Accel-KS Proof of concept grant comes to a close
On June 11, we gathered at Groover Labs to mark the conclusion of the inaugural Accelerating Concept to Commercialization in Kansas (ACCEL-KS) proof-of-concept grant program, and to celebrate the 25 founders who spent the past year turning their ideas into working hardware and software prototypes.
Groover Labs co-founder Tracy Hoover opens the startup showcase.
About the Program
Through ACCEL-KS, the Kansas Department of Commerce came up with a way to lower the barrier to entry for early-stage founders by providing grant funding to anyone with a Kansas address. They selected Groover Labs and KU Innovation Park to create programs to find Kansas founders and support them through early-stage product development.
We launched the program on September 5, 2025, and concluded the announcement blog post with, “Now, the real work begins.” We were more right than we realized.
Groover Labs ACCEL-KS grant recipients celebrate the program.
Applicant Turnout
Nearly 70 Kansans applied from across the state, from metro neighborhoods to rural main streets. We convened a review committee of experts in technology development, hardware prototyping, go-to-market strategy, and artificial intelligence and software development, to evaluate each project - this was no easy task.
Committee members cleared their work calendars for more than a week, locking themselves in a conference room at Groover Labs, where they heard virtual pitches that started in the morning and ended near the close of business.
The last day was saved for debate, where the review committee discussed every project, winnowing them down to grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Because we were given funding in two tranches from Kansas Commerce, we required all grant recipients to accept funding in two tranches, which, in turn, provided them the opportunity to update us on their progress using a milestone system. When a grant recipient demonstrated they had reached a milestone, the second tranche of funding was released.
Kansas Department of Commerce Director of Strategy and Innovation Romaine Redman discuss the innovation economy in Kansas.
The Results
Rural founders made up 42 percent of our applicants and 44 percent of total projects funded, well beyond the 30 percent goal set by the Kansas Department of Commerce. And every rural project we funded built hardware. These physical technology projects were designed and built in rural communities across the state.
Ecosystem Support
While we were only able to fund 25 total projects, we took the unprecedented step of opening our Ecosystem Support Package to every applicant, not just those that were funded. Anyone who applied received programming from partners across the state - all free time donated by the consultants or ecosystem support organizations, including: NXTUS, Wichita State University’s Office of Tech Transfer and Commercialization, Wichita State University College of Engineering’s Project Innovation Hub, Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub: Kansas, Kansas State University’s Technology Development Institute, and Groover Labs’ own tech startup course CAMPFIRE.
Startup Showcase attendees participate in product demonstrations.
We were inspired by the passion and creativity of the founders who applied, along with the sheer number of new entrepreneurs entering the startup ecosystem. We simply couldn’t bring ourselves to say “no” to those who applied.
The projects speak for themselves. The milestone reports show that the majority of grant spending (85%+) went directly to product development through contract engineering, electronics and hardware, prototyping, and product testing.
Grant recipients developed products in the following industries:
Aerospace and Drone Technology
AI and Software Development
AgTech (Agricultural Technology)
ConTech (Construction Technology/Built Environment)
Defense
EdTech (Education/Academic Technology)
Industrial IoT
Robotics
While not a requirement of the grant, several recipients took up workbenches at Groover Labs, which we offered at no cost, in our Maker Lab, where, over the course of the program, they machined parts, welded assemblies, and built custom electronics, sometimes within a few feet of each other.
Members of the State Legislature and Kansas Commerce talk with grant recipients about their projects.
Startups to Watch
By spring of 2026, several of the projects began to take shape, and the Wichita Business Journal ran a feature story on four startups to watch in Wichita. All were ACCEL-KS grant recipients: GO ACADEMIX, Tacit Technologies, Endure Robotics, and Toadworx.
Planetary Talent was named Kansas Startup of the Year by FlagshipKansas.Tech, a statewide nonprofit that brings together Kansas technology companies to raise awareness about state talent and innovation. Toadworx won first place in Wichita State University’s Shocker New Venture Competition.
Enter Malibu Creative
As the program drew to a close, we began discussing how to celebrate all of the grant recipients and their projects. Of utmost importance was a way for the work these founders did to live beyond an event presentation or pitch competition, where what they did was on display for only those in the room on that day.
So we partnered with Malibu Creative, a digital media agency located in Wichita, to help some of the grant recipients tell their stories. We selected six projects that, based on their milestone reports, were closest to achieving the objective of the Kansas Department of Commerce’s mission to accelerate commercial development and technology growth in Kansas.
Startup Showcase
Over the course of a month, we worked with Malibu Creative and the six founders to produce six videos. The throughline was simple:
What did your project look like before ACCEL-KS?
What did you do during ACCEL-KS to improve it?
Where will your project go after ACCEL-KS?
The Malibu Creative team’s videos not only answered those questions but they also encapsulated the joy and passion of the founders, which demonstrated, we think, why their projects have come so far.
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu talks about Wichita’s storied history of entrepreneurship.
To add to the video premiere event, we invited all ACCEL-KS grant recipients to attend a Startup Showcase, where they had the opportunity to demonstrate their products in real time. Not all projects are complete, so several of the founders brought prototypes or presentation materials to demonstrate how far they’ve come.
The End
ACCEL-KS officially closed on June 30. To the 25 founders, to the Kansas Department of Commerce, to our review committee, to our ecosystem support partners, and to the rural economic development partners who helped us find talent in overlooked parts of the state: thank you. It was a wonderful event, and a fantastic program.
We’ll premiere the ACCEL-KS founder videos here as soon as they’re available.
