next decade, innovation and entrepreneurism are the keys to producing a more robust economy in Wisconsin. And that's why, despite the scary news coming out of the statistic mills, there are still reasons to be optimistic if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Badger.

Sara Linderman, an 8^th grader at Pilgrim Park Middle School and a resident of Brookfield, is the grand prize winner in Wisconsin YES!, a youth business plan contest for students in middle and high school.  

The state Assembly just approved a smart plan to help young companies in Wisconsin expand and hire. Now the Senate should act.

Mark Bugher, who helped to mold UW-Madison's University Research Park into an economic and technology transfer force admired nationally, plans to retire in October.

Just as construction kicked off on the first building at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Innovation Campus this week, Chancellor Michael Lovell announced that the project will receive a $2 million gift from philanthropist Michael Cudahy.

Four years after Kevin T. Conroy took the top job at a struggling biotech company, Exact Sciences Corp. said Monday it has submitted an application to federal regulators for approval to market a DNA-based, non-invasive colon cancer test.

The state's still-emerging high-tech economy saw developments on several fronts last week, creating optimism that years of talk might finally yield significant action.

Before Brian Jensen’s mobile app, Fishidy, showed up in the sporting goods sections of hundreds of Wal-Mart stores, the Sun Prairie native got all but skunked on a fishing trip to northern Minnesota.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted, 91-2, June 6 to approve Assembly Bill 181, the early stage capital bill, and send it to the Senate for further action. Read a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here. Read a statement from the Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition here.

Odyne Systems of Waukesha has received a contract to supply its plug-in hybrid system technology to about 120 large plug-in hybrid trucks to utilities under a $45 million contract with the research arm of the utility industry.

The 2013 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference was held June 4-5 at the Marriott West in Middleton. View coverage of the event here.

A company that has developed a portable device for treating diabetic foot ulcers won the grand prize in the 2013 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, organizers announced Wednesday.

NitricGen Inc., a Madison-based firm, designed and patented a shoe box-sized device that produces nitric oxide from room air to treat chronic foot ulcers, a serious complication of diabetes. The device electrically creates a flow of nitric oxide gas to be applied by the patient.

Mitchell Fiene, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater sophomore, has taken his business idea to the skies after finding a solution to an arduous farming practice - crop scouting.

Cellular Dynamics International, created by UW-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson in 2004, plans to sell its stock on the public market, the first Madison company to go public in six years.

Wisconsin companies raised more than $163 million in early stage funding in 2012, a 7 percent jump from 2011, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Angel Network.

The numbers remain gloomy, but many believe that after more than a decade of serious effort, Wisconsin finally may be re-invigorating its entrepreneurial climate.

Still on the fence about attending the 11th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Milwaukee? Here are 10 reasons to drop in Tuesday and Wednesday for one of the Midwest’s premier events for entrepreneurs.

Watch "For the Record" with Neil Heinen this Sunday at 10 a.m. on WISC-TV Channel 3. Heinen talks about the growing spirit of entrepreneurship and previews the upcoming Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference. Guests include Tom Still, Wisconsin Technology Council; Melissa Turczyn, Michael Best & Friedrich and 2013 conference co-chair; and Mark Gehring, Asthmapolis and conference panelist.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Kurt Bauer, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, about current and upcoming state legislation, including the state budget; Tom Still discusses why Michigan is a potential role model for our economic development; and the Wisbusiness.com Stock Report for early June 2013.

More than 40 investors and entrepreneurs will talk about best practices, success stories – and even how they learned from failure – during panel discussions at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Middleton. Tracks within the two-day conference are built around three distinct stages that matter to all startup companies: launch, grow and succeed. Seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and others who work with emerging companies will take part in each discussion. To register, visit http://www.witrepsconference.com/.

Janet Gongola, the patent reform coordinator at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va., will take part in a panel discussion during the second day of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Middleton.

Finalists representing diverse tech-based sectors in Wisconsin’s startup economy will present live to judges in the Governor’s Business Plan Contest during the 11^th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Middleton.

Healthcare industry leaders, local health information technology startups, investors and other industry leaders will converge at the first “Start Me Up” Meet-up Day June 10 at the Fluno Center on the UW-Madison campus.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Marian Singer, CEO of Shorewood-based WellIntel, about groundwater monitoring from above ground; Tom Still discusses the impact of new energy reserves being found in America and around the world; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-May covers Wisconsin's business climate rankings and business tax rankings.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Fred Foster, a Madison native who founded ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls Inc.) will receive the 10^th annual Ken Hendricks Memorial “Seize the Day” award at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference.

