Investment in Wisconsin Startups Slowed in 2023

Wednesday, August 7th, 2024 -- 12:00 PM

(Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) Investment in Wisconsin startups slowed in 2023, but industry watchers called that a return to normal after a pandemic boom.

According to Joe Schulz with the Wisconsin Public Radio, last year, Wisconsin startups raised at least $490 million, down from $640 million in 2022 and the record-high $868 million in 2021, according to the Wisconsin Technology Council’s Wisconsin Portfolio report, which tracks investment in early-stage companies.

Joe Kremer, director of the Tech Council Investor Networks, said startup investment 2021 and 2022 were outliers in Wisconsin and nationally. “Everyone saw this huge bump during COVID,” he said. “Now we’re kind of coming down from that sugar high that we had, and we’re really normalizing.”

Even though investment was down, 2023 still registered the third-highest level since the tech council began tracking the data.  So far in 2024, Kremer said the tech council has tracked $256 million in startup investments.

Health care accounted for the most investment last year at $245 million, just over half of all the dollars secured, according to the report. Kremer said investments in the health care industry also included those in biohealth and biotech companies.

He said the state’s federally-designated tech hub focused on biohealth will likely help drive more investment into that industry. “It’s going to raise the visibility of Wisconsin, and it’s going to really put Wisconsin on sort of a really special map,” Kremer said.

The $50 million in federal funding going toward the tech hub will also help reduce risk for investors and entrepreneurs in the biotech industry, he said.

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