News

Pipeline alum set to ‘save the world’ through $1M US Army biotech contract

By Tommy Felts / September 28, 2017

The U.S. Army recently awarded a Missouri biotech startup a $1 million contract for 24 months. Based in Drexel, Missouri, about an hour south of Kansas City, InnovaPrep was selected out of hundreds of proposals for the Department of Defense’s 2016 Rapid Innovation Fund. The contract is expected to advance development of the U.S. Army…

Tech startup wants to bring Sunshine, electricity to hurricane victims

By Tommy Felts / September 28, 2017

17° 73° Innovation Co. founder Conner Hazelrigg launched a crowdfunding campaign Wednesday to provide disaster relief to Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria. In response to the island’s electricity shortage, the tech startup wants to deploy its Sunshine Box, a portable solar-charging station that can charge 10 devices at a time. The technology is designed…

Blooom reaches $1 billion in assets under management

By Tommy Felts / September 28, 2017

Blooom announced Thursday that the Leawood-based financial tech firm has reached $1 billion in assets under management, becoming the fastest, independent robo advisor to pass that threshold. Although it’s not the first robo advisor to reach $1 billion, Blooom did so by stretching its dollar much farther than Silicon Valley fintech counterparts, said co-founder Chris Costello. “This…

KC smart city leader: Only one city ‘smart’ enough for Amazon HQ2

By Tommy Felts / September 27, 2017

Kansas City’s smart city excellence stands out among a crowded field of major U.S. cities vying for Amazon’s second headquarters, Bob Bennett said. “San Diego has a crazy amount of smart street lights, but they aren’t connected to anything except themselves. New York City has a great Wi-Fi network,” said Bennett, chief innovation officer at…

Food delivery service UberEATS launches in Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / September 26, 2017

Ride-hailing service Uber announced Tuesday that it’s launched its food delivery service in the Kansas City area. UberEATS — a standalone app offered by Uber — allows users to order food from more than 70 Kansas City restaurants, including BRGR Kitchen + Bar, The Bite, Dixon’s Chili, Taco Republic, Smokey’s on the Boulevard and others.…