Fetch Rewards, founded by UW-Madison students, and UW-Madison spinoffs SHINE and FluGen are among the companies with the largest funding rounds in 2020.
Campus Innovation Stories
UW researchers honored as inventors
Three University of Wisconsin–Madison professors — Charles Mistretta, Denise Ney and Ann Palmenberg — have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. NAI fellowship honors academic inventors who have “demonstrated a spirit of …
New game helps refugee camp kids become academic ‘stars’
Once a refugee himself, University of Wisconsin–Madison senior Joel Baraka has long dreamed of helping children in refugee camps get ahead in life. Now, he’s invented a board game for students across sub-Saharan Africa that …
Hosting the 100-Hour Challenge During Challenging Times
On November 12-16, 2020, the StartUp Learning Community hosted its annual 100-Hour Challenge, a signature innovation contest on UW-Madison’s campus. The purpose of the Challenge is to help participants realize that innovation can be sparked by …
SmarTrac can help alleviate shortage of physical therapists
Physical therapy can make the difference for a quick post-surgery recovery. Unfortunately, the U.S. is experiencing an extreme shortage of physical therapists that is only expected to get worse, according to a UW-Madison computer sciences …
Startup created by UW-Madison professor debuts specialized computer chip
A startup company created by a University of Wisconsin-Madison computer science professor is gearing up to sell its high-performance, programmable computer chip, which the company’s founder said can crunch data at higher capacities for data …
Local Startup Spotlight: DataChat with Co-Founder Rogers Jeffrey Leo John
DataChat was founded by UW-Madison computer sciences professor Jignesh Patel, a serial entrepreneur for whom the startup is his fourth, and Ph.D. student Rogers Jeffrey Leo John (WAVE ’18 and MEB ’18) back in June …
Comprehensive directory helps campus entrepreneurs find resources
Entrepreneurial resources at UW-Madison are numerous, but very decentralized. Campus innovators that have an idea for a product, service, business, or social innovation often don’t know where to start. Discovery to Product is pleased to …
Varsity Venture Studio will help launch UW-Madison-based startups
UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and High Alpha Innovation are bringing a venture studio to campus. The studio provides startup capital and hands-on support to select business ideas sourced from faculty, students and staff. …
Student uses COVID quarantine to build sneaker customization business
When UW–Madison first-year student Matt Burzec was sent to isolation after contracting the COVID-19 virus, he spent most of his free time building his customized shoe business. He won a $1,000 Dream, Big Grant, from …