Local, artificial intelligence firms enter the Sprint Accelerator

There’s a bit of local flavor in the latest class of startups to enter the Techstars-led Sprint Accelerator.

Now hosting its third batch of startup companies, the accelerator welcomed ten new companies to its three-month program, including one from Kansas City and another from Lawrence. Super Dispatch, based in Kansas City, and Mycroft, based in Lawrence Kan., are the two first area firms to enter the accelerator program since its arrival in 2014. The roster of startups also features three companies employing artificial intelligence technology in their services.

The accelerator program has fine-tuned its recipe in the last year to have a broader focus on all mobile technologies, as opposed to just mobile health in previous years. That new focus should align it better with Sprint, the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S.

Here’s a bit more on the companies:

• Backstitch, based in Detroit, Mich., makes corporate intranet communications personalized, relevant and actionable. Co-founders: Jordan Warzecha and Stefanie Warzecha.
• Karmies, based in Denver, Colo., created an ad tech platform that monetizes emojis by making them smart and branded. Founder: Megan Haines.
• Leka, based in Paris, makes an interactive, multi-sensory robotic ball that greatly enhances therapies for special needs children. Co-founders: Ladislas de Toldi and Marine Couteau.
• Mycroft, based in Lawrence, created an open source, voice-driven, artificial intelligence platform for the connected home. Founder: Joshua Montgomery.
• Nozzle, based in Lehi, Utah, developed a marketing analytics platform that provides on-demand customer acquisition reporting and timely alerts. Co-founders: Derek Perkins, Tanner Linsley and Joseph Bergevin.
• Responsive Ads, based in New York City, built HTML5 technology allowing users to create and deploy advertisements that resize according to a reader’s device. Co-founders: Matthew Snyder and Matti Lehto.
• Social Capital, based in San Francisco, Calif., generates accurate personality profiles by applying artificial intelligence to social and online behavior. Co-founder: Obed Eugene. 
• SpaceView, based in Portland, Oregon, developed a mobile augmented reality platform that visualizes real world products in virtual spaces. Co-founders: Cody White, Miloš Jovanović, Andrew Silluron and Cameron Knight.
• Stride, based in Palo Alto, Calif., created artificial intelligence that uses advanced sentiment analysis to enable businesses to translate their textual data into actionable insights. Co-founders: Senthil Kumar and Vijaykant Nadadur.
• Super Dispatch, based in Kansas City, developed a platform that enables automotive logistics companies to eliminate paperwork, manage loads, drivers, and billing all in one place. Founder: Bek Abdullayev.