Avid Ratings, a Madison WI-based real estate software company that has been operating since 1992 but is now seeking to fuel its growth with cash from venture capital investors, says it has raised $6 million as part of a Series A funding round. Residential construction businesses are the primary users of Avid’s technology, which the company … Continue reading “Real Estate Software Developer Avid Ratings Snags $6M to Fuel Growth”
Author: Jeff Buchanan
Jeff formerly led Xconomy’s Seattle coverage since. Before that, he spent three years as editor of Xconomy Wisconsin, primarily covering software and biotech companies based in the Badger State. A graduate of Vanderbilt, he worked in health IT prior to being bit by the journalism bug.
Redox Gets $3M for Tools That Help Hospitals, App Makers Share Data
Redox, a Madison, WI-based startup that develops digital tools enabling healthcare applications to exchange data with patient health records systems, has raised $3 million in debt funding, according to a document filed with federal securities regulators. Twelve investors participated in the financing round, according to the document. Redox has raised more than $15.8 million in … Continue reading “Redox Gets $3M for Tools That Help Hospitals, App Makers Share Data”
Phoenix Plans to Build New HQ After Inking $15M in New Contracts
Phoenix, which develops and sells particle accelerator-based neutron generators and other machines, says it plans to begin constructing new manufacturing and office buildings in Fitchburg, WI, a few miles south of the startup’s current Madison, WI, headquarters. The announcement does not come as a surprise. Phoenix president Evan Sengbusch said last fall that his company … Continue reading “Phoenix Plans to Build New HQ After Inking $15M in New Contracts”
Epic Building Tools to Help Patients Guard Their Health Data
New, Internet-connected devices—everything from watches that measure our steps and sleep to sensor-equipped inhalers able to track medication use—are starting to deliver on their promise of giving healthcare providers a fuller picture of what, and how, their patients are doing when they’re not in for a check-up. But the more gadgets and software applications patients … Continue reading “Epic Building Tools to Help Patients Guard Their Health Data”
Epic, CEO Faulkner Confront Life as a Big Tech Company in 2018
Almost all of Epic Systems’ growth during the nearly four decades the healthcare software powerhouse has been in business has come from selling products and services developed internally, which founder and CEO Judy Faulkner has argued is preferable to expanding through mergers and acquisitions. “We’re a software factory. We build our own software. We do … Continue reading “Epic, CEO Faulkner Confront Life as a Big Tech Company in 2018”
UW-Madison to Upgrade Engineering Campus With $100M Foxconn Gift
Foxconn, a leading Taiwanese contract manufacturer constructing a huge electronic display assembly plant in Southeastern Wisconsin, announced a $100 million gift to the state’s flagship public university Monday. The company’s gift to the University of Wisconsin-Madison will support research and development of new technologies statewide, Foxconn said. The nine-figure gift from Foxconn is one of … Continue reading “UW-Madison to Upgrade Engineering Campus With $100M Foxconn Gift”
Foxconn, Doyenne, Socialeads & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist
Madison, WI, and suburbs west of the city have received record rainfall this week, and more storms appear to be headed for the capital city this weekend. Those forecasts have created fears of further flooding and road closures downtown, which sits on an isthmus between two lakes. Your correspondent retreated to his home office after … Continue reading “Foxconn, Doyenne, Socialeads & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
Gener8tor Creates Los Angeles Accelerator for Music Tech Startups
Gener8tor has its sights set on Hollywood. The organization, which since 2012 has held training and mentorship programs for entrepreneurs in its home state of Wisconsin and other parts of the Midwest, said Wednesday that it has teamed up with Capitol Music Group to launch a new music technology accelerator program in Los Angeles. The … Continue reading “Gener8tor Creates Los Angeles Accelerator for Music Tech Startups”
Exact Sciences Shares Rise After Company Unveils Pfizer Partnership
[Updated 8/22/18 3:22 p.m. See below.] Exact Sciences has recently been ramping up its efforts to market Cologuard, the company’s flagship diagnostic test that screens patients for colorectal cancer. Since the start of 2017, Madison, WI-based Exact has brought on recording artist Harry Connick Jr. and pro golfer Jerry Kelly as spokesmen, and announced a … Continue reading “Exact Sciences Shares Rise After Company Unveils Pfizer Partnership”
Anchors and Diversity: Lessons From Philly at Madison’s Forward Fest
Archna Sahay was hired as the city of Philadelphia’s director of entrepreneurial investment in early 2015, after she had spent more than a decade working in investment banking. During her term, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter and other city employees worked to make the city a place where more entrepreneurs would want to start and grow … Continue reading “Anchors and Diversity: Lessons From Philly at Madison’s Forward Fest”
