KC Digital Drive: Kansas City companies win 3 of 21 gigabit app awards so far
April 27, 2018 | Startland News Staff
Two Kansas City startups each recently earned $10,000 awards through a program promoting gigabit app development in the metro. A third firm won previously.
OnTimeSocial and PlanIT Impact were among 11 companies honored this spring by US Ignite, which seeks to leverage networking technologies to build stronger smart communities. In Kansas City, US Ignite and its Smart Gigabit Communities grants are managed by KC Digital Drive.
“Leaders in each of our Smart Gigabit Communities worked with development teams to identify the most promising gigabit applications in their regions,” US Ignite said in a press release.
Technology from OnTimeSocial provides a framework to unify data streams generated by smart devices into a social framework for improved community engagement and remote user interaction. PlanIT Impact is an architectural planning service that streams in big data to provide a dynamic city planning platform to decrease cost and improve environmental efficiency in urban construction.
Both companies — along with past KC-based $10,000 awardee Gigabots — have been active with US Ignite for years, said Aaron Deacon, managing director of KC Digital Drive. The trio are among 21 gigabit app award winners so far, he said.
“PlanIT Impact was actually one of our first projects,” Deacon said. “We put a team together in advance of our first gigabit hackathon in 2013. It has continued to get funding through sources we’ve brought to town or cultivated.”
Between US Ignite programs and the Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund, the startup has been awarded around $100,000, he added. PlanIT Impact additionally was a 2017 Launch KC winner, earning a $50,000 prize.
Led by Jonathan Wagner, Gigabots also has been funded by Mozilla — through multiple rounds and in multiple cities, he said.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
With KC expansion set, EquipmentShare raises $28.4M
A firm that’s planning to open a Kansas City tech office snagged millions in equity financing for its platform touted as the “Airbnb for construction equipment.” Based in Columbia, Mo., EquipmentShare raised about $28.4 in a Series B round that will accelerate its expansion to major metros around the nation, according to a filing with…
New FCC chairman Ajit Pai is familiar with KC startup community
A native Kansan that recently visited with the area’s entrepreneurial community will now head the Federal Communications Commission. President Donald Trump selected Ajit Pai, the senior Republican on the FCC to lead the commission, which regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. “I am deeply grateful to the President of…
Need for speed: Mozilla awards $101K to local gigabit projects
The Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund announced it will award a total of $101,000 to fund six local projects that use gigabit technology to impact learning. The Gigabit Community Fund is a national partnership between the National Science Foundation, US Ignite and Mozilla. Locally, the fund partners with KC Digital Drive, whose goal is to leverage…
Firebrand Ventures joins $6.85M round in Des Moines startup
Continuing a streak of investments, Kansas City-based Firebrand Ventures joined a sizable investment in an Iowa-based payments processing startup. Firebrand joined six other venture funds in a $6.85 million funding round in Des Moines-based Dwolla, which builds applications that facilitate bank transfers, manages customers and verifies bank accounts. The round was led by Union Square…