MadREP in the News

Check out the Madison Region Economic Partnership's recent newsworthy economic development activities.

Madison365 | Evers adds $25 million to Main Street Bounce Back grants

Jessica Reilly · May 12, 2022 ·

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced Monday that his administration will invest an additional $25 million to a fund making grants to storefront small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Evers made the announcement at events alongside Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. Evers said the programs has already helped more than 4,200 small businesses and nonprofits across all 72 Wisconsin counties. In total, the announcement brings the governor’s total investment in the program to $75 million, which the administration said will enable 2,500 more small businesses and nonprofits to fill empty storefronts throughout the state.

The grants are administered by regional economic development agencies.

A recent analysis of state allocations showed that as a share of federal aid received by states, Wisconsin ranks second in the country for aid directed to economic development and first in the country in aid to businesses.

“The impact we’ve had through our Main Street Bounceback Grant Program over the last year has been tremendous, truly helping small businesses and main streets in every corner of our state,” Evers said in a statement. “We’ve heard from folks from across the state about how these funds have helped them take their businesses to the next level. We’ve also seen firsthand how these investments have helped support local economies in downtowns and communities that are now filled with unique businesses that otherwise might not be there today. I’m proud of our work making strategic investments in small businesses and I’m excited that today’s announcement means we’ll be able to continue our work supporting main streets and communities across Wisconsin.”

The Main Street Bounceback Grant Program was first announced in April 2021, and since, more than 4,200 small businesses and nonprofits across all 72 Wisconsin counties have been approved for $10,000 grants to help them move or expand into vacant commercial spaces.

“From barbershops to candy stores and from physical therapists to local economic development groups, the businesses and organizations that have received Main Street Bounceback grants vary widely,” Hughes said in a statement. “But what we’re hearing from all of the communities where these businesses are opening is the sense of excitement that they bring. Whether it’s a new restaurant, a hair salon, or an accounting business, there’s a feeling that there are new reasons to come to our downtowns and spend a little more time there.”

The deadline for grant applications for the Main Street Bounceback Grant Program has been extended to Dec. 31, 2022, and grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until all the funds are disbursed. WEDC is working with nine regional economic development organizations to quickly disburse grant funding to eligible businesses and nonprofit organizations. More information about the Main Street Bounceback Grant Program and how to apply is available on the WEDC website here.

Article originally published on Madison365.com.

Wisconsin State Journal | Business Class: Madison startup develops conversational AI tech for healthcare uses

Jessica Reilly · Apr 2, 2022 ·

Wisconsin State Journal | Emilie Heidemann

Nick Myers remembers when he was around 8 years old, having to grapple with a harrowing leukemia diagnosis and the treatment that came after.

The now-CEO and co-founder of Madison-based startup RedFox AI, with an office on the city’s East Side, had trouble consuming oral medications. His only alternative was massive injections that his parents had to give him. The procedure sometimes required the guidance of a health care professional over the phone, which for Myer’s parents meant minutes to hours of waiting to get someone on the line.

That experience fuels Myers’ ambitions now as RedFox AI is actively developing a technology, using conversational artificial intelligence, that aims to help people walk through how to take specific medical tests, such as screenings for cancer. And Myers envisions a future in which an AI digital guide not only instructs a user, but offers emotional support as well.

RedFox AI launched in 2019, Myers said, initially with a focus on using the skills of Amazon’s Alexa virtual technology assistant as a backbone to create voice applications. But after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the healthcare industry, Myers and the RedFox AI team of less than five employees shifted their focus. Amid the health crisis, the team observed how millions have turned to diagnostic tests as a way to find out if they’ve contracted the illness.

Then in August 2021, RedFox unveiled its conversational AI tech, which has so far captured the attention of health care companies and organizations both locally and around the U.S. The startup has yet to receive its first round of investment funding, Myers said, but he expects that to change soon. RedFox has grown without external funds since its formation, he said.

“Nick Myers and his team have built a conversational AI platform that represents a coming wave,” said Wisconsin Technology Council president Tom Still, who saw the tech demoed in 2019. “(The software) is a prime example of tailored conversational AI, which can be ‘trained’ for specific uses. It’s a natural evolution in voice AI technology with possible uses in health care, which is the RedFox target, but other business sectors, as well.”

