State announces $1 million program for high-tech start-ups
Excerpted from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Kylie Gumpert
Technology entrepreneurs will receive funding from a new $1 million program to commercialize innovation.
SBIR Advance, which stands for Small Business Innovation and Research, will be available across the state through the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Center for Technology Commercialization. The funding comes from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and is available to recipients of SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer grants.
According to the program’s website, cash will be awarded over three different phases once milestones are met. Preference will be given to new companies that are receiving their grants for the first time.
“SBIR Advance will fill critical funding gaps for activities such as market research and patent development restricted under federal awards that applicants already hold,” Reed Hall, CEO of WEDC, said in a statement. “Unlike programs in some other states, SBIR Advance will provide funding upon completion of key milestones…which significantly accelerate business development.”
The new program is part of Start-Seed-Scale, or S3, a new initiative that the WEDC has taken on with the University of Wisconsin to help high-tech start-ups commercialize.