Ohio Insurer Turns to Propeller Health for Digital Approach to COPD
Propeller Health said this week that it has partnered with an Ohio-based health insurer to help a group of its Medicare patients who have respiratory disease better manage their symptoms. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio has begun recruiting patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to participate in a new program that … Continue reading “Ohio Insurer Turns to Propeller Health for Digital Approach to COPD”
LUM Wins Startup Pitch Contest, Earns Shot at Silicon Valley VCs
Live Undiscovered Music, a Madison, WI-based startup whose software helps users discover new music and share it with friends, captured first place in one of the state’s more closely watched pitch competitions Thursday. The startup, which goes by LUM for short, won a contest known as “Pressure Chamber,” which is put on by the Great … Continue reading “LUM Wins Startup Pitch Contest, Earns Shot at Silicon Valley VCs”
UW-Madison Engineering Prof to Co-Lead New Biomanufacturing Initiative
The University of Wisconsin-Madison said Wednesday that Bill Murphy, an engineering professor at the school who has also helped launch several startup companies, will co-lead a new biomanufacturing collaboration that will seek to promote technological innovation and job creation across the state. The collaboration, called the Forward Bio Initiative, will kick off in the fall, … Continue reading “UW-Madison Engineering Prof to Co-Lead New Biomanufacturing Initiative”
Goal of Epic Summit for Non-Clients Is Better Health Records Sharing
For years, the patient records software company Epic Systems has held an annual conference, which attracts thousands of leaders from hospitals and clinics that use Epic’s software to the company’s headquarters in Verona, WI. The customer conference, known as Users Group Meeting, or UGM, has now inspired a spinoff, Epic says. On Sept. 26, the … Continue reading “Goal of Epic Summit for Non-Clients Is Better Health Records Sharing”
Race for Governor, Foxconn, Promega & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist
Voters in Wisconsin will head to the polls on Tuesday, Aug. 14 to cast ballots in primary races for governor and other elected offices. Read on to learn about connections between some of the candidates for governor and the state’s technology and business sectors, as well as other recent headlines from Wisconsin’s innovation community: —Gov. … Continue reading “Race for Governor, Foxconn, Promega & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
Midwestern BioAg CEO: Organic Label About Marketing, Not Nutrition
Midwestern BioAg has been in business for more than three decades, and during that time it has worked with thousands of farmers to implement the Madison, WI-based company’s recommended soil and crop care practices on about four million acres of farmland, says CEO Tony Michaels. Founded in 1983, Midwestern BioAg initially fueled its growth through … Continue reading “Midwestern BioAg CEO: Organic Label About Marketing, Not Nutrition”
CVS, Teladoc Offering $59 Virtual Health Visits for Minor Conditions
CVS Health on Wednesday introduced a new telemedicine service for people with minor illnesses and injuries, which the Rhode Island-based pharmacy giant says will allow patients in nine U.S. states and Washington, D.C., to pay $59 for an online videoconference with a licensed healthcare professional. CVS (NYSE: [[ticker:CVS]]), which bestrides the healthcare and retail industries, … Continue reading “CVS, Teladoc Offering $59 Virtual Health Visits for Minor Conditions”
Bird Takes Scooters Off Milwaukee Streets, Agrees to Work With City
Five weeks after Bird put a fleet of about 100 motorized scooters in Milwaukee, the company says it’s pulling the vehicles off of the city’s streets until a framework is established allowing them to operate legally there. The City of Milwaukee and Santa Monica, CA-based Bird on Monday issued a joint news release saying Bird … Continue reading “Bird Takes Scooters Off Milwaukee Streets, Agrees to Work With City”
Exact Sciences, Harley, Frontdesk & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist
Catch up on news from Wisconsin innovation’s community with these recent headlines: —Exact Sciences said Wednesday that it completed a lower number of its flagship diagnostic test, which screens patients for colorectal cancer, during the three-month period ended June 30 than it had projected previously. The announcement sent shares in the Madison-based company lower in … Continue reading “Exact Sciences, Harley, Frontdesk & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
HealthMyne, Developer of Health Records Analytics Software, Adds $15M
HealthMyne, a Madison, WI-based startup developing software that integrates medical imaging data and information from patients’ electronic health records, says it has raised $15 million in new funding. Ascension Ventures, an investment arm of the St. Louis-based healthcare provider Ascension, led the Series B funding round, HealthMyne says. Other participants included two Madison-based VC Funds … Continue reading “HealthMyne, Developer of Health Records Analytics Software, Adds $15M”
