More than $500 million in venture capital funds will be represented at the Early Stage Symposium in Madison in November, where Wisconsin startup tech companies have opportunities to pitch their business models to investors.
The gathering of VC funds expected to attend, which is growing by the day, is the largest pool of investors, in terms of fund sizes, ever assembled for the event, said Tom Still, president of the event’s organizer Wisconsin Technology Council.
Early Stage Symposium takes place Nov. 6-7 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison. More than 500 people are expected to attend. The name has changed over the years, but it’s been around for more than 30 years.
Organizations and funds scheduled to attend include Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual, which recently launched a $150 million corporate venture capital fund and already operates a $5 million fund for Milwaukee-area startups; American Family Ventures, the venture arm of Madison’s American Family Insurance that recently launched a third, $200 million VC fund; and Madison-based Venture Investors, which launched a $100 million fund dedicated to health care companies last year.
“It’s a real healthy sign of what kind of deals investors here and elsewhere are seeing,” Still said.
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