Idle Smart posts Series A round with KCRise Fund, multimillion-dollar investment support

October 24, 2018  |  Austin Barnes

Jeff Lynch, Idle Smart

A multi-million dollar investment round has Kansas City-grown Idle Smart revving its engine and accelerating toward rapid growth in 2019, revealed Jeff Lynch, company president.

“I think it’s a reflection of what the team has been able to create over the past few years,” Lynch said of Idle Smart’s completion of a milestone Series A funding effort.

The round was led by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, but also included significant support from the KCRise Fund and Service Provider Capital, he said. Stout Street Capital and Clean Energy Fund have also invested in the company, according to online Crunchbase reports.

Known for its patented, energy-saving technology that automates engine start-stops of fleet vehicles, Lynch said the cash infusion will greatly contribute to the internal growth of the company.

“Our business to date commands that we need to build, grow, and enhance our team in advance of what we think will be even better years in 2019, 2020, and 2021,” he said.

Idle Smart’s personnel upgrades will focus on technical expertise, U.S. and international sales forces, and internal account management functions, Lynch added.

“We think it’s a positive sign and a positive year mark in terms of our future opportunities and potential for success,” he said.

In addition to internal growth, Idle Smart is now in the process of relocating its offices from the Kansas City Startup Village to Plexpod Westport Commons, Lynch said.

Idle Smart was one of the first companies to inhabit the startup village –– a series of homes nestled within the 45th Street and State Line Road neighborhoods that first welcomed Google Fiber, which came to Kansas City in 2012.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2018 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Frustrated by the fit, this traveler-turned-swimwear founder crafted 10 pairs himself; now his trunk show is going global

    By Tommy Felts | December 3, 2025

    Opening a popup swimwear store in one of Atlanta’s most upscale malls represented a surge of momentum for Tristan Davis’ high-end brand that began not on a beach or a runway, but in Kansas City’s tight-knit startup community. “We’ve gone from an idea in a handmade bathing suit to a high fashion mall in less…

    Harvesting opportunity: How a KC chicken chain turned a strip of parking lot into its latest ingredient

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    Months before snow blanketed Kansas City this week, Todd Johnson transformed a weed-filled, unusable portion of parking lot at his Lenexa restaurant into a flourishing garden that serves up fresh produce used in kitchens at all three of his Strips Chicken and Brewing locations in Johnson County. In its first season, Moonglow Gardens — as…

    AI evolved faster than rules to protect people; this founder wants to code ethics back into the tech

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    Amber Stewart sees what many overlook in artificial intelligence, she said: the human cost of unregulated technology that can manifest as anything from sexist and racist outcomes to outright theft from willing and unwilling members of the public. “I’m not afraid of the tech,” said Stewart, founder and CEO of GuardianSync. “I’m afraid of unfettered…

    A romantic hideaway (for you and a book): Entrepreneur’s heart for reading opens store on Independence Square

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    America Fontenot didn’t plan to launch her new Independence bookstore on national Small Business Saturday — the busiest shopping weekend of the year — but renovation delays just kept pushing back the opening, she said. So while many small shops were offering Black Friday-adjacent deals to get customers in the front door, Fontenot’s The Littlest…