Catch up on the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines:
—Delafield-based Montage Talent announced a partnership with Randstad Holding NV, a large human resources company based in the Netherlands that employs thousands of recruiters. Many Randstad employees already use Montage’s software for conducting video and phone interviews with job candidates, the company said. Montage said its collaboration with Randstad is part of the company’s initiative to improve recruiter performance through technology, and improve the job-seeking experience for candidates. Montage did not disclose financial terms of the partnership in a press release announcing the deal.
—Hungry people with smartphones will now be able to order food via Facebook’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FB]]) mobile app, and Madison-based EatStreet is one of the companies that has partnered with Facebook to roll out the new feature, TechCruch reported. EatStreet has brought its food ordering technology to hundreds of cities across the U.S. since launching in 2010, and now has more than 1,000 employees. PitchBook recently named EatStreet the most valuable venture-backed company in Wisconsin.
—Jamf, a software company that is based in Minneapolis but was born in Eau Claire and still employs hundreds at its office there, agreed to sell a majority of its shares to Austin, TX-based Vista Equity Partners. Jamf develops enterprise software for managing Apple devices, which is used by groups in industries such as education and healthcare. Reached by phone, Jamf CEO Dean Hager declined to comment on specific financial terms of his company’s deal with Vista Equity Partners.
—Solomo Technology, which makes location-based software allowing businesses to track customers and send promotional content to their smartphones, “suspended operations” earlier this year after a major customer severed ties with the Madison-based startup, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Solomo had been viewed as one of the area’s more promising startups; it raised more than $2 million in outside investment and also won $100,000 from AOL co-founder Steve Case in a 2014 pitch contest. Solomo CEO Liz Eversoll will reportedly continue to be involved with Whitewater-based Meeper Technology, which makes sensor-enabled robot toys.
—Rowheels raised $300,000 in convertible debt financing from four investors, according to an SEC filing. The Fitchburg-based startup manufactures and sells wheels that allow people in wheelchairs to propel themselves forward by pulling the hand rims—as if rowing a boat—rather than pushing them. Rowheels, which earlier this year brought on a new CEO, Fred Mindermann, has raised nearly $1.6 million since launching in 2012, according to regulatory filings.
—More funding news: Madison-based Cellectar Biosciences, which is developing drugs with the potential to treat malignant tumors and certain forms of blood cancer, said it raised more than $7.7 million in a “registered direct offering” of shares in the company. Cellectar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLRB]]) previously held stock offerings in November and April 2016, both for $8 million.
Separately, Cellectar announced it extended its partnership with Pierre Fabre, a French pharma company, that’s aimed in part at creating tumor-targeting compounds that can be used to treat cancer.
—Lawyers for the Fitchburg-based life science supplies business Promega fired back at a group of shareholders who sued the company last year after allegedly trying to coordinate a “hostile takeover” of Promega and oust its founder and CEO, Bill Linton. In a series of counterclaims filed recently in Dane County Circuit Court, attorneys representing Promega accuse Nathan Brand, Ted Kellner, and other plaintiffs in the lawsuit of conspiracy, fraud, and racketeering. The plaintiffs have until Nov. 2 to respond to the counterclaims.
