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| May 29, 2026 | Musk Memphis Week: Colossus Lease Recast, $185M Land Buy, Pollution Suit | By Richard L. Wells
Published: May 29 2026, 11:09 AM EDT
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| May 7, 2026 | From Spreadsheets to Smart Systems: How Wisconsin Companies Are Putting AI to Work | Katie Schmitz, Ziegler Link-age Funds, moderates the Enterprise AI Leadership Plenary Panel at the 2026 Wisconsin Tech Summit in Oshkosh.
From a healthcare software firm in Verona to a dairy and beverage producer in Green Bay—companies acro... |
| May 6, 2026 | Venture Investors rebrands as Clarevia Ventures | After more than 40 years as Venture Investors Health Fund, the Madison-based firm has rebranded as Clarevia Ventures, reflecting what leaders describe as a more defined focus on early-stage healthcare investing.
Founded in 1984, the firm ha... |
| Feb 18, 2026 | WEDC awards $3.5M to expand Wisconsin startup ecosystem through four innovation initiatives | The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) has awarded $3.5 million in grants to four organizations aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship and supporting high-growth startups across the state.
Announced by Gov. Tony Evers and WEDC, th... |
| Feb 8, 2026 | Panel discussion centers on integrating data centers into state economy | Last week, a panel discussion hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council focused on how Wisconsin can integrate large-scale data centers into the state’s economy, with participants broadly aligned that the question facing policymakers is ho... |
| Nov 3, 2025 | Shake Defi aims to make cryptocurrency transactions safer | Brookfield-based fintech startup Shake Defi is developing a secure escrow platform designed to make cryptocurrency transactions as safe and straightforward as traditional online payments. Co-founder Matthew Anderson will introduce the compa... |
| Nov 3, 2025 | Float applies AI to ‘high-frequency decision-making,’ beyond trading | Waukesha-based startup Float is reimagining how artificial intelligence can make rapid, data-driven decisions in high-stakes environments. The company, co-founded by mathematicians Dr. John Stogin and Dr. John Wilshere Gordon, began with an... |
| Oct 29, 2025 | Dozens of Wisconsin startups to pitch at Early Stage Symposium | More than 60 emerging companies will take the stage during the 2025 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium, presented by the Wisconsin Technology Council, to share their ideas with investors, mentors and peers.
Three different pitch tracks will sh... |
| Sep 21, 2025 | Milwaukee schools highlight impact of tech transfer | Universities play a key role in turning research discoveries into products and services. The process, known as technology transfer, was the focus of a recent Wisconsin Technology Council Innovation Network luncheon featuring leaders from ar... |
| Aug 6, 2025 | Wisconsin startup funding dips in 2024 but deal size hits decade high | Wisconsin’s early stage companies raised a combined $374.1 million in 2024 across 92 deals, according to the Wisconsin Technology Council’s newly released Wisconsin Portfolio. While the total marked the state’s lowest since 2018, the median... |
| Jul 22, 2025 | Oshkosh company wins Governor’s Business Plan Contest | From Personal Loss to Global Innovation: Oshkosh Startup Wins Governor’s Business Plan Contest for Life-Saving Wound Care Solution
An Oshkosh-based company that has created a new dressing to serve people with diabetic foot ulcers won the gr... |
| Jun 25, 2025 | Nominations open for 2025 Wisconsin Innovation Awards | Nominations and applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Wisconsin Innovation Awards, which recognize groundbreaking ideas across all sectors of the state’s economy. The deadline to apply or nominate is July 15.
Hosted by the Wiscon... |
| May 14, 2025 | Finalists named in 2025 WI Governor’s Business Plan Contest | Finalists representing a wide range of Wisconsin’s tech-based sectors will present their ideas live in Madison on Wednesday, June 4, as part of the annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest. The event will take place at the Monona T... |
| Mar 31, 2025 | Finalists in Gov’s Biz Plan Contest announced | Twenty-five entries representing broad sectors such as advanced manufacturing, business services, information technology and life sciences will compete in the finalist round of the 2025 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
The contes... |
| Mar 10, 2025 | Tykr: Startup makes investing more accessible | Milwaukee-based Tykr is one of 52 companies named a semi-finalist in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, presented by the Wisconsin Technology Council. Founded by Sean Tepper in 2020, the startup has built an algorithm-driven pl... |
| Feb 25, 2025 | WI Gov’s BPC semi-finalists announced | The semi-finalists in the 2025 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, presented by the Wisconsin Technology Council have been announced.
