For years, two of Wisconsin’s least-known exports have been among its most valuable: the intellectual and investment capital that help power the economic engines of states such as California and New York.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, among this country’s most successful university patenting and licensing organizations, has licensed most of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s life sciences technologies to out-of-state companies.
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board – the 25th biggest pension fund in the world, managing $76 billion – has used firms that focus on places such as Boston and the Silicon Valley to make virtually all of its venture capital investments in young businesses.