A Madison company with a unique, inexpensive technology for authenticating mobile transactions, has been accepted into the highly selective TechStars Boulder start-up accelerator program. Claus Moberg, chief executive officer of Snowshoe Food Inc., and the company's four other employees will spend the summer in Boulder, Co. working with mentors and further developing their company.

Two state agencies will provide a total of $100,000 to Revolution Labs, a Milwaukee program aimed at providing best practices training and funding for five inner-city start-ups, Gov. Scott Walker said Monday.

Dan Blake, 31, took over in March as director of the Wisconsin Angel Network, part of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Read his interview with the Wisconsin State Journal’s Judy Newman here.

ZBB Energy Corp.. said it has received more orders from Lotte Chemical Co. of South Korea for its batteries and energy storage system technology. The Menomonee Falls firm has been working with Lotte for several years under a partnership, working together on the next generation of the company’s zinc bromide flow battery.

Successful investors and entrepreneurs from California’s Silicon Valley will offer perspectives on opportunities and challenges in Wisconsin’s tech sectors during a 90-minute presentation at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, to be held June 4-5 at the Marriott West in Middleton. To register, go t http://www.witrepsconference.com/.

Inviragen Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company with facilities in Madison, has agreed to be bought by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for an upfront payment of $35 million, and future payments of up to $215 million tied to meeting future clinical milestones.

More than 600 businesses in the Madison area are considered high-tech, according to a survey by Madison Gas & Electric. The 2013 Greater Madison Area High-Tech Directory is out, and based on statistics compiled by MGE, there are 625 companies that fall into categories that include computer software development, bioscience and medical devices. That's up from 580 listed a year ago.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum speaks with Dan Blake, the new director of the Wisconsin Angel Network, about Wisconsin's early stage investment opportunities for businesses and investors; Tom Still explains how bipartisan cooperation is the best way to grow Wisconsin's economy; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for early May covers early stage capital and foreign land buying. 

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

A company that plans to build a production plant in Janesville says it has reached a milestone that further demonstrates its ability to produce a medical isotope used in more than 40 million medical imaging tests each year.

Middleton-based ETC, Electronic Theatre Controls, is expanding to Mazomanie. ETC, which designs and manufactures lighting systems and rigging equipment for entertainment and architectural uses, has purchased the vacant building that formerly housed commercial printer Sunny Industries, later known as Synergy Web Graphics.

The Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Mining held a public hearing Wednesday in Madison on Assembly Bill 181, which would create a state-leveraged fund-of-funds. Read on for testimony on the bill from Wisconsin Technology Council President Tom Still, Steve Lyons and Trevor D’Souza of the Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition, and Delora Newton of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. Also, read blog items from Wisconsin Angel Network Director Dan Blake, including comments from entrepreneurs who join Still during his testimony.

A bill that would create a state-leveraged “fund of funds” to invest in some of Wisconsin’s most promising early stage companies was introduced today by a bipartisan group of state legislators.

As the first place winner of the 2013 BizStarts Milwaukee Collegiate Business Plan Competition, Digifii will be entered into Phase 3 of the Governor's Business Plan Contest.

Tracks within the two-day conference are built around three distinct stages that matter to all startup companies: launch, grow and succeed. Seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and others who work with emerging companies will take part in each discussion.

Ideas, risk-taking and industrial muscle built Milwaukee. To move forward, the region needs brain power and an economy fueled by entrepreneurs and start-ups.

“Higher education -- whether we like it or not -- is in big, irreversible change,” said Ward, speaking to a Wisconsin Innovation Network event on Tuesday in Madison.

Innovation Way was home, for a few hours, to a group of startup companies that are plowing into the world of digital technology and social media. The startups, which set up shop at the 19th annual Biz Expo sponsored by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, are trying to help traditional businesses in an increasingly digital environment dominated by smartphones and apps.

Jason Lucash, co-founder of OrigAudio and a nationally known entrepreneur whose credentials include landing an investment during an episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” will speak at the 11^th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference.

More than 50 Wisconsin biotech companies and research facilities, plus 150 people from the Badger State, are expected to attend BIO International 2013 in Chicago this week.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum talks with Ellen Nowak of the state Public Service Commission about regulatory issues affecting the business community; Tom Still explains how the finalists in the Governor’s Business Plan Contest reflect state market trends; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-April 2013 covers the China trade mission and Oshkosh Corp.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

Wisconsin companies raised $18.42 million of venture capital in the first quarter, the best showing to start the year since 2010.

ZBB Energy Corp. said it has won approval from the Export-Import Bank for loan guarantees to back $1.14 million in loans from InvestorsBank to the maker of energy storage systems and hybrid vehicle controls. The transaction will provide working capital to help support sales of ZBB products that are exported from its factory in Menomonee Falls.

