SolRayo gets $500,000 tech transfer grant  SolRayo, a Madison technology startup company, is getting a $500,000 Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the National Science Foundation to bring to market the coatings it has developed to make batteries last longer.

Digital estate planning company Entrustet sold to Swiss competitor Two young UW-Madison graduates who had a vision about what complications could result from life in the digital world - after death - have sold their digital estate planning company to a Swiss competitor. 

Tech and Biotech: Orbitec's space flight life systems pass initial muster Dreaming of catching a flight to the moon ... or beyond? If it happens, it could be on a vehicle equipped with life support systems developed by Madison's Orbital Technologies Corp.

Madison's Imbed Biosciences wins federal research grant Imbed Biosciences Inc. has received a federal research grant of more than $326,000 to continue developing biologic dressings that could be used to prevent wound infections and promote cell growth and healing.

Portable ultrasound could be medical game changer Historically, medical diagnosis and additional testing has been ordered based solely on what the medical provider feels or hears during a physical examination of a patient.

UW-Stout researcher wins innovation award Kenneth Smith, a University of Wisconsin-Stout Discovery Center research associate who works on fuel cell design, will receive the 2012 WiSys Innovation Scholar Award.

Tech and Biotech: 5Nines featured in Popular Science magazine Madison information technology company 5Nines and its vice president, Anton Kapela, are featured in an article in the April 2012 issue of Popular Science magazine.

Scarcity of local tech talent may force employers to recruit elsewhere It's hardly news that American employers routinely turn to India to hire tech-savvy talent. From the perspective of metro Milwaukee, however, employers in the foreseeable future will have no choice but to look outside the region to fill tech positions - even when they want to hire locally, according to new research to be presented Monday by the Greater Milwaukee Committee.

Entrepreneurial 'tool kit' can help boost state's economy In a state accustomed to its professional and college sports teams ranking among the nation's finest, the lusty cheer of "We're No. 40!" isn't likely to generate much excitement. Except, perhaps, when 40th represents a move up from the bottom.

Polaris Industries to expand in Wisconsin Polaris Industries is eligible for $595,000 in economic development tax credits through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, creating up to 89 jobs related to the company's expansion in Osceola.

Walker signs legislation improving angel investing tax credit Gov. Scott Walker signed two pieces of economic development legislation Thursday at Palermo's Pizza in Milwaukee. One of the new laws tweaks a state program that encourages angel investing. The program makes financial backers of certain young, high-potential businesses eligible for a 25% tax credit on the amount they invest in the company.

Madison researchers making major breakthroughs in stem cell work Stem cells derived from the skin and blood of blind people are morphing into retina-like balls in Dr. David Gamm's lab at UW-Madison.

Dohmen acquires California drug safety, risk management firm Dohmen Co. said it has acquired Emeryville, Calif.-based BioSoteria, which provides drug safety and risk management services to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Tech and Biotech: Broadjam opens website to more new music Broadjam, a music social networking website based in Madison, says musicians who are members can now upload and store an unlimited number of songs, photos and videos.

Tech and Biotech: Restore Health wins grant to develop saliva-based stress test Restore Biodiagnostics, Madison, is working on a new kind of stress test with Oasis Diagnostics, of Vancouver, Wash., and the University of New Orleans. The three partners have received a $325,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Tech and Biotech: SciLog gets new, bigger offices SciLog is getting used to its new, bigger offices and labs at 801 Deming Way in the Old Sauk Trails business park.

Madison's Virent produces jet fuel from pine tree waste Virent is flying high after earning praise from an arm of the Air Force for a bio jet fuel made from pine tree wood chips.

Briggs & Stratton develops fuel additive Milwaukee-based Briggs & Stratton Corp. today announced it has developed a potent new fuel preservative to fend off the potentially damaging effects of ethanol-blended fuels while keeping fuel fresh for up to three years.

Firms may be missing federal money Billions of dollars in government contracts are pouring into Wisconsin, yet many companies could be missing opportunities because they don't know how to navigate the federal procurement system. 

Wisconsin sectors must unite to educate for a global marketplace Commentary by Gilles Bousquet and Tony Evers - It is widely recognized that we live and work in a world that is increasingly interdependent and interconnected. Yet, the financial resources at our disposal to respond to the educational challenges of this global environment continue to shrink.

BPC finalist in Journal Sentinel: Device could keep acid reflux at bay Technology spun off from the Medical College of Wisconsin could provide relief for patients who suffer from severe acid reflux. Reza Shaker, a Medical College gastroenterologist, is testing a prototype device he created that uses pressure to keep stomach acid from rising into the throat.

Journal Sentinel: Angel investors on the rise in Wisconsin Angel investors took the state by storm last year, putting more than $61 million into small, high-potential companies. Read the full Journal Sentinel story on the latest Wisconsin Portfolio, a publication of the Wisconsin Angel Network and the Wisconsin Technology Council. 

Wisconsin angel investing rose in 2011; venture financing down, WAN report shows Wisconsin firms raised more than $152 million in early stage funding in 2011, reflecting a record year for angel investments but a decline in venture capital financing from 2010 totals, according to a report by the Wisconsin Angel Network.

Rockwell buys Middleton industrial controls company Rockwell Automation Inc. said Monday it had acquired a privately held industrial controls company started by a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering professor.

Wisconsin a hotbed for craft brewing Tanner Brethorst has spent the last 14 months building a brewery with the help of family and friends who have invested money and provided help with engineering and construction. And now, the work is paying off. 

Rockwell Automation has acquired a privately held industrial controls company SoftSwitching Technologies Corp. of Middleton. SoftSwitching Technologies was founded using technology out of the UW-Madison. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Governor's Business Plan finalist Speechtails raised $300,000 from angels, including the newly launched Angels of the Water.