Ideawake’s Collaboration Tools Help Companies Identify, Solve Issues
In 1974, Arthur Fry, then a scientist at 3M, heard about a new type of glue his colleague Spencer Silver was developing. The adhesive was strong enough to make two things stick together, but weak enough for them to be easily pulled apart. As the story goes, Fry had been using small paper scraps to … Continue reading “Ideawake’s Collaboration Tools Help Companies Identify, Solve Issues”
Fiserv, Comply365, Open Data & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist
Stay current on news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —Fiserv Forum: That’s the newly unveiled name of the arena the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks will play at when the league’s season begins in September. The arena’s namesake is Fiserv (NYSE: [[ticker:FISV]]), a company headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield that provides banks, … Continue reading “Fiserv, Comply365, Open Data & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist”
Moonrise, New Service for Gig Workers, Shares Chicago Pilot Results
[Updated 7/27/18 9:44 a.m. See below.] American Family Insurance on Wednesday made public new details on Moonrise, a startup spun out by the insurer that has developed technology allowing people looking to make extra money to sign up for shifts at businesses near where they live. This year, Moonrise has been conducting a pilot of … Continue reading “Moonrise, New Service for Gig Workers, Shares Chicago Pilot Results”
FDA Approves NorthStar Medical to Make Isotope Generator at WI Plant
A Wisconsin company seeking to become the first domestic producer in decades of a crucial medical isotope said Tuesday that it received another key approval from the FDA. NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes said the agency approved a still-to-be-built facility at the company’s Beloit, WI, headquarters to manufacture a device that could be key to supplying a … Continue reading “FDA Approves NorthStar Medical to Make Isotope Generator at WI Plant”
Promega Breaks Ground on $190M R&D Building: Slideshow
Things have been booming at Promega—literally. The Fitchburg, WI-based life science supplies business on Wednesday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 270,000-square-foot research and development facility that the company expects to open in late 2020. The event, which about 350 people attended, even included a daytime fireworks display. The fireworks were arranged to demonstrate the … Continue reading “Promega Breaks Ground on $190M R&D Building: Slideshow”
Epic Systems Pauses HQ Construction After 15 Years of Constant Growth
[Updated 7/22/18 12:48 p.m. See below.] The cranes are gone from Epic Systems’ corporate campus in Verona, WI. After more than a decade of near-perpetual expansion, the fast-growing healthcare software company is taking a break from new building construction, Xconomy has learned. Epic’s employee count has more than tripled in the past decade, from a … Continue reading “Epic Systems Pauses HQ Construction After 15 Years of Constant Growth”
Moonshot Insights Bets on Algorithms to Address Biases in Hiring
In recent weeks, there’s been some local buzz about a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison students that’s getting set to participate in the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition, which will take place next week in Hawthorne, CA. This year, the team hopes to run its pod on SpaceX’s hyperloop test track, an opportunity it was denied … Continue reading “Moonshot Insights Bets on Algorithms to Address Biases in Hiring”
Hyperloop, Cellectar, Cheeks & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist
Keep up with news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —A team of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has constructed a third prototype for a vehicle designed to zoom through an above-ground vacuum tube at speeds that can exceed 300 miles per hour, the school said. The “Badgerloop” team is one of … Continue reading “Hyperloop, Cellectar, Cheeks & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist”
Foxconn Buys Eau Claire Office Space, Partners with Advocate Aurora
Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant, is making more moves in Wisconsin at it prepares to build a massive electronics factory in the southeast corner of the state. Foxconn said on Monday that it has agreed to buy one building in downtown Eau Claire, WI, and it has purchased office space in another, with the intention … Continue reading “Foxconn Buys Eau Claire Office Space, Partners with Advocate Aurora”
Telkonet Brings on Roth Capital to Explore Sale or Other Deals
Telkonet, a small Milwaukee-area energy management and connected devices company, said this week it had hired the investment bank Roth Capital Partners “to explore strategic alternatives” with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. Jason Tienor, president and CEO of Telkonet (OTCMKTS: [[ticker:TKOI]]), said his company will likely consider a variety of transaction types after doing … Continue reading “Telkonet Brings on Roth Capital to Explore Sale or Other Deals”