Milwaukee-based Badger Meter Inc. has acquired Los Gatos, Calif.-based software technology company Aquacue Inc. for $14 million. The addition will help advance Badger Meter’s water usage management technology.

A statewide panel of judges have selected 17 entries to advance to Phase 2 of Wisconsin YES!, a youth business plan contest for students in middle school and high school. Students submitted their science- and tech-based 250-word business summaries through the contest website last month to compete in Phase 1 of the contest. Professionals from across the state served as judges, scoring the entries and providing constructive feedback to the students.

There are many paths to economic growth, all with their advocates. Many scholars and businesspeople believe the spark for growth comes from the entrepreneur.

"Entrepreneurship is where the new ideas come from that produce economic progress," Randall Holcombe of Florida State said. "If you didn't have any entrepreneurs, everything would be the same next week as it is this week, same next year as it was last year. Economic progress would come to a halt."

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. plans to pay about $13.6 billion for Life Technologies Corp. in a deal that will position the scientific instrument maker to benefit from the expected growth of personalized medicine, which uses genetic analysis to tailor treatments to patients.

Life Technologies was formed in November 2008 through the combination of Invitrogen Corp. and Applied Biosystems Inc.

Twenty-one entries representing sectors as broad as software, agriculture, transportation, medical devices and innovations in manufacturing are competing in the finalist round of the 10^th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.

Milwaukee residents know the city is more than just beer and manufacturing, and this week it got some recognition for its growing tech scene. Techie.com put Milwaukee on its list of 10 most unexpected cities for high-technology innovation.

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research will be held this week on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus. This is the second time that UW-L will host NCUR, a national event that brings together students and faculty mentors from across the country to share their research. This is a unique opportunity to shed light on the outstanding research taking place on campuses across our state and how that activity enhances the learning experience.

The Golden Angels Investors LLC will put money into a new fund being raised by TechStars Chicago, an organization that accelerates young companies from offices in the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago. The network's investment will be less than $100,000 but it will give the Golden Angels early access for the next four years to the 10 companies TechStars Chicago runs through its three-month-long program each summer, said Tim Keane, the Milwaukee group's founder and director.

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority is seeking proposals to form and manage a $3 million venture capital fund that would focus on making investments in Milwaukee. The agency, known as WHEDA, wants the fund to have a special focus on the Transform Milwaukeearea. Transform Milwaukee is a public/private partnership led by WHEDA that is trying to restore economic prosperity to the 30th Street industrial corridor, Menomonee Valley, Port of Milwaukee and an area called the Aerotropolis, which is located south of General Mitchell International Airport.

Madison's new cluster of health care technology companies is coming into its own. With at least five local businesses started by former Epic Systems Corp. employees that have created about 400 jobs in the past three years as well as other companies without Epic ties, a Madison health tech meetup group has been formed. The group has nearly 150 participants, organizer Jonathan Baran said.

Salim Nasser, a NASA engineer, inventor and quadriplegic, has created a wheel that could dramatically reduce how much energy a wheelchair user expends moving his or her chair forward. Now Rowheels, the company he cofounded in 2012, hopes to bring the wheel to market later this year. If successful, it should mean more efficient mobility and healthier bodies for users, Nasser says.

Green Bay-based Aver Informatics was one of 13 companies chosen to join a three-year entrepreneurship program to accelerate growth for consumer health companies.

More than 400 companies from 22 countries applied to be a part of the program. Companies were chosen from across the U.S., Ireland and Israel. The companies will be closely monitored by GE and StartUp Health, a healthtech startup incubator.

Asthmapolis (az-MAP-o-lis), the FDA-cleared mobile health solution for asthma and COPD, today announces it has raised $5 million in a Series A round from The Social+Capital Partnership ("Social Capital"). With the funds, Asthmapolis will deliver new innovations and services for its comprehensive solution of sensors, leading mobile technology and personalized support, extending its reach to the more than 50 million people living with chronic respiratory disease in the United States today. 

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center in Madison has won a five-year renewal from the federal Energy Department to continue its research on sustainable next-generation biofuel technologies. The renewal awards the center, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, $125 million over five years. The center was created with an initial award of the same amount -- $25 million a year over five years -- in 2007. The center's mission is to research sustainable production of cellulosic biofuels -- crops such as switchgrass and  that don't compete with sources of food to make energy.

Three emerging Wisconsin companies have been certified for Early Stage Investment tax credits by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).  WEDC certified BadgerMax, Inc., Waunakee, Winstruments, Inc., Madison, and SOLOMO Technology, Inc., Madison, as Qualified News Business Ventures, eligible for investment tax credits. In addition, SOLOMO Technology was approved for a $125,000 Wisconsin Venture Debt Fund loan.

