Most-funded tech startups: $100M-plus investment puts PayIt on the map with C2FO

April 19, 2019  |  Startland News Staff

Kansas city startup funding

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.
startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

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

2019 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Ready to bet big? Kansas wants to help entrepreneurs win more federal innovation grants

    By Tommy Felts | December 9, 2025

    Kansas innovators now have access to a new tool designed to help them compete for major federal funding. The Kansas Department of Commerce has opened applications for the state’s SBIR and STTR Matching Program, which provides financial support and hands-on guidance for entrepreneurs pursuing federal innovation grants. The matching initiative is part of ACCEL-KS, a…

    New Maker of the Year: Why this mom’s side hustle for the girly girls couldn’t stay at home

    By Tommy Felts | December 9, 2025

    A hobbyist venture that began with making shirts for her kids has earned Julie Swopes a spot on Made in KC’s shelves for her Chiefs- and Royals-inspired tees — along with one of the local-first retailer’s top honors: KC New Maker of the Year for 2025. “I’m just a stay-at-home mom that has turned her…

    Don’t be a stranger: When this Crossroads refuge closes, another chapter begins for Afterword (and the space it leaves behind)

    By Tommy Felts | December 8, 2025

    With two more Open Mic Nights and more than a month left on its lease at Afterword Tavern & Shelves — a cozy corner hotspot where patrons leisurely bond over drinks and good reads — the popular Crossroads third-space isn’t finished telling its story despite losing the space to its new landlord, said Kate Hall.…

    Exporting KC to the world: Esports leader revs come-from-behind global takeover amid World Cup’s big draw

    By Tommy Felts | December 6, 2025

    As the metro bundled up and showed out Friday, getting its latest taste of what the 2026 World Cup has in store, the Kansas City Pioneers dropped new heat — raising the thermostat on their commitment to seize the moment brought forth by the global gathering as a net for esports.  “Now is the time for…