Wisconsin Democratic legislators announced a competing venture capital bill this week that would invest $208 million over six years, much larger than the $25 million plan supported by Gov. Scott Walker and legislators on both sides of the aisle.
The bill announced Thursday would create the Wisconsin Forward Jobs Fund that would invest $208 million from the state general fund in qualified investment capital funds as well as directly into promising Wisconsin startups that are also receiving money from angel investors, according to the analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau. Matching investment requirements could leverage up to an additional $740 million in private investments, legislators said.