Pulling up the software on his phone and computer monitor, RedFox chief technology officer and co-founder Brett Brooks demonstrated on Wednesday how the tech is supposed to work. The user asks the AI a question about a medical test, in this case for COVID-19, and a voice similar to Apple’s Siri or Alexa responds. The tech then provides instructions about how to take the COVID-19 test, and helps the user troubleshoot any problems that may arise as it’s administered.

Already, the startup is in talks with companies like Madison-based biomedical giant Exact Sciences, maker of the Cologuard test, which allows people to screen for colon cancer at home, as well as Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation and other companies to bring its tech to market.

But official agreements haven’t been signed yet, Myers said.

A powerhouse?

RedFox AI likely plays a role in what Washington, D.C.-based think tank Brookings Institution said last fall is Madison’s potential in becoming an AI powerhouse. Educational institutions like UW-Madison only boost that notion, a Brookings report states.

Brookings used seven metrics to assess the research capabilities and commercial activities of 385 metropolitan areas in the United States. The metrics put each area into one of five categories.

The report touted Madison as a center for research (the third category), but suggested that in order to keep up with the country’s emergent AI industry, local business leaders should forge more corporate research partnerships with UW-Madison, promoting entrepreneurship and encouraging local job retention and attraction.

“Significant money is flowing into the region to support almost exclusive contracts or research and development initiatives,” explained Mark Muro, Brookings senior fellow and report co-author last fall. “That’s very important in itself. At the same time, because federal research done at UW-Madison is also building a talent base of skilled researchers and graduate students, there’s a pipeline for future AI expansion.”

Digest

Madison-based electronic health records company DeliverHealth has acquired Presidio Health, a health care technology company based in San Francisco for an undisclosed amount of money within the last few weeks. Presidio Health provides software that helps read medical charts, and DeliverHealth aims to simplify health care workflows not only for EHRs, but also patient engagement and tech that keeps track of revenue streams.
The Madison Region Economic Partnership is piloting a vanpooling program for its eight-county coverage area. MadREP is partnering with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to help people without adequate transportation options commute to work. The program will provide a $500 grant per van per month for up to three van pools, according to a statement from MadREP. The organization plans to announce in the next few weeks some companies that are taking advantage of the program.
An organization that promotes the growth of women and minority-led businesses, Madison-based Doyenne Group, has through its Evergreen Fund made a $50,000 investment into a company that has created a “toolbox” that helps people plan development projects. 2ft.D is a Milwaukee-based women- and veteran-led company.
The Ideadvance Seed Fund, out of both the Center for Technology Commercialization and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., has opened its 13th round of grant funding for which state businesses can apply. The deadline is July 21. Launched in 2014, the fund has awarded grants to 82 companies, totaling $2.8 million.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Urban League of Greater Madison’s Black Business Hub development on the city’s South Side is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on April 8 at 2222 South Park St.

In Business: MadREP incentivizes vanpooling participation

Jessica Reilly · Mar 31, 2022 ·

In Business Magazine | Site Staff

To help both existing employees and would-be employees who are facing transportation challenges, the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) is partnering with Commute with Enterprise to provide workplace vanpooling, according to a joint release. MadREP’s pilot will provide a $500 grant per van per month for up to three vanpools to help underwrite the cost to its partners. The remaining cost will be covered by the company, the riders, or a combination of the two as determined by each company.

Each vanpool program is customized to the specific needs of its five or more vanpool riders. Companies can choose a qualifying vanpool vehicle from Enterprise’s selection of makes and models that includes crossovers, SUVs, minivans, and large passenger vans. The Commute with Enterprise program provides 24-hour roadside assistance, liability insurance, and scheduled maintenance.

Originally published on ibmadison.com

Sun Prairie Star: MadREP pilot project encourages Madison area van pooling

Jessica Reilly · Mar 31, 2022 ·

Sun Prairie Star

To help both existing employees and would-be employees who are facing transportation challenges getting to work, the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) is partnering with Commute with Enterprise to provide an innovative and sustainable shared mobility option: workplace van pooling.

“MadREP’s pilot will provide a $500 grant per van per month for up to three van pools to help underwrite the cost to our partners,” said MadREP President and CEO Jason M. Fields.

“Each vanpool program is customized to the specific needs of its five or more van poolers,” Fields added. “The remaining cost will be covered by company, the vanpool riders, or a combination of the two as determined by each company.”

“With record low unemployment and in an effort to keep their shifts full, many employers are looking into providing benefits they may not have considered before,” said MadREP vice president of talent & education Gene Dalhoff. “Our pilot project is meant to provide an incentive to companies to explore the feasibility of using employee van pools to help with employee retention and attraction.”

