14 Feb Madison-Milwaukee tech hub gets near-unanimous support in Legislature
By Natalie Yahr, The Cap Times
The ongoing effort to make Wisconsin a nationally recognized technology hub could get a $7.5 million boost from state funds following the passage this week of a bill designed to help Wisconsin compete for up to $70 million in federal funds.
The Biden administration selected Wisconsin from a pool of a few hundred last October, awarding it designation as one of 31 regional “tech hubs.” Submitted by a consortium of biohealth businesses, colleges and economic development agencies, Wisconsin’s successful application focused on the Madison and Milwaukee-Waukesha regions as hotbeds of innovation in personalized medicine, the growing field of tailoring medical treatments to a patient’s genes.
The selected hubs are now eligible to apply for a second phase of the process, in which three to eight regional hubs will receive between $40 million and $70 million each to implement their plans, funded through the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
Now, a bill that would authorize those funds is headed to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk with near-unanimous support from legislators. Read more …