C-Motive, Startup Developing Electric Motor Technology, Raises $750K
Cobalt is one of the ingredients in a type of rare earth magnet that, along with other rare earth magnets like neodymium and dysprosium, can be found in electric motors, smartphone batteries, and other products that are popular among consumers and manufacturers today. The price of cobalt more than doubled in 2017, according to the … Continue reading “C-Motive, Startup Developing Electric Motor Technology, Raises $750K”
BrightStar, Gener8tor Nix Deal Promising Funds for Accelerator Grads
[Updated 7/11/18 11:02 a.m. See below.] Two Wisconsin-based organizations that invest in startups have done away with an arrangement they made four years ago that was aimed at getting early-stage companies to move to—or stay in—the state, and create jobs there. Since 2014, the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation has guaranteed a $50,000 investment in each graduate … Continue reading “BrightStar, Gener8tor Nix Deal Promising Funds for Accelerator Grads”
Gregor Diagnostics Raises $900K to Develop New Prostate Cancer Test
Gregor Diagnostics has raised $900,000 from investors as part of a seed funding round that the Madison, WI-based startup says will support its efforts to develop a new, at-home screening test for prostate cancer that it hopes will offer a more precise alternative to the current testing standard for the disease. San Francisco-based First Round … Continue reading “Gregor Diagnostics Raises $900K to Develop New Prostate Cancer Test”
Following Farm Deal With General Mills, Midwestern BioAg Nabs $15M
Midwestern BioAg, a Madison, WI-based maker and vendor of fertilizers, seed, and other biological products that it says can help farmers boost soil fertility, has raised more than $15 million in new equity funding from three investors, according to a document filed with federal securities regulators. The company works with farmers in Wisconsin and neighboring … Continue reading “Following Farm Deal With General Mills, Midwestern BioAg Nabs $15M”
Fresh Off Launch of First Test, TAI Diagnostics Adds Funding
As TAI Diagnostics presses forward on commercialization of its first product, a test for organ rejection in heart transplant patients, the Wauwatosa, WI-based startup recently revealed additional funding to support development of more tests. TAI Diagnostics is developing a series of non-invasive tests to monitor the health of transplant recipients. The company’s name stands for … Continue reading “Fresh Off Launch of First Test, TAI Diagnostics Adds Funding”
Foxconn, Data Science, Roche & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist
The collective eyes of Wisconsin’s business and technology communities are focused on a groundbreaking ceremony that Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturing giant, plans to hold Thursday at the site of its future electronic display production facility in the state’s southeastern corner. President Donald Trump and other big-name politicians like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Wisconsin … Continue reading “Foxconn, Data Science, Roche & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist”
It’s a Bird! A Bike! A Scooter! New Transit Options Land in Milwaukee
[Update 6/28/18 5:24 p.m.] Less than 24 hours after Bird rolled out a fleet of 100 motorized scooters in downtown Milwaukee that people can rent using Bird’s smartphone app, Milwaukee Deputy City Attorney Adam Stephens wrote the company a letter asking Bird to “immediately remove all of the motorized scooters held out for rent on … Continue reading “It’s a Bird! A Bike! A Scooter! New Transit Options Land in Milwaukee”
GE to Spin Out Healthcare Division in Corporate Restructuring
General Electric said Tuesday that it plans to spin its GE Healthcare division out into a separate company and make other major structural changes in a bid to reduce debt and narrow the iconic yet ever-evolving American company’s areas of focus. GE Healthcare, which is headquartered in Chicago, said its 54,000 employees are scattered across … Continue reading “GE to Spin Out Healthcare Division in Corporate Restructuring”
The Biggest Wisconsin Venture Round of the Decade… Didn’t Happen
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 2014, were misconstrued in the years after the round was announced, according to people familiar with the deal. The Wisconsin Technology Council said as recently as last year that Shine’s 2014 funding … Continue reading “The Biggest Wisconsin Venture Round of the Decade… Didn’t Happen”
Student-Entrepreneur from Wisconsin Named 2018 Thiel Fellow
A student-entrepreneur from Oregon, WI, who runs a medical supplies company based in the Twin Cities, where she’s attended college the past two years, will receive $100,000 to take a leave from her studies and continue building the business following her selection as a 2018 Thiel Fellow. The Thiel Fellowship program, named for PayPal co-founder … Continue reading “Student-Entrepreneur from Wisconsin Named 2018 Thiel Fellow”
