— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with returning guest Laura Strong, founder and CEO of Valency Fund in Madison.
She discusses the path ahead for the nonprofit fund, which she launched earlier this year to help fund early growth-stage companies in Wisconsin that aren’t a good fit for a traditional bank loan or equity investment.
“The vision behind Valency Fund comes from my work with small companies over the last 25 years here in the Madison and general Wisconsin ecosystem,” she said. “And what I came to believe was that there was a gap in funding.”
Strong says Wisconsin has plenty of sustainable companies that have a history of growing from a small operation, adding she wants to help fund “the next generation” of scalable companies that are primed for further growth.
The podcast explores how Valency Fund’s approach differs from other investment funds, striking a balance between the more low-risk, low-reward bank loan option and the higher-risk, high-reward venture capital model.
“We sit kind of in the middle of that risk and reward benefit spectrum, so we’re using different financial instruments,” she said. “We think about things like revenue-based financing … so you’re really looking for a company that is growing, where the capital can really increase their revenue growth so you as an investor can get paid back.”
With that in mind, Valency Fund is looking for companies with “some signal from the marketplace” that their product will be successful, in hopes of propelling that momentum. It made its first investment this summer in Pythonic, a Madison-area company developing AI for finance applications.
Valency Fund aims to write checks from $100,000 to $500,000, Strong said.
“Right now, we’re looking for our next investments … Valency Fund has a focus on technology, agribusiness and advanced manufacturing, all within the state of Wisconsin,” she said, adding “we have got a lot of demand and we’re really excited about the companies that we’re seeing.”
Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.
See more on Valency Fund here.
— Eaton Corporation is using AI to model tariff impacts throughout supply chains amid global trade uncertainty, a buyer for the company said during a live “Talking Trade” discussion.
Waukesha County Technical College’s School of Business and WisBusiness.com hosted the live podcast this week, focusing on challenges and opportunities presented by tariffs. Jake Boniface, senior buyer at Eaton Corporation and a WCTC graduate, said the power management company has put a “huge focus” on supply chain resiliency while tariff ripple effects play out.
“If these tariffs have taught us anything, it’s how unpredictable things can be, even in a short time horizon, like a few months to a year,” he said. “So having a supply chain that can pivot, that we have options and we don’t have to scramble with stuff already on the water.”
Boniface said the company, which has U.S. headquarters in Ohio, has “taken a hit” to its margins from tariffs. He noted the electrical transformers it makes are built with steel and aluminum, which have faced various tariffs under the Trump administration. And changes to U.S. tariff policy are often made with little warning, he added, disrupting plans and causing whiplash in pricing.
Still, he said the company isn’t “changing course” or rethinking its long-term strategy despite grappling with greater uncertainty. As it navigates this challenge, the company has deployed AI tools to “streamline” its analytics and improve supply chain management.
“We do have an AI-driven model that can predict tariffs throughout, end-to-end with the business,” he said. “Eaton’s a very vertically integrated business … a lot of my suppliers can also be sister companies or subsidiaries of Eaton, so that tariff that’s being paid several steps down, how can we track that … AI is instrumental to doing that.”
The conversation also touched on WCTC’s approach to preparing students for the world of international trade. Susan Dragotta, supply chain and global business instructor at the college’s business school, noted she often tells her students that 96% of the world’s population is outside of the United States.
“So we really focus on, for our business students, understanding opportunities around selling overseas, of course sourcing also,” she said.
Meanwhile, “Talking Trade” co-host and M.E. Dey & Co. President Sandi Siegel said she was happy to see some of the results of recent Trump negotiations between the United States and Asian trade partners.
“This recent trip to Asia, a lot of great things I am excited about, that will help settle down some of the chaos,” she said. “Some major deals with China.”
Siegel noted China has reversed course on stopping issuing export licenses to many suppliers and suspended retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, while also pledging to purchase millions of tons of American soybeans after previously cutting off imports as part of the back-and-forth with the Trump Administration.
“Historically, China has purchased 60% of Wisconsin’s soybeans … so that’s a big win, that’s been somewhere we got hit really hard, again with our farmers and particularly here in Wisconsin,” she said.
Watch the video.
— The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s latest survey finds a big jump in AI usage among local employers.
The online survey, part of the chamber’s Next Normal workgroup, tapped 241 businesses from Sept. 4-29. It asked respondents about their business outlook, workforce challenges and other barriers, as well as how they’re incorporating AI into their operations and more.
About 80% of respondents reported using AI “in some capacity” this year, compared to 49% last year. Last year, 49% of employers said they didn’t use AI at all, and that dropped to just 21% in the latest survey.
For those not using it, top reasons include AI not being applicable in their field, a lack of knowledge about what it can do, concerns around privacy or security as well as bias, and a lack of available data. The main Madison-area industries that aren’t using AI are food and beverage and retail, the survey suggests, though those areas still had 40% to 50% adoption.
Still, 58% of those currently using AI say the technology is only “minimally integrated” into their operations.
