Funding Stories
$500K Etsy grant expected to help AltCap offer microloans to artists, creative entrepreneurs
AltCap this week announced a new partnership with the global marketplace Etsy to provide microloans to artists and creative entrepreneurs in America’s Heartland. Etsy has awarded AltCap, an impact-focused small business lender, a $500,000 grant to provide $1,000 to $10,000 loans through the ARTcap Microloan Fund to artists and creative entrepreneurs in Kansas, Missouri and…
LaunchKC winner shows value with $900K pre-seed round, earns critical local support
Kansas City’s DataAppraisal has secured $900,000 in pre-seed funding for its AI-powered proprietary software that helps healthcare organizations unlock the monetary value of their enterprise data, said Tam Tran. And the tech startup’s recent developments come after a year of earning local resources and support, its co-founder and CEO said. DataAppraisal’s unique solution contains two…
Fast-growing KC startup closes $20M in Series B funding to accelerate genetic progress in cattle
A well-muscled funding round is expected to help Lenexa-based Vytelle expand its global operations after having already scaled the agtech startup’s breakthrough in vitro fertilization, data capture, and AI-driven genetics tech to be easily accessed by more than half of the U.S. cow herd. “This is indicative of strong market interest in our products and…
Just funded: Four new Digital Sandbox KC companies scaling products beyond survival mode
Freshly announced funding from Digital Sandbox KC is expected to help four Kansas City startups scale their innovations to market with additional access to investors, resources and a growing network of fellow entrepreneurs. Among the first-quarter Sandbox recipients, Basehor-based Mpruv Sports plans to use the new backing as it releases a series of peer-to-peer, on-demand,…
UMKC pitch contest returning with $90K in prizes; spots remain for emerging startups
The 2023 edition of the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge (RVCC), an annual pitch competition hosted by UMKC, is expected to award $90,000 in equity-free funding to student entrepreneurs and Kansas City businesses. Ben Williams, managing director at the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, shared his excitement for this year’s event — set for April…
