LG Electronics tech expert: Kansas City a smart home for corporate-startup collaboration (IXKC photos)
July 20, 2019 | Tommy Felts
Tech industry giants see significant potential in the ideas being created in startup hubs like Kansas City, an LG Electronics leader told a crowd gathered this week at Homebase.
“A lot of startup companies can bring innovation to the front. Big companies like ours, sometimes we’re so busy that we lose track of that activity,” said Henry Kim, director of smart home solutions, LG Electronics. “We really rely on startup companies to provide that innovation. We look for investment opportunities and work with these companies to see where we can come together.”
Henry Kim, LG Electronics, Innovation Exchange
Kim joined Startland’s Innovation Exchange panel on Urban Tech — hosted by Homebase and presented by Evergy Ventures — injecting thoughts on corporate innovation and collaboration into the broader conversation about home automation, the Internet of Things and cyber security.
Having already established a working partnership with Homebase — one of Startland’s Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2019 — Kim said LG saw the hometown company as a compelling opportunity to break into the multifamily smart home market.
Click here to learn more about Homebase.
Such partnerships are part of LG’s corporate strategy to find new verticals that overlap with or feed into existing product lines, Kim said, noting startup companies and their ideas need a certain level of maturity for serious consideration.
“The investment group [at LG] is especially looking at the viability of [a startup’s] solution,” he said. “If it’s an IoT type of platform, like smart cooking for example, we ask ‘What is the potential for onboarding the end user [to our other products and services]?”
Kansas City specifically appears to be a prime source of potential collaborations, Kim emphasized.
“When I [arrived] today, I saw you’ve upgraded Kansas City tremendously since I last visited a couple years ago. Kansas City has a lot more opportunity compared to many other, bigger cities in terms of creating new business opportunities,” he said. “Together with Homebase, we’re hoping to create a lot more synergy.”
Check out a photo gallery below, featuring July Innovation Exchange panelists Henry Kim, LG Electronics; Brittany Williams, principal, WISE Power; and Scott Ford, CEO, Pepper IoT; as well as entertainment by Amado Espinoza.
Click here to read a Q&A with Scott Ford of Pepper, a portfolio company of Evergy Ventures and another one of Startland’s Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2019.
Click here to listen to a podcast featuring Blake Miller, founder of Homebase (jump to 2:41).
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
NXTUS expands enterprise-focused program beyond Kansas; four KC-area startups selected
WICHITA, Kan. — An ongoing initiative to demystify the relationship-building process between emerging entrepreneurs and potential enterprise partners just expanded deeper into the Midwest, welcoming 20 growth-minded innovators from Wichita to St. Louis. “For entrepreneurs whose success depends on forging relationships with ‘the big guys,’ this unique program is so valuable,” said Mary Beth Jarvis, president…
Here’s how Bungii delivered spot No. 981 in its Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies debut
Nailing Bungii’s geographic expansion model has unlocked significant growth, said Ben Jackson, detailing a years-long evolution that earned his Kansas City-built final-mile delivery carrier a coveted spot on the latest Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies list. “Bungii’s network is becoming one of the largest sharing economy footprints across the U.S.,” explained Jackson, who co-founded the company…
Caterpillar subsidiary expands into KC, turning dirt to create 85 jobs in revitalized industrial corridor near riverfront
A multi-million dollar expansion project is expected to put an aging manufacturing site back on track in Kansas City, officials at Progress Rail announced Monday, noting the converted operation will focus on re-manufacturing railcar wheelsets and bearings. Progress Rail — a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. — expects to bring 85 new full-time jobs…
Emerging KC space tech startup relocating to Colorado to build autonomous factory
A space tech startup that shot into orbit from its West Bottoms headquarters in Kansas City has announced plans to build its first smart factory in Colorado — relocating operations to Broomfield to join the Centennial State’s “robust aerospace and defense ecosystem.” “Colorado is home to some of the best aerospace, defense, and manufacturing talent…