[Updated 7/3/19, 2:25 pm CT. See below.] Before everyone checks out for the Fourth of July holiday, let’s catch up on some recent Wisconsin innovation news:
—Shine Medical Technologies has raised $18 million in new funding, a combination of equity and stock options, according to a filing with the SEC. The round could reach $30 million, the document shows.
In November, Shine announced a $30 million-plus Series B funding round backed by undisclosed investors, as well as a deal with Deerfield Management to receive up to $150 million in financing that would be doled out in stages, based upon Shine hitting certain milestones. Janesville-based Shine is developing particle accelerator technology used to produce a crucial medical radioisotope. The company is constructing a manufacturing facility that is expected to begin commercial production in 2021, Shine said in November.
—Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) will donate $1.25 million in cash to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute, a collaboration between academia, industry, and government focused on developing connected device technologies for the industrial “Internet of Things.” The institute’s business partners include Seattle-based Microsoft, Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation (NYSE: [[ticker:ROK]]), and Boston-based PTC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PTC]]). Microsoft will also donate $250,000 worth of cloud computing services and $80,000 in computing hardware, according to a UWM press release.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned a master’s degree in computer science from UWM, and his company is an investor in TitletownTech, a multi-faceted initiative in Green Bay, WI, dedicated to nurturing innovation and economic activity in northeastern Wisconsin and beyond.
—Datica Health, a Madison-based healthcare technology firm, said it merged with Minneapolis-based Sansoro Health. Terms of the deal weren’t released. The combined entity, which sells software tools for securing cloud-based applications and integrating patient data from various sources, has adopted the name Datica and is headquartered in Minneapolis. Sansoro co-founder and CEO Jeremy Pierotti will serve as chief executive of the combined business, while Datica Health co-founder and CEO Travis Good will be the chief technology officer.
Six-year-old Datica Health, formerly known as Catalyze, raised at least $12.5 million in venture funding from investors including Lewis and Clark Ventures, Arthur Ventures, Baird Venture Partners, Chicago Ventures, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), Angels on the Water, and startup accelerator Gener8tor. [This announcement added.—Eds.]
—Madison-based medical diagnostics firm Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXAS]]) does not have to repay state tax credits because it created more jobs in Wisconsin than its contract with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. required, according to an Associated Press report. In May, Exact said it was willing to repay $61,000 in tax credits after an audit of the WEDC determined that money was awarded for 261 jobs created outside of Wisconsin. But Exact also asked WEDC to review the company’s in-state job creation figures, and it found that Exact had exceeded its Wisconsin job creation goal by 352 jobs, the AP reported.
—MKE Tech Hub, a Northwestern Mutual-led initiative aimed at supporting Milwaukee’s tech sector, plans to launch an early-stage startup incubator this fall called For-M, according to a BizTimes Media report.
