of Things—where previously offline devices such as lamps and thermostats are updated with Internet capabilities—with advanced manufacturing and software analytics. That trend was suggested to BizTimes Media by Doug Fisher, an assistant professor at Marquette University who directs the school’s Center for Supply Chain Management.
—Alfalight, a company founded in Madison in 1998 that initially developed optoelectronic products for the telecommunications market before changing course to focus on producing laser systems, was acquired last year by U.K.-based Gooch & Housego for $1.3 million. Tens of millions of dollars came into Alfalight over the years, in the form of outside investment and grants awarded to the company by defense contractors and intelligence groups, including the CIA. One possible reason Alfalight did not fetch a high purchase price relative to the amount of funding that had flowed into the business over time is that it reportedly sold certain assets and commercial product lines to Phoenix-based Compound Photonics in 2013.
