KCRise Fund invests in PEQ and Dunami
December 22, 2016 | Bobby Burch
The KCRise Fund announced two investments in area firms Thursday to round out its 2016.
Launched in February in conjunction with the KC Rising economic initiative, the KCRise Fund joined ongoing investment rounds in tech firms PEQ and Dunami.
Kansas City-based PEQ is an Internet of Things service enabler that created an operating system for IoT device management. Overland Park-based Dunami created a big data analytics platform designed to offer companies the insights into their business.
While not disclosing the value of their investments, KCRise Fund manager Darcy Howe said she’s thrilled to close the year on a high note.
“The KCRise Fund is ending its first year strong with these most recent commitments, and a third soon to be announced, bringing our total 2016 commitment to more than $2 million,” Howe said in a release. “We are so proud to support some of the Kansas City region’s most promising entrepreneurs and their companies and look forward to finding additional investments in 2017.”
The KCRise fund was created as a solution to the regional challenge of accessing capital. Now with more than $10 million in its coffers, the fund aims to grow to $20 million. KCRise previously invested in SpiderOak and Innara Health.
To qualify for the KCRise Fund, a firm must “have high growth potential” and must reside or have substantial operations between Manhattan, Kan. and Columbia, Mo. The firm must also be seeking at least $1 million in a Series A investment round and have an approved venture capital firm investor in the funding round.
Now with four deals under its belt, Howe’s fund represents a local surge of activity in early-stage business investment. KCRise Fund, Firebrand Ventures, Royal Street Ventures and a few other funds have launched offices or made startup investments in the Kansas City area in 2016.
“We are delighted and honored to have the opportunity to invite the KCRise Fund into the PEQ ownership structure,” PEQ CEO Scott Ford said in a release. “Kansas City is clearly a hub for IoT and to have the community involved directly through KCRise is a great advantage to us.”
Dunami CEO Pat Butler echoed Ford’s excitement.
“At Dunami, we are excited to have the opportunity to partner with KCRise and local investors as we work to revolutionize the way organizations leverage social media and their own data to grow their business.”
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
This Kansas gardener is suing for the right to sell honey and fruit from her Ottawa yard
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Ellen Finnerty dreams of beekeeping and of supplementing the income from her warehouse job by selling products from her garden. OTTAWA,…
They called her ‘Buckwheat’ as a child; Her genre-blending new film flips the script on preconceived narratives
Jamie Addison’s production company aims to expose realities not often explored in mainstream media or society, the Kansas City filmmaker said, particularly as they reveal truths that have been hidden to create misleading or outright false narratives around gender, race and social norms. “Let’s take back the power and identity and love ourselves; truly feel…
Married puppeteers had a hand in reviving iconic Mr. Rogers characters for film; now they’ve returned to KC (with their studio)
Puppeteers are often anonymous, but Spencer Lott — and his wife and business partner, Grace Townley — are stepping into the spotlight to start their own creative studio, they shared. The Lawrence-based couple — who built the puppets used in the Tom Hanks film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” about the life of TV’s…
Show-Me Honeywell: How this high-security KC tech campus became a one-day classroom for Missouri school leaders
A group of Missouri educators, counselors and administrators took a summer trip across the state to visit notable companies and learn firsthand about relevant career pathways for their students, detailed Brian Crouse. Among the behind-the-scenes looks: a rare glimpse into the work at Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, which manages the U.S. Department of Energy’s…