A “3x Jayhawk” — and award-winning Kansas City healthtech founder — was among the first 16 recipients of proof-of-concept funding from ACCEL-KS at KU Innovation Park, officials announced Thursday, revealing a new Kansas-focused resource built to reduce the gap between a strong idea and a viable company.
Each selected company is expected to receive $25,000 in grant funding, along with technical assistance, entrepreneurial education and ecosystem support, to fast-track innovation and advance their ideas to market.
“These companies are tackling real, market-driven challenges across the state,” said Chris Rehkamp, director of business services at KU Innovation Park. “ACCEL-KS is designed to meet founders where they are and provide proof-of-concept support that helps promising ideas from Kansas innovators move faster toward commercialization and impact.”
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The Kansas Department of Commerce tapped KU Innovation Park, alongside Wichita-based Groover Labs, in July 2025 as the two organizations to implement this statewide initiative. More than 65 entrepreneurs applied to the Park’s program from across the state.
The ACCEL-KS cohort spans AI and software, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, education and community infrastructure. All companies receiving ACCEL-KS funding will participate in a cohort supported by Continuum Educational Technologies, a Park-founded public benefit corporation that provides online, on-demand entrepreneurial education. The cohort will also have access to office hours, subject-matter experts, and ongoing professional support.
Among the winners: Love Lifesciences — developer of the UniPen syringe fill-finish system — helmed by co-founder Nick Love.
Nick Love, co-founder of Love Lifesciences, chats with fellow attendees at a January Pipeline Entrepreneurs Happy Hour meetup at Busey Bank in Kansas City; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Love received his undergraduate degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology while developing cancer therapeutics through grants at the KU Cancer Center. He then moved on to receive his medical (MD) and business (MBA) training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and School of Business.
The Love Lifesciences team — including its entire executive team — all attended KU, and the startup boasts facilities at the KU Innovation Park.
“The momentum we’ve had moving into 2026 can be shown through the exciting developments we have been engineering at Love Lifesciences,” Love told Startland News. “This award not only allows Love Lifesciences to continue the development of automating pharmacy infrastructure to support our UniPen technology, but also demonstrates exciting opportunities we have beyond the compounding pharmacy space and into arenas such as CDMOs and other pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
The proof–of-concept funding is expected to be used to complete development of the startup’s fully automated system for syringe filling, he said, noting the work of Love Lifesciences’ engineering team, led by Bradley Hopper and Richard Hollocher.
“This system utilizes a robotic arm to automatically fill more than 4.8 million injectable units a year within the average compounding pharmacy space with a single operator,” Love explained. “In achieving this, our pharmacy partners utilizing UniPen will be able to drastically increase pharmacy output, providing more patients with more script fills, reducing script refill times and removing gaps in patient access to medications. The engineering accomplishments here are extraordinary and allow Love Lifesciences not only to service the compounding pharmacy space with these filling systems, but to service other markets as well including the CDMO and pharmaceutical manufacturing spaces.”
Funded companies also include:
- 620 Fab Co. (CJ Badart, Rob Morris, VJ VanBeclaere), Pittsburg — Designs portable, modular refrigerated shipping containers for affordable, resilient walk-in cold food storage
- Authentiya (Ellia Morse), Ozawkie — Delivers training and supervised classroom tools that enable transparent, responsible student AI use
- Citizen Journal (Greg Loving), McPherson — Uses AI to deliver affordable, hyperlocal digital journalism for rural communities and local businesses
- DiehlPerry (Henry Diehl, Michael Perry), Leawood — Develops AI software that optimizes chemical manufacturing processes to increase profit and reduce emissions
- Electravera (Shelby Atherton, Bri Farris, Kevin Leonard), Lawrence — Creates low-energy separation technology to recover battery grade minerals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries
- My Health Sentry (Russell Ball), Shawnee — Combines social gaming and AI insights to motivate activity and prevent chronic disease long term
- Myndset (Craig Mason, Jeff Miner, Damion Brown), Lawrence — Delivers AI-powered mental strength training to help athletes perform under pressure and build resilience
- EventConnect by Perry’s Pork Rinds (Kelly Perry, Thaddeus Perry), Bronson — Connects event organizers with local vendors through a statewide, searchable online marketplace
- STAT Therapeutics (Thomas Krol), Overland Park — Introduces a first-in-class autoinjector enabling layperson intramuscular drug delivery outside hospital settings
- SteroCore (Yezan Salamoun, Michael Hageman), Lawrence — Advances a once-daily oral testosterone therapy designed to improve adherence, safety, and patient outcomes
- Sulverra (Mark Shiflett, Aaron Scurto), Lawrence — Creates safer, reusable superacid catalysts to replace hazardous mineral acids in industrial chemical processes
- VOISS (Amber Rowland), Lawrence — Uses virtual reality to help youth build social skills through personalized, evidence-based practice
- Vina (Davida Gaffney), Stockton — Powers searchable, always-current business directories for small towns using automation and AI
- Dizzy911 by Visible Rehab (John Estes), Lawrence — Offers smartphone-based vestibular simulation training to improve dizziness and vertigo diagnosis accuracy
- Vytas Biotools (David Alburty, Andy Page), Lawrence — Advances non-invasive liquid biopsy tests for earlier detection of ovarian and pancreatic cancers
Romaine Redman, chief innovation and strategy officer for the Kansas Department of Commerce, speaks in August during Digital Health KC’s Digital Health Day event; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
“These companies reflect the depth and momentum of innovation happening across the state,” said Romaine Redman, the chief innovation and strategy officer at the Kansas Department of Commerce. “ACCEL-KS is helping founders turn strong ideas into real solutions, and this cohort shows what is possible when talent, research and early support come together to shape the future of Kansas’ economy.”
The ACCEL-KS grant requires that 30 percent of selected projects be in rural counties. The grant funding for the five companies in rural Kansas counties, defined as having populations of 40,000 or less, is supported in part by a grant from The Patterson Family Foundation.
“We’re incredibly excited to be part of this program,” said Craig Mason, co-founder of Myndset. “As someone born and raised in Kansas, and a two-time KU graduate, it’s special to partner with KU Innovation Park and be selected for ACCEL-KS funding.”
Craig Mason, co-founder of Myndset, center, talks with Chuck Schneider, founder of Redpoint Summit and Guardian Alpha, and Jill Meyer, senior director of Technology Venture Studio at UMKC Innovation Center, during Digital Health Day at The Abbott; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
“We’ll use this support to strengthen the product and validate outcomes, turning early traction into scalable adoption and measurable impact,” he continued. “Our focus is helping people consistently perform their best in the biggest moments, and we’re excited to bring that value to athletes, schools, and the broader region.”
Companies invited to pitch to the Park’s evaluation committee but not selected for funding will also receive an invitation to access the Continuum platform and educational materials to support their ongoing work.
