While Silicon Valley has long been attached to the technology scene in the United States, other cities are starting to develop their own burgeoning technology industries. One such city, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Madison, Wis., the hometown of Epic Systems.
Though Epic’s headquarters are now in Verona, Wis., approximately 11 miles southwest of Madison, founder Judy Faulkner developed the first iteration of Epic’s EHR systems in Wisconsin’s capital city.
At the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium earlier this week, venture capitalists expressed optimism about Madison’s growing position as a startup hub, according to a report by The Capital Times.
“I think there’s a high number of scrappy, quality companies based here,” said Ablorde Ashigbi, of Chicago-based Pritzker Group Venture Capital, according to the report. “We think there’s a significant amount of opportunity here that isn’t being covered like Silicon Valley.”
Panelists at the symposium mentioned Epic’s presence provides a stable cycle of entrepreneurs coming to Madison. It serves as an anchor of sorts in the city.
“The story that we really like was of the burgeoning, dynamic ecosystem that revolves around Epic here in town,” Peter Christman of Chicago Ventures said on the panel. “The embedded flywheel and feedback loop of both seasoned and young entrepreneurs coming out of Epic to start new, exciting companies, as well as experienced operators providing them feedback, is a really unique combination.”
Other healthcare startups and companies in the Madison area include healthfinch, which uses EMR data to automate clinician tasks, and Catalyze, a cloud-hosting platform.
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