Sixteen companies from across Kansas recently earned proof-of-concept funding through the ACCEL-KS program at KU Innovation Park. Each company will receive $25,000 in grant funding, along with technical assistance, entrepreneurial education and ecosystem support, to fast-track innovation and advance their ideas to market. The Kansas Department of Commerce selected KU Innovation Park as one of two organizations to implement this statewide initiative in July 2025. Over 65 entrepreneurs applied to the Park’s program from across the state.
“ACCEL-KS is built to reduce the gap between a strong idea and a viable company,” said Chris Rehkamp, director of business services at KU Innovation Park. “These companies are tackling real, market-driven challenges across the state. ACCEL-KS is designed to meet founders where they are and provide proof-of-concept support that helps promising ideas from Kansas innovators move faster toward commercialization and impact.”
The ACCEL-KS cohort spans AI and software, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, education and community infrastructure. All companies receiving ACCEL-KS funding will participate in a cohort supported by Continuum Educational Technologies, a Park-founded public benefit corporation that provides online, on-demand entrepreneurial education. The cohort will also have access to office hours, subject-matter experts, and ongoing professional support.
The companies selected for ACCEL-KS funding include:
- 620 Fab Co., Pittsburg – Designs portable, modular refrigerated shipping containers for affordable, resilient walk-in cold food storage
- Authentiya, Ozawkie – Delivers training and supervised classroom tools that enable transparent, responsible student AI use
- Citizen Journal, McPherson – Uses AI to deliver affordable, hyperlocal digital journalism for rural communities and local businesses
- DiehlPerry, Leawood – Develops AI software that optimizes chemical manufacturing processes to increase profit and reduce emissions
- Dizzy911, Lawrence – Offers smartphone-based vestibular simulation training to improve dizziness and vertigo diagnosis accuracy
- Electravera, Lawrence – Creates low-energy separation technology to recover battery-grade minerals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries
- Love Lifesciences, Olathe – Builds automated syringe fill-finish systems enabling scalable injection device use beyond traditional pharma
- My Health Sentry, Shawnee – Combines social gaming and AI insights to motivate activity and prevent chronic disease long term
- Myndset, Lawrence – Delivers AI-powered mental strength training to help athletes perform under pressure and build resilience
- EventConnect by Perry’s Pork Rinds, Bronson – Connects event organizers with local vendors through a statewide, searchable online marketplace
- STAT Therapeutics, Overland Park – Introduces a first-in-class autoinjector enabling layperson intramuscular drug delivery outside hospital settings
- SteroCore, Lawrence – Advances a once-daily oral testosterone therapy designed to improve adherence, safety, and patient outcomes
- Sulverra, Lawrence – Creates safer, reusable superacid catalysts to replace hazardous mineral acids in industrial chemical processes
- VOISS, Lawrence – Uses virtual reality to help youth build social skills through personalized, evidence-based practice
- Vina, Stockton – Powers searchable, always-current business directories for small towns using automation and AI
- Vytas Bio, Lawrence – Advances non-invasive liquid biopsy tests for earlier detection of ovarian and pancreatic cancers
“These companies reflect the depth and momentum of innovation happening across the state,” said Romaine Redman, the chief innovation and strategy officer at the Kansas Department of Commerce. “ACCEL-KS is helping founders turn strong ideas into real solutions, and this cohort shows what is possible when talent, research and early support come together to shape the future of Kansas’ economy.”
The ACCEL-KS grant requires that 30 percent of selected projects be in rural counties. The grant funding for the five companies in rural Kansas counties, defined as having populations of 40,000 or less, is supported in part by a grant from The Patterson Family Foundation.
Companies invited to pitch to the Park’s evaluation committee but not selected for funding will also receive an invitation to access the Continuum platform and educational materials to support their ongoing work.
