WARF set to better fund tech startups

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is upping the ante in the amount it spends to help UW–Madison tech startup discoveries get to market, Erik Iverson, WARF’s managing director, said at a recent Wisconsin Innovation Network meeting.

WARF invested $30 million in startups over the past 10 years, but now will spend $60 million over the next four to eight years.

Iverson says $10 million will be directed into a seed fund to support 10 to 15 very early-stage companies a year, while $50 million will become a venture fund to support growing companies.

A separate initiative, WARF’s Human Therapeutics Program, is aimed at advancing some of UW–Madison’s most promising drug compounds and vaccine prospects, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.