Fifty-two contestants emerged in first-round competition involving an independent panel of about 7... |
| Dec 8, 2024 | PhoenixAID on the rise | A unique bandage that blocks infections and accelerates healing caught the attention of Silicon Valley’s Pegasus Tech Ventures last month, earning Oshkosh-based PhoenixAID a chance to compete on the world stage.
Twenty-three technology-base... |
| Nov 18, 2024 | And the winners are | The Wisconsin Technology Council hosted its annual Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium last week in Madison. The event offered emerging companies the opportunity to pitch investors and learn how to navigate the entrepreneurial waters in Wiscons... |
| Jul 24, 2024 | WTC releases annual startup funding report | The Wisconsin Technology Council (WTC) released The Wisconsin Portfolio, its annual report on the status of early-stage startup investing in 2023. The organization, which has been compiling this data since 2008, provided highlights of the r... |
| Jun 17, 2024 | Rockhopper sees opportunity in ice | “Do you consider yourself ‘ice obsessed?’,” Dan Guenther asked the crowd gathered to watch the 2024 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest Pitch Competition.
This question sparked lively discussions at the 2024 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ ... |
| Jun 6, 2024 | And the winners are…. | The Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest began in January with nearly 150 applicants and concluded this afternoon. The 13 remaining contests pitched their companies to a judging body composed of key members of the Wisconsin startup ec... |
| May 21, 2024 | Meet the Members of the Diligent (Baker’s) Dozen from the Milwaukee 7 Region | The Wisconsin Technology Council announced the finalists in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest. Known as the “Diligent (Baker’s) Dozen,” 13 early-stage business founders will present their businesses to judges and attendees of t... |
| May 13, 2024 | Shepherd Traffic gets green light into Finalist round of WI Gov’s BPC | Inspiration comes in many forms. For Joel Roberts, it was impatience that inspired him.
“I would sit at a lot of red lights late at night when no one was there. I thought ‘someone could do this better. I can go through (the intersection). W... |
| Apr 15, 2024 | Lotza named WI Gov’s BPC finalist | Food and Beverage industry newcomer, Lotza, headquartered in Menomonee Falls, is a finalist in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Competition. Launched in 2023, Lotza is an alcohol-free “carbonated drink mixer made with real fruit, plan... |
| Apr 2, 2024 | Finalists in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest announced | Twenty-five Wisconsin startups will compete in the finalist round of the 2024 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest. Eleven of the companies in the round are located in the Milwaukee 7 region.
The contestants have emerged after two ro... |
| Jan 19, 2024 | AI transforms VocaTone offerings | Since winning the People’s Choice Award in the Elevator Pitch Olympics at the Early Stage Symposium in 2022, the VocaTone team has been hard at work developing the latest version of its vocal synthesizer technology.
VocaTone Studio develop... |
| Nov 27, 2023 | Nommli provides delicious cultural experiences | FOR-M graduate Nommli was one of the six companies that received a $10,000 grant at the recent Founder Showcase. The Madison-based company has developed a food technology platform designed to sell authentic food from various cultures to a n... |
| Nov 14, 2023 | Wisconsin’s Qualified New Business Venture program | Lesson from the Early Stage Symposium: The Office Hours
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) staff members Joey Frayne and Chris Schiffner hosted an Office Hours session at the Wisconsin Technology Council’s Early Stage Sympos... |
| Apr 11, 2023 | Finalists in Gov’s Biz Plan Contest announced | Twenty-six entries representing sectors such as health care, cleantech, education, software and innovations in products or services are competing in the finalist round of the 20th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
The cont... |
| Apr 7, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Apr 3, 2023 | Digital health news, funding round up in the prior week; April 3, 2023 | SimpleTherapy bought PhysMetrics; Wellvana Health raised $84M; Parsley Health expanded to NY and CA
Top Health News
Mantra Health, a provider of virtual mental health services for college students, partnered with Togetherall, an online comm... |
| Mar 31, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Mar 24, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Mar 3, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Feb 24, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Feb 17, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Feb 10, 2023 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Nov 28, 2022 | VocaTone Studio gives a voice to the world | Kenosha-based tech startup VocaTone Studio was among the most talked about startups at this year’s Early Stage Symposium. The company won over the audience while competing in the Elevator Pitch Olympics at the event, capturing the coveted P... |
| Nov 16, 2022 | In the Know | Here are a few key stories from the Milwaukee startup ecosystem you may have missed this week.
Feeling Lucky?
Scale Up Milwaukee is putting some capital into the holiday stocking of three local businesses.
