Leawood’s Cambrian Tech Wins $100K at LaunchKC

Leawood startup Cambrian Tech is the top winner in this year’s LaunchKC grant competition, taking home $100,000 from Techweek Kansas City.

Cambrian Tech is the team behind Home Harmony, an augmented-reality app that lets users instantly see what their homes would look like with different paint or flooring.

Eight other companies were each awarded grants of $50,000 during a ceremony Sept. 15 at the Power and Light Building in downtown. Those companies include:

  • H3 Enterprises, the creators of hip-hop-based educational content.
  • HerdDogg, which has created smart ear tags and readers for monitoring the health of livestock.
  • iShare Medical, a comprehensive system for easily sharing electronic medical records.
  • Music Spoke, a marketplace for creators of sheet music.
  • PlanIT Impact, a modeling tool for architects and engineers.
  • Sickweather, an app that can help forecast outbreaks of the flu and other illnesses.
  • TradeLanes, a platform that digitizes and stores paperwork related to the supply chain.
  • Zitches, an alternative to old-school stitches.

Only one honoree is currently from outside the Kansas City metro: HerdDogg, originally from Longmont, Colorado. About 400 companies from 19 states and five countries applied for this year’s contest.

This was the third year for the LaunchKC competition, which is led by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Downtown Council with backing from several KC-based companies and local and state government.

LaunchKC was one of the signature events for Techweek KC, the weeklong celebration of Kansas City’s tech scene.

In addition to the grants, winners are also provided free office space for a year, mentoring and other support. The goal is to attract high-growth, job-creating technology companies to downtown Kansas City.

“LaunchKC is built to be an economic game-changer in Kansas City, Missouri by supporting startup businesses, creating jobs, attracting and retaining talent, unlocking value and engaging follow-on investors,” said Mike Hurd, marketing officer for LaunchKC and the Downtown Council.