ZOHR

Tire Pig inflates ZOHR founders’ mobile tire service concept with new AI engine, ‘effortless’ installation

Under the hood, ZOHR’s reboot as Tire Pig is using AI to make buying tires simple and intuitive, Komal Choong said. On the surface, the company is building a brand that’s fun, positive, and different from anything else in the aftermarket auto sector.

Komal Choong and Anoop Choong, ZOHR

ZOHR relocates HQ to Dallas; KC lauded as its test site, but too limiting to grow brand nationally

Everything’s bigger in Texas for ZOHR — including the startup’s potential to drive onto the national automotive scene, said Komal Choong. “Kansas City has been our test market to prove out key elements of our growth and market expansion strategies,” said Choong, co-founder of ZOHR, confirming Tuesday that the on-demand tire service startup has relocated its…

Union Station, Kansas City

Startups, offices in path of Chiefs parade closing to party amid travel concerns

A long-awaited parade and rally celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory is set to snarl traffic across the metro Wednesday, shutting down much of the city’s downtown-to-midtown business districts — rippling across a startup community eager to join in the fanfare. Set for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the parade is expected to draw more…

Is KC getting lapped? Kansas City scores No. 13 among Top 25 Midwestern cities in M25 ranking

Kansas City is maintaining a spot firmly in the middle of the pack among the top 25 Midwestern startup cities — in large part thanks to a $100-plus million growth equity investment in PayIt earlier this year, according to a new ranking by M25. The mega-round for Kansas City’s leading GovTech startup kept the City…

Mike Plunkett and John Thomson, PayIt

Payit, C2FO making biggest waves, but funding for smaller companies still jumped 81 percent

Editor’s note: The following is the first in a series of analyses of Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies. Proof points matter, said John Thomson. “We’re evidence — based on the $100 million-plus growth equity investment we closed this spring — that you can build a world-class tech company in Kansas City,”…