Madison-based biotech startup Geno.Me plans to relocate its operations to Milwaukee after receiving $400,000 in seed funding from Milwaukee-based venture capital firm Gateway Capital Partners.
Founded by Milwaukee-native Britt Gottschalk, Geno.Me links genomic and electronic health record data in an open marketplace, which allows medical researchers to more easily access data and patients to have more transparency and control of the use of their personal health and medical data, the company said. Patients who share their data are compensated.
“Data accessibility in health care is an oxymoron, because the process for researchers to obtain data is difficult and expensive,” said Gottschalk. “We as individual patients have the power to choose whether to share our own data because it belongs to us, and it should be that simple. Geno.Me aims to incentivize its users to share their de-identified health profile while providing the blueprint for the future of precision medicine.”
The company says it aims to be the “world’s first linked EHR and genomic data marketplace,” and contribute to the advancement of precision medicine for monogenic conditions that are difficult to treat, predict and cure. It will use the capital to hire new staff and accelerate product.
It’s the second investment made by Gateway Capital after raising $13.5 million earlier this year. In late October, Gateway announced a $400,000 investment to lead a seed round of funding for Tip a ScRxipt, a financial technology startup founded by Milwaukee native Chad Johnson.
The Gateway Capital Fund is part of the Badger Fund of Funds, an eight-year-old venture capital program designed to invest in Wisconsin-based startups. Led by managing partner Dana Guthrie, Gateway Capital is particularly focusing on pre-revenue startups in the greater Milwaukee area over a four-year period.
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