The organization has opened app... |
| Nov 16, 2022 | Strategies for finding tech talent to drive startup success | Attracting tech talent today is a challenging, costly business, especially for entrepreneurs who may be big on ambition but low on money.
Although the tech industry is undergoing a turbulent period, with massive layoffs at industry giants s... |
| Nov 7, 2022 | WTC hosts Early Stage Symposium | This week, MKEStartup.News is live from Madison to cover the 2022 Early Stage Symposium hosted by The Wisconsin Technology Council. The event allows emerging technology startups to connect with investors and resources to support the compani... |
| Nov 4, 2022 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Sep 23, 2022 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Sep 16, 2022 | TGIF: This week in startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Sep 9, 2022 | TGIF: This week in startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Jun 6, 2022 | Milwaukee firm wins Governor’s Business Plan Contest with technology for cleaner water | Rapid Radicals Technology, a Milwaukee company with a system to stop untreated sewage from being dumped into waterways, took the top prize in this year’s Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
Each year, trillions of gallons of untreat... |
| Jun 2, 2022 | Live from the 20th Annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference | Wisconsin Technology Council’s annual conference was hosted in Milwaukee and brought together entrepreneurs and investors from across the state.
Highlights of the conference included presentations from the finalists in the Governor’s Busin... |
| May 18, 2022 | Local students make big impact in Wisconsin YES! contest | The future of entrepreneurship is glowing bright in the Milwaukee area.
The Wisconsin YES! semi-finalists have been announced. Dubbed the “Studious Sixteen,” 10 of the semi-finalists hale from the metro-Milwaukee area.
Wisconsin YES! (You... |
| May 2, 2022 | Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference scheduled for June 1-2 in Milwaukee | The Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, among the largest events targeted for entrepreneurs in the upper Midwest, will return to Milwaukee on June 1-2.
The 20th annual conference, titled “Putting Early Stage Pieces Together,” will be an in... |
| Apr 22, 2022 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some startup ecos... |
| Mar 17, 2022 | A focus on financing at WI Tech Summit | The Wisconsin Technology Council and the Wisconsin Healthcare Business Forum produced the 2022 Wisconsin Tech Summit hosted at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Monday, March 14. The event provided an organized opportunity for young ... |
| Feb 24, 2022 | COnovate: Power pioneers hit new milestones | In 2010, professors Dr. Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska and Dr. Carol Hirschmugl identified the first known form of solid carbon monoxide at room temperature while working in the lab on the UW Milwaukee campus.
From their countless hours of... |
| Nov 22, 2021 | COnovate: Update on MKE’s power pioneers | The physicists at the helm of COnovate had the opportunity to present their COphite, a carbon-based nanomaterial for innovators and investors at Wisconsin Technology Council’s Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium earlier this month. Part of the ... |
| Nov 12, 2021 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some good startup... |
| Oct 29, 2021 | TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funded): This week in MKE startup success | It’s Friday, finally! Time to catch up on some of the good things happening in our great city’s startup and entrepreneurship scene. Below is a list of click-worthy articles that will end your week with a smile. If you have some good startup... |
| Jan 14, 2020 | US VC Funding Hit $136B in 2019, Great Lakes Startup Funding on the Rise | New data shows that even though national venture capital activity was slightly down in 2019, the overall trend over the last decade reflects an economy in which VC funding continues to flow steadily upward as startup hubs across the country... |
| Nov 1, 2019 | BETA Showcase, Greater MN, and Launch MN comes to St. Cloud | Twin Cities Startup Week is over! It was a busy week for many of us in the tech and innovation community, with around 300 events to attend and thousands of people to meet. |
| Oct 3, 2019 | The Greater MN Meetup, Parallax, and Exponential Medicine | This year, Greater MN is joining Twin Cities Startup Week in a big way! The premier event of TCSW is including Greater MN for the first time, as Great North Labs has partnered with BETA to open up the BETA Showcase to Greater MN startups. B... |
| Jun 19, 2019 | WI Watchlist: Aaron Rodgers, Redox, Zywave, Rusinow & More | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
It’s time to catch up on some recent Wisconsin innovation news:
—Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a new title: venture capitalist. He co-founded and serves as g... |
| Jun 26, 2018 | The Biggest Wisconsin Venture Round of the Decade… Didn’t Happen | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Details surrounding a $127.4 million funding round, which groups that track venture capital investments have said Janesville, WI-based Shine Medical Technologies raised in 201... |
| May 1, 2018 | Wisconsin Inno Approved: May's Top Tech and Startup Events | Inno Approved is our monthly roundup of the best tech and startup events in Wisconsin.
