Look for more in coming months about the Wisconsin Tech Summit, which will be held April 7 at the GE Healthcare Institute in Waukesha. The goal of the Tech Summit is to bring together major companies and emerging firms in a setting that allows them to meet and explore likely business relationships around technology needs and innovation. Those relationships might include contracting for research and development, becoming part of a larger supply chain, and pursuing investment or acquisition strategies. The summit is based on the assumption that large and small companies travel in different “orbits,” even if they’re in the same business sectors, and rarely collide except by chance. Some major companies in Wisconsin are already a part of the process, and we look forward to telling you more about how you can get involved.

Madison’s growing lineup of co-working spaces, many of which provide support, cost savings and an innovation environment for the city’s entrepreneurs, will be featured at the Tuesday, Jan. 28, meeting of the Wisconsin Innovation Network in Madison.

Panelists will include TJ Blitz, a principle of Cresa Madison; Brian Samson of MadWorks Co-working; and Joe Sweeney, director and chief executive officer of 100 State. Tom Still of the Wisconsin Technology Council will moderate.

The luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Hotel on Madison’s John Nolen Drive. Registration and networking begin at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon and the presentation at 12:30 p.m.

“These are just three examples of an exciting trend that can work for many entrepreneurs in search of the right space,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Learn more and get registered here.

JSOnline: Visteon buying Johnson Controls unit for $265M
Johnson Controls Inc. has agreed to sell its automotive electronics business for $265 million to Visteon Corp., bringing to nearly $1 billion the proceeds from the company's recent divestitures.

JSOnline: Shorewood company advances in water startup contest
Wellintel Inc., a Shorewood start-up developing an inexpensive system to give homeowners with wells more information than ever before about their water supply, has been chosen as a finalist in  Imagine H2O's  Global Water Start-up Competition.

JSOnline: New leader named for UW tech transfer organization
WiSys Technology Foundation Inc., the technology transfer agent for the University of Wisconsin System, has a new executive director and a new chairman.

Xconomy: Milwaukee, Chicago VCs bullish on Wisconsin startups
The amount of startup activity in Wisconsin over the past few years, particularly forming new funding sources and supporting tech startups, has venture capitalists from Milwaukee and Chicago cautiously bullish about the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. That was the consensus from a Thursday panel discussion between VCs hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council’s Wisconsin Innovation Network in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee.

WisBusiness: Abele pushes for focus on startup culture
At a startup-themed Wisconsin Innovation Network meeting, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said he would like to see state startup investment become a conversation point in the governor's race.

JSOnline: Stemina lands $10M contract with EPA for toxicology testing
Stemina Biomarker Discovery Inc. said Thursday is has received a contract from the Environmental Protection Agency that will generate more than $10 million of revenue over the next five years.

JSOnline: Gener8tor accepts five startups to accelerator program
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JSOnline: Wisconsin startups attracting investors
From an entrepreneurial perspective, it was as if Wisconsin awoke from a long slumber in 2013. Support for a vibrant start-up community, which many say is needed to boost the state's mediocre business growth trends, finally appears to be gaining steam.

JSOnline: Rockwell leading way in next industrial revolution
The Internet of tomorrow has arrived, and it's about much more than Facebook, Netflix, Twitter and email, the services we use to connect with one another. This new Internet already has its own acronym, IoT, for "Internet of Things." And while many of its architects are well-known Silicon Valley companies, longtime Milwaukee industrial stalwart Rockwell Automation Inc. has positioned itself at the heart of the phenomenon, which some consider the next industrial revolution.

A New Year's look back - and forward
As the Wisconsin Technology Council looks forward to 2014, we want to close out the year with the many accomplishments of our sponsors, members, volunteers, board of directors and staff in 2013.

State Journal: Tech reigns in 2013
Whether it was adding space, encouraging young entrepreneurs or even taking one noteworthy company public, the Madison area tech sector dominated much of the business news in 2013.

Chinese company acquires Waunakee's Scientific Protein Labs
A Chinese pharmaeceutical company has agreed to acquire Scientific Protein Labs, based in Waunakee, for more than $337 million. 

Nominations sought for Governor's Export Achievement Awards
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards. Deadline is January 31 for companies that have had exporting success. 

Wall Street Journal: Venture Investors’ Neis on improving returns
Venture Investors' John Neis speaks about the challenge of putting together syndicates for life-sciences investment, how returns are improving and the need for biotech companies to perform after going public.