Sprint and Techstars Announce Ten Startups Entering the 2016 Sprint Mobile Accelerator

Third annual program in Kansas City runs February 22 through May 24

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & BOULDER, Colo.--()--Sprint (NYSE:S) and Techstars today announced the 10 companies participating in the third annual mobile accelerator, located in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Mo. The program begins today.

The Sprint Mobile Accelerator, Powered by Techstars, is a three-month, immersive, mentorship-driven program for startups. The participating companies will work on-site at the Accelerator for the duration of the program to build and strengthen their businesses. Each company receives up to $120,000 in funding.

“Sprint is once again excited to bring this world-class accelerator program to Kansas City,” said Kevin McGinnis, vice president, Pinsight Media+, a division of Sprint. “This year’s program is focused on mobile technology, putting it in line with the core of Sprint and Pinsight Media+’s business. Opening the class to mobile technology means we have ten great companies building a wide variety of businesses. Plus, we have brought in two companies from our region’s very strong entrepreneurial community.”

Companies participating in the Sprint Mobile Accelerator are developing solutions that encompass hardware, software platforms and applications that have a mobile technology focus. Eight of the startups have traveled to Kansas City from cities across the U.S., plus India and France.

"We are very excited to be running our third accelerator program in partnership with Sprint,” said John Fein managing director for Techstars. “The 2016 cohort has a few new elements including two local companies and two internationally-based companies. The diversity of products will create numerous opportunities for the companies to engage with our mentors and network, and we also look forward to the fantastic KC community welcoming them with open arms like it always does."

 

The 2016 Class of the Sprint Mobile Accelerator, Powered by Techstars

Company       City       Description
Backstitch       Detroit       Backstitch makes corporate intranet communications personalized, relevant and actionable.
Karmies       Denver       Innovative AdTech platform that monetizes emojis by making them smart and branded.
Leka       Paris       Leka makes an interactive, multi-sensory robotic ball that greatly enhances therapies for special needs children.
Mycroft       Lawrence, KS       The first open source, voice-driven, AI platform for the connected home and beyond.
Nozzle       Salt Lake City       A marketing analytics platform that provides on-demand customer acquisition reporting and timely alerts.

Responsive Ads

      New York       Reimagining the best possible fluid ad creatives for screen, user and context.
SocialCapital       San Francisco       SocialCapital automatically generates accurate personality profiles by applying AI to social and online behavior.
SpaceView       Portland, OR       A mobile augmented reality platform that visualizes real world products in virtual spaces.
Stride       India       Stride.AI uses advanced sentiment analysis to enable businesses to translate their textual data into actionable insights.

Super Dispatch

     

Kansas City, MO

      A platform that enables automotive logistics companies to eliminate paperwork, manage loads, drivers, and billing all in one place.
           

About Sprint and its Support for Entrepreneurship

Sprint has a strong history of working with startups in Silicon Valley, Kansas City and around the globe, helping young companies navigate the corporate world and build momentum behind their new businesses. Sprint is committed to supporting the entrepreneurial movement across the country, delivering new business opportunities, and spurring the startup spirit within the company. In 2014, Sprint opened the award-winning Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City – home to the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator, Powered by Techstars. The accelerator space also is used to deliver year-round programming, including mentor engagement, STEM programs, entrepreneurial community collaboration and co-working space for startup organizations.

About Sprint

Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served nearly 56 million connections as of Dec. 31, 2014, and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past four years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

About Techstars

Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorship-driven accelerator programs and thousands of startup programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world’s most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO. Techstars provides access to tens of thousands of community leaders, founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and Do More Faster™. Techstars supports every stage of the entrepreneurial journey – from early stage grassroots community development to more formal opportunities that provide education, experience, acceleration, funding, and beyond.

Contacts

Sprint
Michelle Leff Mermelstein, 703-592-8357
Michelle.leff@sprint.com

Release Summary

Sprint and Techstars today announced the 10 companies participating in the third annual mobile accelerator, located in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Mo. The program begins today.

Contacts

Sprint
Michelle Leff Mermelstein, 703-592-8357
Michelle.leff@sprint.com