WED AM News: Renaissant to use $5M round to develop software platform; SHINE awarded $32M from DOE

July 17, 2024

— Software startup Renaissant will use a recently completed $5 million investment round to fund further development of its logistics platform, the Milwaukee-based company announced.

The Series A funding round was led by Green Bay’s TitletownTech — a venture capital firm created by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft — and also included New York’s Interlock Partners, Venture53 in Georgia, NFI Ventures of New Jersey and Texas-based Perot Jain.

Since launching in 2018, Renaissant has been developing a data analytics and workflow platform for its customers’ logistics operations. It’s meant to reduce inefficiency by “integrating and optimizing” warehousing, transportation management, driver coordination and more.

This platform can improve site security, sustainability and regulatory compliance while reducing the amount of labor needed for shipping efforts, the company says. It has helped customers reduce the time their drivers spend waiting at drop-off or pick-up facilities by up to 50% within three months, which has cut “thousands of hours of wasted time” daily, according to the release.

Tom Dean, the company’s CEO and founder, says the funding round “highlights the incredible progress we’ve made and the significant market opportunity ahead of us.”

The newly raised funds will be used to further develop this platform and strengthen sales and marketing efforts, with a focus on regions where Renaissant’s compliance services have seen the most demand.

“Our customers have achieved remarkable savings and efficiency gains using our platform,” Dean said. “With this investment, we plan to expand our reach and continue to innovate, delivering even greater value to our clients.”

Pat Martin is founder and general partner of Venture53, a seed stage fund and accelerator focused on transportation and logistics. He says businesses know they need to continually become more efficient in order to stay competitive, noting “there are very few ways to deploy software today” that connects to existing systems to deliver “near instant” return on investment.

“Renaissant does just that,” Martin said in a statement. “This is one smart company and we’re proud to support their vision.”

The company has already raised at least $2.5 million in previously announced investment funds and loans, according to its website.

See more in the release.

— SHINE Technologies has been awarded $32 million from the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, the company announced.

The funds will aid in the ongoing construction of Chrysalis, SHINE’s large-scale medical isotope facility in Janesville, according to a release.

SHINE CEO Greg Piefer said the company is “very grateful” for the continued federal support for production of the critical medical isotope Mo-99.

“By creating a modern source of neutrons, we’re helping solve critical isotope supply challenges here and now with a more sustainable platform for the long-term,” he said in a statement. “We look forward to assuring that patients in the U.S. and globally will have access to the medicine they need and want to thank Senator Baldwin for her ongoing advocacy in support of establishing domestic supply.”

The funds were added to DOE/NNSA’s existing cooperative agreement with SHINE as part of the agency’s efforts to help establish a reliable, U.S.-produced supply of molybdenum-99, without the use of highly enriched uranium.

SHINE plans to produce Mo-99 commercially in early 2027.

See more at Madison Startups.

— Organizers for Rev-Up MKE are now taking applications for the next iteration of the small business competition in Milwaukee.

Local nonprofit Near West Side Partners and Marquette University yesterday announced applications are now open for the seventh Rev-Up MKE competition, which is modeled after the popular “Shark Tank” pitch competition TV show. It’s meant to help small businesses and drive economic development on the city’s Near West Side, according to the release.

“We are excited to see what comes out of the continued interest from startups, organizations and businesses that are looking to invest in our Milwaukee area, and bring new jobs to our commercial corridors,” said Lindsey St Arnold Bell, executive director of NWSP.

The winner of this year’s competition will be announced Sept. 10 during a live pitch event, where each finalist will present to a panel of judges.

The winning entrepreneur will get $10,000 in cash and $25,000 in in-kind services such as architectural renderings, ongoing small business mentoring, free legal audit and communication support, as well as other advertising support from competition organizers.

Applications are being accepted through Saturday.

See more competition details and apply here, and see the release.

— UW Health has once again been named the No. 1 hospital in the state by U.S. News & World Report.

In a statement on the ranking, UW Health CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan touts the hospital’s reputation for “outstanding patient care, innovative therapies and exceptional” outcomes.

“We play a very important role in the health of patients across Wisconsin and beyond,” he said. “As an academic medical center, we provide remarkable care for our patients ranging from primary care to some of the most complex cases and cutting-edge clinical trials.”

The release from the Madison-based hospital notes this is the 13th year in a row that it’s landed the top spot for the state ranking.

The top five, in descending order, also includes: Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee; Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, also in Milwaukee; Mayo Clinic Health System – Eau Claire; and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Madison.

U.S. News & World Report says it looks at nearly 6,000 hospitals every year as it assembles its national and state-level rankings, evaluating care providers on patient recovery and survival, how well they follow “best standards” of care, and hospital resources and technology.

See the full list of ranked hospitals and see more in the release.

— Marquette University scientists have identified a “probiotic” microorganism that could make certain infectious bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics.

The university yesterday announced a research team has found a probiotic strain that could play a role in addressing bacterial infections such as MRSA by increasing their sensitivity to antibiotic treatments. It can also inhibit the development of “biofilm” in the human gut, which such pathogens create in order to better survive there, according to the release.

The team was led by Krassimira Hristova, professor of biological sciences at Marquette. They published their findings last week in a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Hristova says MRSA is “one of the most clinically important pathogens in the world” as infections often lead to disease and death in humans and animals. The release notes antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections killed 700,000 people in 2019, and that total is expected to hit 10 million by 2050 if the trend continues, based on World Health Organization figures.

The research effort was focused on finding new antibiotic alternative therapies against a bacterial pathogen called S. aureus, and scientists found one probiotic compound helped boost the anti-inflammatory response in human gut cells. Hristova says that was “a very surprising finding” as it suggests the probiotic strain could play multiple roles in preventing disease from the pathogen.

Co-author Kyle Liestikow, a former researcher in Hristova’s lab, says the identified probiotic doesn’t make the S. aureus pathogen more drug-resistant through long-term exposure, unlike typical antibiotics.

“There’s still work to do, but our end goal is to commercially produce this strain and its unique compounds so that it can become more widely available to those suffering from these types of bacterial infections,” he said in the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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