Startups Stories

17-year-old social entrepreneur among finalists tapped for healthtech pilot competition

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.  WICHITA — A Kansas teenager’s telemedicine nonprofit was selected as one of nine finalists for a local health tech startup competition — the only Sunflower State venture chosen for the…

KC ranks No. 11 among Midwest startup cities, holding its spot thanks to funding wins amid VC slowdown

A healthy dose of recent funding events kept Kansas City in the No. 11 spot in the 2023 edition of M25’s annual ranking of Midwest startup cities, said Victor Gutwein, founder and managing partner at M25. The comprehensive report explores how metropolitan areas across the Midwest are performing relative to each other based on startup…

Trio of Kansas City startups among Missouri’s latest equity investments; $2.4M awarded in July

Three high-profile tech startups in Kansas City each earned a portion of the $2.4 million awarded in July by the Missouri Technology Corporation, the agency announced this week “We are thrilled to announce another set of awards to support the high-tech, high-growth startups committed to growing in Missouri,” said Jack Scatizzi, executive director of MTC….

Lawrence cybersecurity startup raises $1.85M pre-seed round led by KC’s Flyover Capital

A startup focused on detecting hidden malware and preventing costly ransomware attacks announced a power-packed pre-seed funding round to push its pending launch — with the backing of a trio of high-profile regional investors. The investment in cybersecurity pioneer Invary was led by Flyover Capital, with additional participation from NetWork Kansas GROWKS Equity program, and…

$16M round for health tech startup growing AI agents to perform administrative tasks

A Seattle company with a talent hub in Kansas City announced Wednesday a $16 million seed round that includes investment from KCRise Fund and a promise to leverage conversational artificial intelligence alongside human talent to boost workplace productivity. Outbound AI emerged from stealth mode in 2022 to a market hungry for solutions, said Stead Burwell,…