While millions were fixated on the 2025 NFL draft taking place in Green Bay April 24-26, there was another game-changing event happening alongside it: the TitletownTech Startup Draft. On April 24, two companies were named TitletownTech’s first‑round draft picks, each earning $1 million investments and $350,000 in Microsoft Azure credits.
Ateios Systems and Ubicept were the companies selected out of the seven finalists invited to Green Bay earlier that month for the Startup Combine. The TitletownTech Startup Draft had originally intended to select a single winner, but after reviewing the finalists, TitletownTech and Microsoft doubled their commitment, awarding two companies a total of $2.7 million in investments and cloud resources.
“The TitletownTech Startup Draft exceeded our expectations and our imaginations,” said Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft.
Nearly 1,000 startups from around the country applied for the TitletownTech Startup Draft, which was hosted in partnership with the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. The startups represented industries key to Wisconsin’s economy such as advanced manufacturing, energy, supply chain, digital health, water and sports.
Indiana-based Ateios Systems was selected for its work developing a chemistry-agnostic platform for manufacturing battery electrodes without toxic solvents or forever chemicals.
The other winning company, Ubicept, has teams in Wisconsin and Massachusetts. It was selected for its advancements in computer vision and technology that enables machines to see beyond the limits of traditional cameras, performing in extreme lighting, motion and environmental conditions. The company’s advanced sensor processing enables ultra-low noise, high-speed imaging for robotics, automotive, surveillance and industrial uses.
Co-founded by Sebastian Bauer and Tristan Swedish in 2021, Ubicept’s technology was developed through years of research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIT. Bauer says the company’s Wisconsin ties make its Startup Draft win even more exciting.
“This is really helping us get to the next level and generate publicity, which is what every startup needs,” he says. “We are in the proof of concept stage, and that’s looking promising. Now we need to get into the cadence of our algorithms fast enough and be able to deploy the solutions together with customers.”
The startup has raised $8 million in venture capital, not including its Startup Draft winnings.
“We are currently raising our next round, so this is a very nice support and boost for everything. Once this is done, it’s about growing the team as much as we can and being able to get our products into the hands of people,” says Bauer, who believes eventually Ubicept’s technology will be found in “everything that moves and has a camera on it” such as robots, cars, drones and helicopters.
“Ubicept’s technology is a true leap forward in computer vision,” said Craig Dickman, TitletownTech managing partner. “The company’s ability to unlock high-performance imaging under real-world conditions is a major advancement, and we’re excited to support their journey as they bring this powerful platform to market.”
Dickman says the TitletownTech Startup Draft benefits Northeast Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by bringing attention to the work of early-stage startups, showcasing the community’s vibrancy and creating connections between existing companies, investors and founders.
“I think just in terms of extending the network, it has a lot of value,” he says.
One of Northeast Wisconsin’s strengths, Dickman says, is its robust talent pool in core industries such as manufacturing, supply chain, agriculture and health.
“We are very good problem solvers, which means we’re very good innovators,” he says. “As long as we acknowledge those are the same thing, then I think we’ve got a great base.”
While Dickman says TitletownTech does not make relocating to Green Bay a condition of its investments, seven of its portfolio companies have chosen to make Wisconsin their home base as a result of the support they have received; he believes more will do the same.
“I think as they see the ecosystem come to life, we’ll have people who want to have talent here, presence here, be making things here,” he says.
