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Results so far:

(based on 165 proof-of-concept projects funded for area startups)

  • Total amount awarded: $3,087,524
  • $198M in follow-on funding
  • 1,182 new jobs created, more than $169M in sales since inception

Read the Digital Sandbox KC 2022 Impact Report

Latest Updates

Prepare for Liftoff, Early-Stage Startups: LaunchKC’s $50K Grants Competition Is Back!

Aug 11, 2022
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Launch KC returns to Kansas City after a four-year break to again fund early-stage tech startups.

The Impact of Digital Sandbox KC for Regional Innovation

Jul 12, 2022
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Innovation is most vulnerable at the stage between research and revenue. And that’s precisely where Digital Sandbox KC comes in. The 2022 Impact Report tells the story of how project-funding for Kansas City innovations has yielded economic impact for KC founders and for our region.

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How it works

The Sandbox provides critical proof-of-concept funding, mentoring and connections to help founders build viable innovations ready for follow-on funding. The Sandbox may cover expenses for project consultants, market research, equipment and other market validation, prototyping and beta testing needs. Digital Sandbox KC is a program of the UMKC Innovation Center’s Technology Venture Studio.

Learn More

Get Involved

Exceptional ideas. Extraordinary collaboration. We need your help in this community-wide effort.

Help our community build our next great companies. Be a mentor. Provide expertise. Try something new. Invest. Get in the Sandbox.

  • Become a Mentor

    Use your know-how to evaluate opportunities, grow ideas, and to find funding to help companies grow.

    More info »

  • Search Resources

    You can search more than 200 business resource organizations in the Kansas City area to find the right resource to reach your next milestone.

    More info »

  • Find Your Idea

    Our partner program, Whiteboard2Boardroom, connects entrepreneurs and established businesses to new technologies available for licensing at institutions in the bi-state region. Can you take one of them into the Sandbox?

    More info »

Corporate Partners

Support from corporate development teams at Sprint, VML, UMB, Hallmark and Cerner offers Digital Sandbox KC participants connections to industry experts, mentors, potential customers and follow-on funding resources

Additional partners are welcome. Contact us to find out more.

  • VML, one of the world's leading digital marketing agencies, delivers creative solutions at the intersection of marketing and technology.

  • With headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., privately-held Hallmark Cards, Inc. creates products sold in 38,000 retail stores across the U.S. and in 100 countries worldwide.

More Partners »