Angels on the Water, a recently formed angel investing group in northeastern Wisconsin, said Tuesday it will invest $100,000 into five of the six start-ups graduating from an accelerator program on Thursday night.

Cellular Dynamics International, Madison, said Monday it is opening a facility in Novato, Calif., that will become its second location. The company, founded by UW-Madison stem pioneer James Thomson, has signed an agreement to lease space for up to five years at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

A former employee of the Medical College of Wisconsin has been charged with economic espionage, according to a federal criminal complaint. The complaint alleges that Hua Jun Zhao, 42, stole three bottles of a patented cancer research compound valued at $8,000 and additional research data relating to the compound.

Alfalight, Inc., a Madison-based manufacturer of laser components and electro-optical systems sold its commercial segment product lines to a provider of high-definition laser projection light engines for mobile devices.  The terms of the deal with Compound Photonics were not disclosed, but further details can be found on Alfalight's web site. Alfalight will retain its product line for defense customers.  

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum talks with Rose Oswald Poels of the Wisconsin Bankers Association about new lending rules for banks; Tom Still explains why trade is so important to the Wisconsin economy; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for late March 2013 covers venture capital and Walgreens.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

SHINE Medical Technologies, Monona, has submitted its application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a permit to build a medical isotope factory in Janesville.

Primorigen Biosciences, Madison, has received a $1.2 million Phase 2 Small  Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The Greater Milwaukee Committee is leading an initiative, along with Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, to develop an "entrepreneurship ecosystem" that will try to spur the growth of high-potential business ventures.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial board urges the Legislature to establish a state-backed "fund of funds" to help power Wisconsin's entrepreneurs.

Madison biotech InvivoSciences has signed a collaborative agreement with Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, a nonprofit research institution in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Madison stem cell technology developer Cellular Dynamics International has received a $16 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, according to a Thursday announcement.

If you’ve got $3 million to invest in a startup, Annamalai “Karthik” Karthikeyan would like to have a word with you about activated carbon.

Wisconsin legislators are planning to introduce a venture capital bill separate from the state budget proposal, perhaps as soon as next week, according to advocates who have been meeting with legislators. Gov. Scott Walker’s biennial budget proposal, introduced last month, recommended at least $25 million over two years for venture capital to support early-stage firms. Walker likely left the language purposefully vague to encourage the state Legislature to hammer out the details and potentially devote a larger amount of taxpayer funds to venture capital investments, said Steve Lyons, president of the Wisconsin Growth Capital Coalition, a trade association officially formed in January that is lobbying for increased funding for early-stage companies.

A Middleton company’s device to help blind people “see” — in the making for 15 years — has received approval to be sold in Europe. Wicab’s BrainPort V100 will be available in Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom starting in June, around the same time the company submits an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to sell the device in the U.S., chief executive Robert Beckman said.  

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation announced at the Wisconsin Innovation Network Madison chapter meeting today they are creating an early-stage venture capital fund focused on information technology. Called 4490 Ventures, a reference to the 44° N latitude and 90° W longitude lines that approximate the center of the state of Wisconsin, the $30 million fund will focus on early-stage companies primarily in Wisconsin.

If raising capital is on your list of New Year's resolutions, angel investment clubs may help you connect your company to startup and growth capital networks. Here are some key trends in angel clubs to pay attention to in 2013.

On the latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” Liz Schrum talks with Kelly Lietz, vice president of marketing for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., about the “In Wisconsin” marketing campaign; Tom Still explains job creation statistics in Wisconsin for 2012; and the WisBusiness.com Stock Report for mid-March 2013 covers mining and power plant wages.

The biweekly show, produced by Tweedee Productions for the Wisconsin Technology Council and WisBusiness.com, is sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Madison Gas & Electric, UW-Milwaukee and BMO Harris Bank.

The statewide Wisconsin YES! youth business plan contest will close to entries 5 p.m. Monday, March 18. All Wisconsin students in middle and high school have the opportunity to submit their ideas and receive feedback from professionals across the state. Students will learn how to write a business plan and develop entrepreneurial skills that will help them succeed in a global economy – all while competing for cash and other prizes.

More than 70 entrepreneurs from communities across the state took part in the annual "boot camp" sponsored as a part of the 10th annual Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest.

A start-up company formed by the founder of a Milwaukee-area drug ingredient maker is proposing to build a pharmaceutical research and development facility in Mequon, creating 50 jobs. Major Pharmaceuticals LLC wants to develop a two-story, 79,000-square-foot facility on a 7.7-acre parcel immediately south of Executive Drive and east of Commerce St., according to a filing with the city Plan Commission. That site is in Mequon Business Park, near the northeast corner of Donges Bay and Wauwatosa roads.