Most-funded tech startups: $100M-plus investment puts PayIt on the map with C2FO
April 19, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Companies in the Midwest and South are making major plays for investment dollars, according to CB Insights, with Kansas City’s PayIt and C2FO earning spots on the latest map of the nation’s most well-funded tech startups.
“The tech boom has diffused beyond the traditional hotbeds of California, New York, and Massachusetts, across the entire United States,” the CB Insights report said.
The new map assigns top-funded startups in each U.S. state.
Fresh off a more than $100 million investment from New York-based Insight Partners in March, GovTech platform PayIt landed on the report for the first time, representing Missouri. Other investors include Advantage Capital, Royal Street Ventures, Five Elms Capital, and KCRise Fund, according to CB Insights.
Click here to read more about what PayIt’s recent investment news means for Kansas City.
The startup’s focus is on simplifying government to make it more modern, convenient, accessible and transparent — taking out the friction of working with city, county and state entities, said John Thomson, PayIt CEO and co-founder.
“We’ve emerged as the disruptive new tech in a market full of old tech,” he said. “We generate real outcomes, not just for constituents to simply their lives, but real benefits to the governments as well. We’re helping them collect revenue faster, improve compliance, and drive big savings and efficiencies.”
On the Kansas side of the border, Leawood-based FinTech firm C2FO has logged nearly $200 million from Temasek Holdings, Tiger Global Management, Mubadala Investment Co, and Union Square Ventures, Mithril Capital Management, according to the report.
Click here for more on C2FO’s $100 million funding round in 2018.
CB Insights map was created using disclosed equity funding, excluding money from debt, loans, and lines of credit. Only tech companies that have raised at least $1 million of equity funding since January 2014 are considered.
Click here for a closer look at the funding map.
Key takeaways from the CB Insights report include:
- The most well-funded tech startup was California’s Uber, with $15B in disclosed equity funding;
- Companies with the deepest pockets were found in Florida (Magic Leap, $2.4 billion in disclosed equity funding), Illinois (Avant, $655 million), and Georgia (Kabbage, $490 million); and
- The VC-backed startup with the least funding on the list is Oklahoma’s SendaRide with $1.74 million in funding.
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Beach volleyball heavyweights, Olympians hitting KC sand for George Brett showdown
Serial entrepreneur Lance Windholz hopes a high-profile weekend beach volleyball tournament — showcasing 24 professional players, including seven Olympians — will encourage more Kansas City athletes and enthusiasts to dig the sport he loves. The George Brett 4v4 Volleyball Showdown arrives Saturday, Sept. 13, at Shawnee Mission Beach Volleyball. Two amateur teams are set to compete…
KC-built AI command center helps businesses gain superpowers without losing their tech stack
First envisioned as an AI-powered agent built to streamline operations at Kansas City-based Plexpod’s coworking spaces, Intuidy has evolved into its own operating system; one that is transforming the way companies operate, co-founder Grayson Smith said. Vantage — Intuidy’s flagship platform launched in early 2024 with the help of Smith’s brother, Gentry — is a…
Peek inside: This new coworking space on Troost opens doors to belonging (and a rooftop view)
A search for new office space turned into a bigger opportunity to connect for founder Jeff Wagner, who launched Belong Space as a coworking community within a resurgent hub along Troost. Its mission is in the name. “It’s very difficult to find office space that’s in a qualified HUBZone neighborhood,” said Wagner, founder and CEO…
Brewery, taproom taking root in former JoCo Macy’s amid neighborhood transformation
An Iowa-based brewer — lauded for igniting economic growth and vibrancy in the communities where it plants its taprooms — announced plans Monday to expand its Big Grove brand into Prairie Village, projecting a fall 2026 opening within a long-dormant retail space in Johnson County. Dirt already is moving outside the former Macy’s department store…

