Even as Milwaukee lags behind comparable U.S. cities in the amount of venture capital invested in local startups, the metropolitan area has 147 startups that have landed at least one venture capital deal since 2010 and are still operating.
A total of 177 Milwaukee-area startups have collectively raised at least $279.18 million in venture capital since 2010, with a median of $750,000 raised per company. A total of 130 companies, or 73%, raised money from investors outside of Wisconsin.
Those are some of the new data points made available by the recently updated Metro Milwaukee Innovation DataTool created by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. The venture-backed startup data comes from PitchBook Data and includes companies with headquarters in the eight-county Milwaukee combined statistical area.
The updated data tool was funded by venture capitalist and former Milwaukee County executive Chris Abele as part of a startup initiative announced this fall by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).
The Wisconsin Policy Forum originally launched the data tool in 2019. The updated version is designed to track the Milwaukee area's performance on 17 economic indicators related to innovation and economic growth.
In addition to data on startup companies that have raised venture capital, the tool also newly includes data about local college graduates who have completed programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. It also includes other data related to regional talent, idea development, capital access, small business development and economic trends.
Milwaukee-area companies raised a total of $53 million in venture capital dollars in 2020, the data tool also shows.
Between 2018 and 2020, startups in metro Milwaukee collectively raised an average of $40 million per year, placing Milwaukee behind cities including Cleveland, which raised an average of $180 million during that period; Indianapolis, which averaged $278 million; and Minneapolis, which averaged $1.48 billion, the data tool shows.
Of the 147 venture-backed Milwaukee-area companies that are still operating, 120 are generating revenue or are profitable, and the startups collectively employ more than 2,000 people, the data shows. The data dashboard includes a full list of the companies.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., gener8tor and the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation were the top three organizations in terms of the number of investments they've made in Milwaukee-area startups.
The WEDC has made 44 investments, gener8tor has made 29 and BrightStar has made 24, according to the data. While the WEDC has historically issued grant funding to businesses, it launched a Wisconsin Investment Pilot program this year to invest in Wisconsin technology startups through a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE).
