Meet 8 startups that just locked in move-faster funding from Digital Sandbox KC

An effort to “super-charge” innovative, emerging tech in Kansas City is helping more than a half-dozen companies with exceptional growth potential get their solutions to customers faster, said Jill Meyer, announcing the latest cohort of Digital Sandbox KC-funded startups.

“These next great innovations are solving real-world problems and identifying gaps that their technologies can fill,” said Meyer, senior director of Technology Venture Studio at the UMKC Innovation Center, which houses Digital Sandbox KC. “All eight startups reflect a strong mix of digital health and industry expertise that can impact their customers and position them as the next leaders in their markets.”

The companies — which join 242 other startups that have received proof-of-concept support from the program since 2013 — are poised to make a significant impact in their industries, from retail returns and infrastructure solutions to mindset training and custom product distribution.

“Digital Sandbox KC funding will help us accelerate core product development and key integrations needed to scale SendBack’s returns platform,” said Shaniqua Jones-Williams, founder and CEO of SendBack, a reverse logistics technology company funded through the cohort. “This support allows us to move faster from pilot to infrastructure that benefits consumers, retailers and logistics partners.” 

In addition to receiving up to $20,000 in project funding, startups in the program gain access to the Technology Venture Studio community, mentors, investor connections and technical project support. 

Click here to submit a pitch to Digital Sandbox KC.

The eight just-funded companies (three of which are in the digital health space) include: 

• BeAligned, The Layne Project Inc. (Trina Nudson), Olathe, Kansas — BeAligned helps people pause before they react, reconnect to what matters and choose responses aligned with their values — especially in moments when adult stress or conflict impacts children. Rooted in more than 25 years of frontline experience working with families, children and complex systems, BeAligned supports clearer thinking, calmer communication and decisions that reduce harm and safeguard childhoods.

• Myndset (Craig Mason, Jeff Miner, Damion Brown), Lawrence, Kansas — Myndset is a mobile AI performance coach that delivers the mentality of podium-level athletes to everyone, transforming daily mental training into the confidence to perform your best under pressure. 

• SendBack (Shaniqua Jones-Williams), Kansas City, Missouri — SendBack streamlines retail return workflows, providing ease for everyday consumers through packageless doorstep pickups and enabling smarter return management for retailers and third-party logistics providers. The platform supports more efficient and sustainable pathways for returned goods across the reverse supply chain. 

• SiteScan (Ian Foster), Kansas City, Missouri — SiteScan automates sewer inspections using AI image-recognition software to find and grade issues in infrastructure.

• SourceEazy (Russel Karim), Kansas City, Missouri — SourceEazy is building the AI infrastructure redefining how the world creates and distributes custom-branded products, streamlining design to distribution across the $170 billion legacy promotional and uniform product industry. The platform already powers 120-plus leading distributors and major brands. 

• Syd Health (Carlanda McKinney, Rebecca Hollis), Overland Park, Kansas — Syd Health is a health care technology company focused on eliminating preventable patient harm. Using advanced analytics on health insurance claims data, Syd Health helps insurers uncover hidden risks, reduce avoidable costs and improve patient outcomes at scale. 

• TrustLabs.ai (Piyush Bhanu), Kansas City, Kansas — TrusLabs.ai is building the data infrastructure of biology by developing AI-native tools that make large-scale omics analysis faster and more accessible. Its first platform, TrusRNA, delivers an integrated, end-to-end RNA sequencing analysis workflow that reduces complexity and accelerates discovery. 

• VR 44 (Mark A. Moore Jr.), Kansas City, Missouri — VR 44 LLC is a sports technology company developing a virtual-reality Football IQ training platform that helps players improve decision-making, assignments and game-speed recognition through immersive, position-specific virtual reality reps, which gives teams a safer, more efficient way to train the mental side of the game.

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