“Dane County’s rapid growth requires innovative solutions to address public transportation needs outside of Madison and I applaud MadREP’s pilot workplace van pooling program to open up more options for employers to connect their employees to work in a way that is better for the environment,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

“Making these connections will help Dane County stay on track with our climate action plan to reduce emissions and ensure that Dane County continues to be a great place to live and work,” Parisi added.

Commute with Enterprise also provides 24-hour roadside assistance, liability insurance and scheduled maintenance. And as part of Enterprise’s Complete Clean Pledge, Commute with Enterprise provides best practices for cleaning and Complete Clean Starter Kits for new Commutes.

“This pilot project, although limited in size, is meant to serve as a proof of concept to help demonstrate the benefits to companies of such a program,” said Fields. “Our goal will be to secure additional funds to grow the program exponentially over the next 12-24 months.”

Companies and commuters in the Madison Region interested in joining the program can visit commutewithenterprise.com/commute/en/partners/madrep.html.

MadREP is the economic development agency for the eight-county Madison Region, founded by business and community leaders to create a dynamic environment where people and businesses prosper. MadREP and its partners aim to proactively and strategically position the region to take advantage of economic and business development opportunities; learn more at madisonregion.org.

Article originally published on hgnnews.com.

Wisconsin State Journal: Madison companies, colleges work to embrace the metaverse

Jessica Reilly · Mar 7, 2022 ·

Wisconsin State Journal | Emilie Heidemann

UW-Madison engineering major Alex Janis uses her hands to bend an aluminum rod, testing how much force it takes to change the shape of the malleable metal. But while the pressure she feels in her hands is real, the aluminum rod exists only in her perception.

That’s because Janis is conducting the experiment inside a virtual reality simulation at UW-Madison’s makerspace on North Randall Avenue. She joins dozens of other students as they navigate this strange, disorienting digital world using hand controllers and headsets that look like large, clunky goggles.

What the students see inside their headsets can be projected onto a screen, offering others a chance to view the video game-like virtual space developed by Madison startup EduReality. The company is one of several Madison-area businesses and colleges building and exploring what many futurists and technology experts see as the next big advance in the internet — the “metaverse.”

“It did seem real,” said Janis, 19, who grew up in Waunakee. “I haven’t done that experiment yet in the class, and I’m excited to, but it’s really cool that you can make a simulation that accurate.”

Over time, the goggles are likely to become less bulky and virtual reality programs more sophisticated in their aesthetic and purpose, said EduReality co-founder Clayton Custer.

EduReality launched in 2021 after Custer and his co-founder, Taylor Waddell, felt they were missing out on hands-on learning experiences amid online courses at UW-Madison — so they built their own.

Other Madison metaverse technologies so far include a mobile application that allows users to create digital art galleries; simulations that help prospective paramedics respond to a patient going into cardiac arrest; and work meetings held on Mars (figuratively, that is). One UW-Madison course even allows students to take a tour of the human brain.

The metaverse combines “aspects of artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality, along with social media, online gaming and other services,” Lyron Bentovim, CEO of Glimpse Group, a publicly traded startup focused on building and creating the metaverse, recently told Forbes.

More recently, researchers have touted the metaverse as the next age of the internet, as well as a climate of software and platforms that aren’t dependent on traditional business models like advertising to buy and sell products. Some view it as a decentralized, unregulated, dystopian hub where scams could run rampant, but also a nearly physical “place” where people can escape pandemics, social unrest and war.

As more companies and schools adopt such technologies, government and business leaders should consider the metaverse’s economic consequences — who might get left behind — as well as the shifting workplace landscape that the pandemic has influenced and accelerated, said Madison Region Economic Partnership president Jason Fields.

The builders

Arch Virtual, nestled in a small office above a restaurant in the village of Oregon, has created software that several Madison businesses and educational institutions use for training and workforce recruitment.

Jon Brouchoud, Arch Virtual CEO, said the company started out in 2014 with an interest in architecture — “how three-dimensional worlds visualize building designs.” But once the now-discontinued Oculus Rift virtual reality headset was released in 2016, Arch Virtual quickly made a name for itself, even allowing company employees to have work meetings on other planets, Brouchoud said.

MadREP in the News

A powerhouse?

Digest

The builders

Immersive learning

‘Evolving and iterating’

Madison RegionEconomic Partnership

Madison Region
Economic Partnership