Here are a few of the latest headlines in Wisconsin’s innovation and technology community:
—Madison-based Murfie has raised $876,073 in a funding round that could total $1.25 million when it closes, according to a new SEC document. The money comes from angel investment groups, CEO Matt Younkle said. Murfie is an online marketplace for CD and vinyl record collectors.
—The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) has awarded $4 million to three Wisconsin groups that will invest in startups and growing small businesses. The agency allocated $1.5 million to the Madison Development Corp., which doles out loans and investments to Madison-area tech companies, but is considering expanding its focus outside of Dane County; $1 million to New Capital, a venture fund in northeastern Wisconsin; and $1.5 million to Kegonsa Capital Partners, which is co-managing the new Badger Fund of Funds that intends to seed new Wisconsin venture funds.
The three entities must raise at least $4 in private money for every $1 from WHEDA, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
—Milwaukee-based Ward 5 Code Camp has postponed the launch of its software coding training program as it plans its next move after Wisconsin’s Educational Approval Board told Ward 5 it needed to register with the state, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Xconomy detailed Ward 5’s launch plans in October.
—Silicon Pastures, the Milwaukee-based angel investment group, is among three new tenants in the Mid-West Energy Research Consortium’s new Energy Innovation Center located on Milwaukee’s north side. The others are law firm Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek and accounting firm Komisar Brady & Co. The investor group and business services providers are meant to be resources for the startups housed in the center’s cleantech startup incubator.
