Radom Corp. of Hales Corners was one of eight Wisconsin companies to receive $75,000 grants from the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Advance Program, a $1 million initiative that provides capital to entrepreneurs to help commercialize high-tech innovation. Half of the recipients are high-tech medical companies.
The eight winning proposals were selected by SBIR Advance partners Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the UW-Extension Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC).
In addition to Radom Corp., the other companies to receive the grants are Northside Enterprises based in Black Creek, a village in Outagamie County, and AmebaGone LLC, inseRT MRI, Medical Engineering Innovations Inc., NitricGen Inc., Semba Biosciences and Swallow Solutions, all of Madison.
The grant recipients are among the Wisconsin companies already receiving federal Small Business Innovation Research grants. The federal government created those programs to stimulate domestic high-tech innovation that can be commercialized, providing $2.7 billion of federal research funding each year.
SBIR Advance aims to fill critical funding gaps for activities such as market research, customer validation, patent development and regulatory assessment restricted under federal awards. WEDC is funding and CTC is administering SBIR Advance, which was launched in July.
“Once again, SBIR Advance is playing a vital role in helping early-stage Wisconsin companies take that next step toward commercialization,” said Reed Hall, secretary and chief executive officer of WEDC. “Through this joint effort with CTC, we are filling a crucial gap for companies that have qualified for federal funding but still need assistance with areas that cannot be funded with federal dollars.”
