FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Kathy Henrich, MKE Tech Hub Coalition; CranioSure wins Governor’s Business Plan Contest

June 7, 2024

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Kathy Henrich, CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition.

The Milwaukee-based organization last month announced a series of AI workshops for businesses, funded with a $50,000 donation from local tech company 7Rivers. Henrich discusses the importance of AI training, particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturers.

“They understand that AI was important, but often were struggling with those tactical first steps to get started,” she said. “So the reason for developing these workshops was to help these companies understand, how do you first prioritize the right use cases, and what kind of internal infrastructure should you put in place?”

The small-group sessions will be led by subject matter experts, guiding participants through developing plans and defining first steps for integrating the technology, she said. Henrich says for the region to be competitive in the coming decade or so, “this is going to be absolutely a technology that has to be taken advantage of.”

The coalition is encouraging companies to send two people each — one business leader and a technical specialist.

“It really is the marrying between the potential and the reality, right, that makes this thing hum,” she said.

Henrich discusses the role that 7Rivers will play in the AI workshops and applauded founder and CEO Paul Stillmank’s commitment to supporting tech development in the region.

“His organization … is a leader in AI, and they see the challenges here in these small and mid-sized organizations,” she said. “They certainly are involved, they’ll be helping us as we go forward, and you know, sometimes tactical next steps will engage companies like a 7Rivers.”

The podcast also touches on other initiatives of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, ranging from a regional “AI talent community” with about 550 members to a collegiate-level internship program focused on the ethics and impact of data and AI.

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— Madison-based CranioSure has won this year’s Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest for its app that can detect an infant skull disorder called craniosynostosis.

This disorder is characterized by the premature fusion of babies’ skull bones, which can require surgery to correct if not caught early enough. Ordinarily, the fibrous connective structure between these bones remain flexible, allowing the skull to grow along with the brain.

The startup’s technology is designed to identify the disorder in time to prevent the need for surgical intervention, by identifying the cranial “abnormalities” more accurately than physical exams. If the condition isn’t identified within four months, “it’s twice as likely” that a late referral will require open surgery, according to a release.

While still in development, the app will be made available for pediatricians as well as parents and other users.

It was created by a team that includes plastic surgeons and others, and the company is led by Dr. Daniel Cho, an assistant professor with the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Surgery. His work aims to help infants and children with craniofacial deformities, including cleft lip and palate, jaw and facial tumors, facial trauma and more.

He represented the company as one of 13 contest finalists during the Wisconsin Technology Council’s Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Milwaukee. While CranioSure was the grand prize winner for the 21st annual contest, the Tech Council has also named category winners that excelled within their area of focus.

The winner of the advanced manufacturing category, Madison-based Spraycision, has an agricultural sensor system used in orchards. Using a laser-guided system, the company can retrofit existing chemical treatment sprayers to automatically target tree canopies, lowering costs and using less water and fuel.

Meanwhile, a Pewaukee company called Rockhopper Ice Collective won the business services category for its ice machine technology, which gives customers more options for the type of ice they order in their drinks.

And for the information technology category, Dodgeville-based Scriptive won with its creative writing platform called WriteStories. It’s designed for use by elementary school students, giving kids more freedom to tell their own stories using existing picture book templates.

See the release and see more on the contest.

— The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has approved $5 million for a program to help attract large events to the state of Wisconsin — half of what WEDC had requested to get the project off the ground.

State Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, knocked yesterday’s GOP motion to approve just the $5 million, saying providing the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. half of what it requested means there will be half of the benefit. She questioned the move as her GOP colleagues praised the opportunity created by the program.

The committee rejected a Dem motion to provide the full $10 million before voting 10-2 along party lines to sign off on the GOP move.

“If this is such a great program, we should fund it appropriately,” she said.

But Co-chair Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said it is premature to call it a great program since it’s just getting off the ground. He said while lawmakers are hopeful the program will be successful, it was prudent to start with $5 million with the state approaching the halfway mark of the 2023-25 budget.

He also noted GOP members of the committee typically like to have more information from the Evers administration before releasing funds from its supplemental appropriation.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau noted in its overview of the request that WEDC was still working with the Department of Tourism to create guidelines to implement the program. WEDC has indicated those policies could be drafted and presented to its board after the committee released the funds.

“It’s a good idea, and that’s why we’re moving forward,” Born said. “But that’s it. It’s a new idea.”

The current budget runs through June 30, 2025. Sen. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan and a co-author of the legislation creating the program, said after the hearing there may be an opportunity for WEDC to come back to the committee for the other $5 million before the biennium ends.

“Maybe there will be something that pops up that will be beneficial to the state,” she said.

— Personal income in Wisconsin is projected to increase this year as well as in 2025 and 2025, the state Department of Revenue’s latest report shows.

Nominal personal income is expected to increase 4.3% this year, 4.6% next year and 4.5% in 2026, according to the DOR’s Economic Forecast report for May. Adjusted for inflation, those figures are 1.7%, 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively.

The agency projects state wages and salaries will increase 4.5% this year after rising 5.7% in 2023, “showing the continued tightness of labor markets.”

The second-largest component of personal income, property income, is projected to rise 4.3% this year after seeing 3.5% growth last year. Within that category, rental income is projected to increase 9.2%, with 3.9% growth projected for interest income and 2.4% for dividend income.

Meanwhile, total nonfarm employment in the state is projected to grow 0.9% this year and 0.4% next year before “remaining almost flat” for the next two years.

See the forecast.

— The Public Service Commission has announced $8.5 million in grid resilience grants for 19 projects across the state.

Recipients include twelve electric cooperatives and four municipal electric utilities, according to the agency’s release. Funded projects are focused on “modernization and hardening” the state’s electric grid against possible threats, reducing service interruptions in rural areas and disadvantaged communities, and boosting the workforce.

“The Grid Resilience Program invests in critical projects, modern technology, and beneficial training that will protect Wisconsin residents and help utilities keep the lights on,” PSC Chairperson Summer Strand said in a statement.

Funding for the program comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Individual awards range from around $10,000 to nearly $970,000.

See the release and the list of recipients.

— Madison-based Understory has raised $15 million in a recent funding round, the company announced.

According to a release, the funds will help the company launch a product focused on the global renewable energy sector. The round was co-led by True Ventures and Prelude Ventures, both based in California.

“Expanding from a tech-focused startup to a leading figure in the insurance market exemplifies our ability to scale solutions that tackle real-world problems,” Understory CEO Alex Kubicek said in a statement. “Our latest venture into renewable energy insurance underpins our commitment to re-architecting insurance structures that support sustainable industry growth while mitigating environmental risks.”

To date, the company says its proprietary risk mitigation technology has reduced weather damage for its clients by more than $65 million and effectively reduced overall claim trends by 60%.

See more at Madison Startups.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— SSM Health has broken ground on a new outpatient care center in Sun Prairie, slated to open next year.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

These are the 8 Wisconsin companies on the 2024 Fortune 500. Three of them took big jumps on the list.

RNC security plan aims to ‘minimize’ community impact, public disruption

TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– Bangor dairy farmer says connection and education are key to the industry’s future

– Veterinarian: Wisconsin farmers adjusting well to FDA change on livestock prescriptions

– Farmer labor podcast – building solidarity in agriculture

– Manure digesters aren’t the key to solving CAFO pollution, study says

CONSTRUCTION

– Operating engineers go on strike at construction sites across Wisconsin

EDUCATION