Funding

Robert Feeney and B. Wayne Bradley, KaaS, Ringorang

A Silicon Valley startup relocated to Kansas in June; it’s latest move goes ‘all-in’ on Wichita

By Tommy Felts / December 22, 2021

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. One…

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Miranda Schultz, Daniel Smith, Charon Thompson, and Jahna Riley, The Porter House KC

UMB Bank deposits $350K supporting The Porter House KC; $1.25M in year-end KC donations to benefit underserved communities

By Tommy Felts / December 21, 2021

A hefty, end-of-year donation from UMB Bank will provide The Porter House KC an opportunity to dig deeper in assisting local entrepreneurs, said Daniel Smith, expressing appreciation for the $350,000 boost. “These resources will be used to continue our current work and implement another program that will assist small businesses with direct support, creating additional…

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Cerner

KC tech powerhouse Cerner sells to Oracle in $28.3B deal; buyer says it will grow local presence

By Tommy Felts / December 20, 2021

Months of speculation officially came to an end Monday as Kansas City-headquartered Cerner announced its exit to Oracle — the global cloud giant’s largest-ever acquisition at $28.3 billion in equity value. The largest private employer in the Kansas City metro, Cerner’s medical records solutions have developed over the course of four decades into a transformational healthcare…

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Hometown startups want their due; sister-led QuickHire’s $1.4M round could be just the start

By Tommy Felts / December 6, 2021

QuickHire’s potential for success is enhanced — not limited — by the young tech startup’s south-central Kansas geography, said Deborah Gladney, one half of a sister-led Wichita venture that recently announced its $1.4 million round boosted by a leading Kansas City fund. “Being from Wichita, we’ve come to know and appreciate everything this city has to…

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Avrell Stokes, BeGreat Together

Last chance to nominate: KC-based nonprofit granting $40K to Black, Latinx changemakers  

By Tommy Felts / November 23, 2021

A new nonprofit organization is seeking nominations for changemakers in Kansas City’s Black and Latinx communities ahead of a Nov. 30 deadline. One individual will be awarded $20,000 in support of their efforts.  “We’re specifically targeting grassroot changemakers who don’t have any more than $250,000 in their annual operating budget. We really want to invest…

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