Madison is in a sweet spot when it comes to creating health care IT software, programs and applications, thanks in large part to the success of Epic Systems, the electronic medical records giant located in nearby Verona.

So says Mark Bakken, founder of HealthX Ventures and the former head of Nordic Consulting Partners, which grew to more than 450 employees under Bakken serving primarily Epic customers. Started in 2010, Nordic had more than $100 million in revenues in 2014. In the past year, Bakken has — on his own — invested in more than a dozen Dane County health-tech startups.

“Madison is positioned better than almost any other place in the country to help make health care more affordable, safer and get better outcomes,” said Bakken, who spoke at a standing-room-only luncheon hosted by the Wisconsin Innovation Network Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel. Bakken, a UW-Madison computer science graduate and serial entrepreneur who has started several other companies in Wisconsin, including Goliath Networks and Bedrock, said HealthX Ventures is raising its first fund of $20 million and has plans to begin investing soon. It has already brought in more than $4 million.

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