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2026 Startups to Watch: dScribe tracks early momentum with West Coast-Midwest funding combinator
Editor’s note: Startland News editors selected 10 high-growth, scaling Kansas City companies to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch project. Now in its 11th year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest, most compelling news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2026’s picks.
Click here to view the full list of Startups to Watch and see how the companies (including this one) were selected.
Silicon Valley pressure-cooked dScribe AI, said Cole Robertson and Warren Wang, but their startup remains proudly Kansas City-built and Midwest growing.
Launched in 2024 after the co-founders met at a hometown Startup Crawl event in downtown Kansas City, dScribe uses AI-powered computer vision to track bulk materials in real time, giving industrial teams better visibility and control over logistics and operations. The company quickly brought together Kansas City venture leaders at KCRise Fund, Abstraction Capital, and Flyover Capital, along with Columbia-based Redbud VC and EquipmentShare, in a deal for the first time ($1.2 million pre-seed round) in early 2025.
By summer, they were accepted to the prestigious, West-Coast Y Combinator accelerator.
“When we did the Y Combinator application, we told them we’d be returning to Kansas City after the batch was over,” Robertson said. “We’re really grateful for all the support here to be able to come back and bring lessons learned there.”
Elevator pitch: dScribe uses computer vision to track bulk inventory, like grain, sand or other non-packaged goods — then feeds that data into its supply chain platform to help companies get visibility across all their sites to optimize logistics.
- Founder(s): Warren Wang, Cole Robertson
- Headquarters: Kansas City
- Founding year: 2024
- Current employee count: 3
- Funding amount raised to date: $1.2 million
- Noteworthy investors: Y Combinator, FCVC, Abstraction Capital, KCRise Fund, Flyover Capital, Redbud VC
- Noteworthy programs: LaunchKC, Y Combinator
While the experience of the Y Combinator did not convince them to stay and build the startup in Silicon Valley, it did help accelerate both the company and its co-founders — changing the way they think about building.
“It gave us even more seed funding that we haven’t announced yet,” Wang continued. “But it really helped us be here for the long term and work towards our goal.”
“It made us look at a time crunch, be able to be pressure cooked, and say, ‘OK, we need to have intense prioritization,’” Robertson added. “Just being able to be surrounded with so many amazing companies and mentors there, it just gave us a really good perspective that we hoped to bring back here and just continue on with our company.”
But the momentum dScribe saw in 2025 didn’t end with a pre-seed round and the Y Combinator; the startup also earned a pilot with Cargill — which is going well, the co-founders said — and was accepted into the latest LaunchKC funding and resources cohort.
Warren Wang and Cole Robertson, dScribe AI; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“It’s been a blessing to start 2025 off with a pre-seed investment Kansas City investors,” Wang said. “That really kicked things off as we were going through the motions of finding product market fit. We looked back at some of our experiences — I personally worked in feed logistics and saw the problem firsthand — to really use that insight to steer the product and enter that market.”
With LaunchKC under their belts, the co-founders noted, they are excited to connect even more with the local entrepreneurial community.
“What we learned from YC is having a core group of other startups to help each other go through difficult times together really helps,” Wang explained. “And we’re hoping LaunchKC will do the same for us in the KC community.”
“We want that entrepreneurial spirit,” Robertson added. “We really appreciate it being here in Kansas City and we know it is here in Kansas City. So being in a program like this and just being around other entrepreneurs and mentors makes us proud to be in Kansas City.”
In 2026, the co-founders plan to announce the funding amount received from the Y Combinator, as well as continue to build something that people want, they shared.
“You can expect us to continue going all in, talking to users, understanding what they want, and building something great,” Wang said.
“We’re gonna build our team, as well,” Robertson added. “We’ve already got one hire slated for early 2026. As we keep growing with customers, we will keep growing the business.”
10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2026
- Authentiya puts ethical AI to the test as students embrace controversial classroom tech
- CarePilot prescribes more patient time, fewer clicks for doctors as product line grows
- Cyphra Autonomy pairs robotics with heavy labor (and a light lift for job site users)
- The Good Game connects young athletes with on-demand sports experts
- LAN Party gains steam with nostalgia as a hook, gaming enterprise potential as the real play
- LODAS Markets unlocks liquidity as timing pays off for founder’s investment
- Resonus wants local government to hear you — not just the loudest voices
- Roz uncovers dynamic momentum amid audit of its own shifting opportunities
- Sova Dating builds emotional matches with vibes, logistics and an unexpected viral moment
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