Emerging tech, industries driving investment landscape, WEDC expert says

Emerging technologies and industries are driving the national investment landscape, according to WEDC Senior Venture Investment Director Greg Williamson. 

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. earlier this year announced Williamson would be leading the Wisconsin Investment Fund, a $50 million state effort funded by the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative. 

Speaking this week at a Wisconsin Technology Council event in Madison, Williamson shared insights on the most promising areas for investment, based on his perspective as board member for several venture studios and advisor to “numerous” venture funds around the country. 

“The biggest is probably space, space technology,” he said. “Manufacturing in space, energy generation in space, satellite retrieval and refurbishment, lunar landings and communications … tremendous activity occurring in that arena.” 

He foreshadowed some “big announcements” coming in the commercial space industry, predicting funding rounds of between $250 million and $500 million going to space tech companies in the next six months. 

Meanwhile, Williamson said the field of robotics is “still huge” from the investor perspective, with applications ranging from warehouse activity to health care and home services. Plus, he said advanced manufacturing such as 3D printing and microtechnology is very attractive to investors, and continues to grow. 

“We’ve already seen that encroaching on traditional homebuilding, and we’re going to see it in many other forms of construction as well,” he said. 

The fourth sector he highlighted, digital gaming and entertainment, is “an interesting one for Wisconsin,” he said. He noted the Midwest is a growing area of interest for companies in this industry, with West Coast gaming organizations increasingly looking to Madison and other parts of Wisconsin. 

Also during the Tech Council event, Williamson discussed plans for the Wisconsin Investment Fund, which aims to support small business development by partnering with established venture capital funds. The state received $80 million from the SSBCI, he noted, with $50 million of that going into the new fund. 

The WIF will be focused on angel investment, seed and pre-seed funding, Series A and “maybe an occasional very small” Series B funding round, Williamson said. He added investments will range from $100,000 to $3 million. 

“You have to invest at least the amount in SEDI — socially economically disadvantaged individuals or territories within your state — as exist,” he explained. “So within Wisconsin … about 29 percent of the state qualify as SEDI, so at least 29 percent of our portfolio has to be in SEDI investments.” 

See more from this week’s Tech Council event: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/early-figures-suggest-state-seeing-lower-levels-of-investment-in-2023/ 

See an earlier story on gaming in Wisconsin: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisconsin-video-game-sector-ripe-for-growth-advocate-says/ 

See further details on the WIF: https://wedc.org/programs-and-resources/wisconsin-investment-fund/ 

–By Alex Moe