Be sure to browse through the below meetups and add as many as you can to your calendar. (If we missed an important or relevant one, let us know at Wisco... |
| Apr 10, 2018 | Wisconsin Inno Approved: April's Top Tech and Startup Events | Inno Approved is our monthly roundup of the best tech and startup events in Wisconsin.
Be sure to browse through the below meetups and add as many as you can to your calendar. (If we missed an important or relevant one, let us know at Wisco... |
| Apr 6, 2018 | Tax Credits, IVMD, BrightStar, & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Whoever came up with the rhyme “April showers bring May flowers” probably wasn’t talking about snow showers. As people in Wisconsin hope for this week’s flurries to give way t... |
| Feb 20, 2018 | Shine, BrightStar, Understory & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Catch up on the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines:
—Shine Medical Technologies completed construction on an 11,400-square-foot prot... |
| Aug 23, 2017 | WARF’s Erik Iverson Announces New VC Funds, Therapeutics Program | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s tech transfer office plans to invest $60 million in startups affiliated with the school over the next eight years and has launched a sepa... |
| Jul 12, 2017 | Exact, Microscopy, FairSquare, & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Keep up with the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines:
—Exact Sciences is evaluating two potential sites where it would house a second... |
| Jun 14, 2017 | Report: Wisconsin Startups Raised $276M in 2016, Up From 2015 Total | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Venture capital funds and angel investors pumped more than $276 million into Wisconsin-based startups in 2016. That was a 6 percent increase over the previous year, when early... |
| Jun 9, 2017 | Exact, WARF, Murfie, Microbes, & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Keep up with the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines.
—Madison-based Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS), whose flagship product is a stool... |
| May 19, 2017 | Where Do WI And Milwaukee, Last In Startup Activity, Go From Here? | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Call it a “three-peat,” a losing streak, or what you will. Just don’t call it a surprise.
On Thursday, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation released its latest ranking of star... |
| Apr 12, 2017 | Third Fund Under State Program Gets $6M, To Be Based in Southern WI | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
A program supported in part by the state of Wisconsin that’s aimed at helping startups raise venture capital said it invested $6 million in a new fund based in the southern pa... |
| Sep 1, 2016 | Data Centers, Tax Credits, and the Conservative Case for Cleantech | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
In December, officials in Michigan approved the construction of a $2 billion data center in the western part of the state that’s projected to create 1,000 jobs over the next 1... |
| Jul 7, 2016 | Early-Stage Investment in WI Dipped in 2015, But Some Positive Signs | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Venture capital funds and angel investors pumped $209.5 million into young Wisconsin-based startups in 2015. While that’s down from $346.2 million in 2014, that year’s total w... |
| Jul 9, 2015 | Wisconsin Startups Cashed in on Venture Capital Bonanza in 2014 | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Last year was a great one for startups nationwide trying to raise money from investors, and the venture capital boom was felt even in the normally cash-starved state of Wiscon... |
| Jun 27, 2014 | Wisconsin Edtech Startup StudyBlue Raises $1.7M | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
[Updated 6/30/14, 3:53 pm. See below.] StudyBlue, a Madison, WI-based edtech startup, has raised $1.7 million from investors, a new SEC filing shows.
StudyBlue said the money ... |
| May 27, 2014 | Wisconsin Roundup: Ideadvance, MiKE, Fontarome Chemical, & More | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
It’s coming down to the wire for the Wisconsin startups competing in the Governor’s Business Plan Contest. A group of 12 early-stage companies born at Wisconsin public univers... |
| May 1, 2014 | Speed Dating: Wisconsin’s Experiment to Connect Startups, Big Boys | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
Entrepreneurs can raise all the venture capital they want, but they know that in the long run, they don’t have a business without dollars flowing in from customers.
For startu... |
| Feb 13, 2014 | Former Wisconsin Gov. Thompson Wants to Form Angel Fund | Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter LinkedIn Email Reprints
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 i... |
| Jun 9, 2010 | I-Q Corridor is the stuff of dreamers. Oh, but what a dream! | Ever heard of the I-Q Corridor? Unless you’re an economic development geek, probably not.
The concept, first penned in a little-noticed Wisconsin Technology Council white paper, envisions an economic superhighway of sorts connecting the Twi... |
| I-Q Corridor is the stuff of dreamers. Oh, but what a dream! | Ever heard of the I-Q Corridor? Unless you’re an economic development geek, probably not.
The concept, first penned in a little-noticed Wisconsin Technology Council white paper, envisions an economic superhighway of sorts connecting the Twi... |