Tcare’s Software Aids People Who Live with, and Care for, Loved Ones
Retiring baby boomers are expected to more than double Medicare and Medicaid costs from 2017 to 2020, according to industry data. That may just be the tip of the iceberg: by 2035, Medicare will account for 8 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, according to projections by the Congressional Budget Office. One major reason … Continue reading “Tcare’s Software Aids People Who Live with, and Care for, Loved Ones”
New Amazon-Led Healthcare Venture Taps Surgeon, Author Gawande as CEO
The new, independent, healthcare-focused company Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase plan to launch made a big splash when it was first announced in January, but few details have emerged since. On Wednesday, the trio of American business heavyweights revealed a little more. They said Atul Gawande, a surgeon and author who is well known … Continue reading “New Amazon-Led Healthcare Venture Taps Surgeon, Author Gawande as CEO”
CVS Health Expands Delivery, as Pharmacies Try to Keep Amazon at Bay
CVS Health said Tuesday that it has expanded its prescription-drug delivery service nationwide. Customers of the Rhode Island-based retail pharmacy giant, which operates about 9,800 stores in the U.S., will be able to get their medications, as well as over-the-counter items, delivered to their mailboxes in one to two days, said CVS Pharmacy, the retail … Continue reading “CVS Health Expands Delivery, as Pharmacies Try to Keep Amazon at Bay”
Foxconn, Arrowhead, NorthStar & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist
Catch up on news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —Foxconn paid nearly $15 million for an office building in downtown Milwaukee that will serve as the company’s North American headquarters, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The location chosen by the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant does not come as a major surprise; in … Continue reading “Foxconn, Arrowhead, NorthStar & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist”
Quest Analytics Buys Healthcare Compliance Software Firm BetterDoctor
BetterDoctor, a San Francisco-based startup that has built a national database with information on physicians, dentists, and other practitioners, has been acquired by a Wisconsin software analytics business, the companies said Monday. Appleton, WI-based Quest Analytics said that following its purchase of BetterDoctor, the combined company will build a “comprehensive platform” to help health plans … Continue reading “Quest Analytics Buys Healthcare Compliance Software Firm BetterDoctor”
Rock River Capital Nabs Another $15M to Invest in Midwest Startups
A young Wisconsin venture capital firm says it has raised more than $15 million for a fund created under a program partially supported by the state of Wisconsin and aimed at increasing the amount of funding available to Badger State startups. Rock River Capital Partners said in a document filed with the SEC on Friday … Continue reading “Rock River Capital Nabs Another $15M to Invest in Midwest Startups”
Built on Quantum Mechanics, Intraband Eyes Missile Defense for Laser
After meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, President Donald Trump wrote in a tweet that “there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea” to the U.S. Other elected leaders disagree. “Saying it doesn’t make it so,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, told The New York Times this week. “North Korea still has nuclear weapons.” … Continue reading “Built on Quantum Mechanics, Intraband Eyes Missile Defense for Laser”
30Ventures Seeks $15M to Fund Startups in Healthcare, Water Tech
30Ventures, one of the newest additions to Wisconsin’s venture capital scene, quietly revealed plans this week to raise up to $15 million for its debut fund, which will back healthcare and water and chemistry-related technologies in the Midwest. The Madison, WI-based firm disclosed fundraising details in a document filed with federal securities regulators on Thursday. … Continue reading “30Ventures Seeks $15M to Fund Startups in Healthcare, Water Tech”
Fasetto Eclipses Crowdfunding Goal on First Day of Campaign
[Updated 6/14/18 5:58 p.m. See below.] Fasetto, a Superior, WI-based company that develops solid-state storage drives and cloud-based software for instantly sharing files, on Thursday announced a new product aimed at helping users store and broadcast digital presentations. In addition to unveiling its latest device, which it calls Forum, Fasetto launched a crowdfunding campaign on the … Continue reading “Fasetto Eclipses Crowdfunding Goal on First Day of Campaign”
Zurex Pharma Raises $9M to Fight Hospital-Acquired Infections
Zurex Pharma, a Middleton, WI-based company developing antimicrobial products for preventing infections acquired in hospitals, clinics, and home care settings, says it has raised $9 million in new funding. Zurex says it plans to use some of the proceeds from the investment to support the development of its lead product candidate, a pre-surgical skin preparation … Continue reading “Zurex Pharma Raises $9M to Fight Hospital-Acquired Infections”