Top applications for respondents included: content creation and design, with 66% of those using AI; administrative support, 64%; marketing and advertising, 51%; business analytics, 47%; automation, 31%; and research and development, 30%.
Meanwhile, fewer respondents said access to talent is a barrier to business, falling from 49% last year to 41% in the latest survey.
But between last year and this year, concerns around tariffs and trade soared from 5% to 36% calling it a barrier to business. Chamber President Zach Brandon emphasized this shift yesterday during an online briefing on the survey results, calling it one of the most surprising findings.
“To put that in context, that went from the bottom-ranked, least common barrier last year to the third most common barrier this year,” he said.
At the same time, those pointing to inflation as a challenge fell from 47% to 40%. Consumer confidence went from 25% to 33% and government regulations rose from 17% to 28%.
When asked about business performance and the economic climate, 84% said their revenue either rose or stayed flat from last year, an increase from 71% in the previous survey. And 97% of respondents rated the current business climate as average or above, an improvement from 92% last year.
See the release and more survey results.
— Dem lawmakers are circulating a new bill to establish a slate of regulatory requirements for data centers in Wisconsin to address concerns related to energy costs and environmental impacts.
That includes creating new disclosure requirements for water usage. Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin, D-Whitefish Bay, is circulating the legislation with Rep. Angela Stroud, D-Ashland. Habush Sinykin in a statement cited constituent concerns about the impact of a $15 billion data center coming to Port Washington.
“This is why the new legislation being proposed today is about making sure that we have clear, statewide guardrails in place that provide people in communities across Wisconsin with the information and transparency they need to engage in the local decision-making process in an informed, effective manner from the start,” Habush Sinykin said. “I am proud that this legislation guarantees water usage and energy consumption transparency, increases renewable energy sources across the state, insulates ratepayers from the costs of these projects, and prioritizes good paying, family-supporting jobs.”
GOP legislative leaders did not immediately return requests for comment on the proposal.
The legislation would impose several requirements related to data centers, including:
- Requiring data centers to pay the prevailing wage rate or wage rate agreed to under a collective bargaining agreement for laborers and mechanics who work to construct or refurbish large-scale data centers;
- Requiring data centers to meet prevailing wage requirements and ensure at least 70% of the electric energy used each year derives from renewable resources in order to be certified by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. for sales and use tax exemptions;
- Requiring data centers to certify to the Department of Safety and Professional Services that they have been certified for sustainable design or green building standards;
- Requiring water utilities to notify the Public Service Commission when a customer’s water usage will account for 25% of the total water usage for the utility and data centers to disclose their water usage annually;
- Requiring all large energy customers to pay an annual fee to the Department of Administration to go toward the utility public benefits fund and WEDC’s Green Innovation Fund;
- Directing the Public Service Commission to establish a definition of a very large customer class or subclass for each electric utility; and
- Requiring each electric utility to offer an optional renewable resource tariff for commercial and industrial customers.
Wisconsin Conservation Voters and Wisconsin Laborers District Council are backing the legislation, Habush Sinykin’s office said.
WCV is launching a statewide campaign asking voters to push lawmakers to pass the bill. WCV Government Affairs Director Jennifer Giegerich said taxpayers “shouldn’t be subsidizing massive tech companies that use enormous amounts of energy and water.”
“This bill ensures that data centers contribute to Wisconsin’s clean energy future, protect workers, and don’t leave local communities to foot the bill, both financially and environmentally,” she added.
— The state Department of Health Services announced it has applied for $1 billion in federal funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program.
The program offers funding to states through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for various purposes, including covering certain health care costs, efforts to prevent and manage chronic disease, supporting access to opioid addiction treatment and more.
Under the state’s application, the $1 billion in requested funding would be used across three categories: $337 million for boosting the rural health care workforce by supporting career pathways and funding services; $329 million to invest in rural health care technology and digital infrastructure; and $279 million for a grant program to establish coordinated partners for improving rural care.
DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson notes a third of state residents live in rural areas that often have limited care access.
“This funding will allow us to strengthen the infrastructure to improve health outcomes for those who live in rural Wisconsin,” she said in a statement.
CMS will decide on funding awards by Dec. 31, according to DHS. The state agency says it will soon begin recruiting for a team to manage the project.
See the release.
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— Elephas Biosciences Corporation has raised $40 million as it develops its immunotherapy response device, the Madison-based biotech firm announced.
The funding will be used to commercialize the company’s Elephas Live Platform, with plans to launch it as a lab-developed test next year. By profiling live tumor biopsies, it can help predict immunotherapy response for a given patient, according to the release.
Maneesh Arora, founder and CEO for Elephas, says the Series B round closing “underscores the strong investor confidence” in what the business is hoping to accomplish.
“We have made incredible progress this year and have strong momentum heading into 2026,” Arora said yesterday in a statement. “This funding achievement will drive our next stage of growth and advance our commercialization strategy.”
The round included the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Venture Investors Health Fund in Madison.
See the release.
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