MADISON – Five small businesses in Wisconsin will receive up to $400,000 to commercialize their innovations, thanks to the SBIR Advance program’s latest round of funding.
The state matching grant program provides assistance to companies in the process of completing a project in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. This is the 26th round of SBIR Advance funding since this collaboration by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) began in 2014.
Over the past decade 196 awards totaling over $16.4 million have been awarded. Those businesses reported obtaining $99.2 million in follow on funding since receiving the SBIR Advance matching grants.
The Phase 1 recipients, each receiving up to $75,000 match, are:
- Arise Nutrition, LLC of Wisconsin Rapids is transforming how Midwest fruits and vegetables are processed into high-value food and supplement ingredients. By turning Wisconsin-grown crops and byproducts into shelf-stable, antioxidant-rich ingredients, Arise is helping build a more sustainable, value-added agricultural economy.
- Galasys Inc. of Janesville has developed a manufacturing technology that converts low-value dairy byproducts into tagatose, a natural low-calorie sweetener that tastes and functions like sugar. Their process provides dairy producers with a profitable outlet for waste streams while creating a healthier, more sustainable ingredient for food manufacturers.
- Saturn AgriSense Inc. (SAI) of Madison is a startup spun out of the UW -Madison with the mission to provide farmers with best management practices for fertilizer use through real-time in-soil nitrate data. The company was founded to commercialize patented sensor technology and build out a data-informed agronomic recommendation engine.
- Tensense LLC of Madison is a small business developing technology to improve patient outcomes after total knee arthroplasty through precise, data-driven assessments of soft tissue balance during surgery.
The Phase 2 recipient, receiving up to $100,000 match, is:
- ReNeuroGen LLC (RNG) of Milwaukee is a pharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class systems chemico-pharmacology drug (known as KYC) to treat a myriad of inflammation and oxidative stress-based disease conditions. Their drug candidate KYC is a small peptide with a unique mechanism of action.
“We funded four Phase I teams and one Phase II teams for the most recent round of SBIR Advance grants,” said Rob Baranowski, SBIR Advance Program Manager. “We have a variety of companies that have received funding from the USDA and the NIH in this cohort. We have made a concerted effort to increase the number of contracts awarded to our state, and we are always pleased to see our efforts pay off with more of these contracts being awarded to Wisconsin small businesses. We are especially excited to see the USDA contracts being awarded, as they have the ability to affect Wisconsin’s rural and agricultural economy.”
Baranowski continued, “We will once again be using the Innovation Within training group for our Phase I Lean Startup class. Innovation Within is involved in running some of the national I-Corps programs, and we are looking forward to the training they will provide to our Phase I teams.”
The U.S. government created SBIR/STTR programs to stimulate domestic high-tech innovation, budgeting over $4 billion in federal research funding annually. Because those funds cannot be used for commercialization activities, the SBIR Advance program fills the gap. Funds can be used to pursue market research, customer validation, intellectual property work or other areas that speed commercialization.
SBIR Advance grant recipients receive CTC staff support available throughout the commercialization process, including Lean Startup training, business plan review and other consulting.
“The SBIR Advance program demonstrates the impact collaboration among organizations. Working together, the Universities of Wisconsin and WEDC provides the needed resources to support startups, many which are innovating in the areas of biohealth and renewable energy technology, two key areas of Wisconsin’s economic future,” said Sam Rikkers, deputy secretary and chief operating officer of WEDC, the state’s lead economic development agency. “The SBIR program provides these startups an opportunity to remove the gaps between innovation, customers, investors, and ultimately success for Wisconsin.”
“Thank you to WEDC and all ecosystem partners who made our 10th Anniversary SBIR Advance Showcase a success this fall!” said Margaret Ramey, director of Wisconsin CTC. “We are excited to add these innovators to our impressive group of SBIR Advance awardees.
For more details on the SBIR Advance program, visit www.wisconsinctc.org/sbiradvance or e-mail . The next solicitation is expected to open in late summer.
SBIR Advance is part of a Start-Seed-Scale (S3) initiative WEDC is pursuing with the help of the Universities of Wisconsin and other business leaders throughout the state to remove barriers to high-tech commercialization. Under the S3 umbrella, WEDC and its economic development partners are implementing financial and operational assistance programs designed specifically to address Wisconsin’s business startup and seed-funding challenges.
About Center for Technology Commercialization
The Center for Technology Commercialization is part of the Universities of Wisconsin Office for Business & Entrepreneurship. CTC provides one-on-one expert consulting to early-stage emerging technology businesses throughout Wisconsin. CTC has collaborated in acquiring more than $140 million in federal and other funding for clients. Learn more at www.wisconsinctc.org; follow @WisconsinCTC on X and Bsky.
About Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) leads economic development efforts for the state by advancing and maximizing opportunities in Wisconsin for businesses, communities and people to thrive in a globally competitive environment. Working with more than 600 regional and local partners, WEDC develops and delivers solutions representative of a highly responsive and coordinated economic development network. Learn more at https://wedc.org; follow @WEDCNews on X.