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
Set your watch: 90 seconds with local innovators, entrepreneurs
It’s coming! Set your watch as we team up with FlatlandKC to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. “90 on the Clock” premieres Wednesday, Sept. 23, with Callie England, founder of Rawxies, as she talks about her East Bottoms business and its raw, vegan, and gluten- and soy-free treats. The five-part series continues each Wednesday as the 90-second…
Meet the 10 startup winners of LaunchKC’s $50K
LaunchKC announced the winners of 10, $50,000 grants Friday during a celebration at the inaugural Techweek Kansas City conference. More than 40 judges evaluated pitches from 20 contest finalists, who pitched their companies Friday morning at Union Station before a crowd of about 100 people. LaunchKC kicked off in February and nabbed nearly 500 total applicants…
KC picks who they think will win LaunchKC’s $50K grants
Twenty startups are hoping to snag $50,000 during the LaunchKC grant competition. Nearly 500 companies applied to be part of the contest, which will be announcing the winners at Techweek Kansas City at 3 p.m. Friday. Below are predictions from a few members of the tech, startup and entrepreneurship community meandering around Techweek on who…
A chat with Tinder co-founder Jonathan Badeen
Tinder co-founder Jonathan Badeen’s roots run deep in the Kansas City area. A native of Leawood and a graduate of Barstow High School, Badeen stopped by Techweek Kansas City Thursday to discuss the popular app — Tinder — that he helped create. Badeen, who’s also a fan of the University of Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas…