Governor Walker has announced the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will provide $1 million in funding to high-tech start-ups in Wisconsin, through a new program called Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Advance.

Administered through UW-Extension, these funds will be provided to those with federal SBIR grants and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants. Federal grants provide $2 billion per year of federal research funding. Reed Hall, secretary and CEO of WEDC, explains the WEDC funding “will fill critical funding gaps for activities such as market research and patent development restricted under federal awards that applicants already hold.” The funding will be provided after companies complete key milestones.

UW-Extension’s Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) Interim Director Dave Linz says states who match federal funding have increased success rates with the businesses. CTC, who will administer the SBIR Advance funds, can match up to $75,000 of the participant’s federal SBIR/STTR Phase 1 award and up to $250,000 of their Phase 2 award.

SBIR Advance is part of WEDC’s Start-Seed-Scale (S3) initiative, which is working with Wisconsin businesses and the UW System to help enable high-tech commercialization.

For more information of this funding, applications, and other UW-Extension CTC programs, go to www.wisconsinsbir.org, or contact Todd Strother, CTC commercialization consultant, at 608-890-1015.