This Month's Latest Tech News in Kansas City, MO - Saturday May 31st 2025 Edition

Kansas City is cementing its reputation as a Midwest AI and tech powerhouse in May 2025, driving innovation with a tech workforce that has grown 16% since 2021 and now accounts for 9% of the city's total economic output, surpassing major cities like Chicago and Houston on a per-capita basis.

Key investments - including over $7.8 million spent on AI and machine learning in 2023, representing 31% of local tech investments - underscore Kansas City's leadership in the field KC Tech Specs report.

The city's ecosystem is fueled by a booming data center market, with projects like Google's $1 billion expansion and Meta's $800 million investment, and innovations such as the carbon-neutral Edged Kansas City facility, supporting growth and sustainability goals EDCKC Data Center Projects.

Meanwhile, NXTSTAGE and other programs are directly addressing funding gaps for startups, creating strong networks between investors and entrepreneurs and helping local founders remain in Kansas City to grow globally impactful businesses.

As KC Tech Council President Kara Lowe notes,

“Tech is a bigger deal economically and percentage-wise to our workforce than many larger cities … Our constant momentum has earned us attention from industry observers, including the Wall Street Journal.”

Find more on the city's unique investment landscape and rising opportunities for founders in the NXTSTAGE Accessing Growth Capital Program overview.

This month, Missouri cements its place as a regional magnet for big tech's AI ambitions, fueled by a surge in demand for data center capacity and energy. Companies like Amazon, Meta, and Google are scaling up their investments, collectively pledging more than $240 billion in capital expenditures for 2025 - driven by AI workloads requiring unprecedented amounts of infrastructure and power.

Alphabet is on track for a record $75 billion in annual capital spending, with Google Cloud's revenue soaring to nearly $12 billion and the company breaking ground on several new data center regions - including a major project in Missouri (Google expects 2025 capital expenditures to surge to $75 billion on AI data center buildout).

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a huge leap in spending to $60–65 billion and plans to own more than 1.3 million GPUs by year's end, bolstering Missouri's profile as a hub for generative AI development (Meta to Increase Spending to $65 Billion This Year in AI Push).

Major projects, such as the $800 million Rocky Branch Creek Phase 6 in Kansas City, illustrate the state's unique appeal due to its vast land, comparatively lower power costs, and reliable infrastructure (Big Tech companies bank on Missouri to power artificial intelligence).

As one local observer put it,

“It's a gold rush for land, because they need to scale so, so quickly.”

Below is a summary of the largest data center projects impacting Missouri and the broader Midwest:

Company	Project / Location	Estimated Investment	Status
Meta	Data Center, Kansas City metro	$800M+	Planned
Amazon	Data Center, Midwest	$100B (Capital Expenditures 2025)	Ongoing
Google	Data Centers, including Missouri	$75B (Capital Expenditures 2025)	Ongoing
Rocky Branch Creek Phase 6	Kansas City, MO	$25–100M	Planned

The historic Kansas City Star building, long a downtown landmark, is set for a transformative new chapter as Patmos converts it into a state-of-the-art AI startup and data center campus.

Patmos' $1 billion retrofit will turn the 400,000-square-foot glass structure at 1601 McGee Street into a 100+ megawatt AI innovation hub, pairing high-density data center infrastructure with co-working space for tech entrepreneurs and startups - a shift designed to both serve Kansas City's booming tech economy and preserve its journalistic legacy (Kansas City Star Building AI Tech Hub News by KMBC 9).

Patmos aims to keep community in mind, with plans for an expo center for entrepreneurs, exhibits honoring the building's storied journalism past, and features designed to blend high-tech function with civic engagement (KC Star Pavilion AI Data Center Development Coverage).

As Kansas City emerges as North America's fastest-growing AI and machine learning hub - thanks to its central location, robust fiber infrastructure, and affordable green energy - the project will bring hundreds of high-paying jobs and new entrepreneurial vibrancy to the Crossroads district.

As John Johnson, Patmos CEO, puts it:

“The Star building becoming the Patmos Center will be the technological heart of the heartland... This AI co-location facility combines tomorrow's densities with yesterday's cost efficiencies.”

Local business leaders are welcoming the change, seeing new opportunity in steady, tech-focused foot traffic rather than displacement from now-abandoned stadium proposals (Local Business Reaction to KC Star Building Data Center by KCTV5).

The project's first 5 MW of capacity will go online next month, with 40 MW rack-ready in 18 months, signaling a major leap forward for Kansas City's tech ecosystem.

Kansas City-based H&R Block and OpenAI have announced a landmark partnership to integrate generative AI into H&R Block's tax preparation services, aimed at bringing real-time, personalized support to more than 60,000 tax professionals nationwide.

This collaboration leverages OpenAI's advanced language models along with the expertise of H&R Block's The Tax Institute (TTI), combining technology and human insight to tackle increasingly complex tax scenarios and deliver faster, more customized guidance to millions of clients each year.

The first phase of the AI rollout will begin later in 2025, with full-scale deployment expected for the 2026 tax season, building on the company's successful AI Tax Assist tool already helping DIY filers streamline their returns.

According to a Forbes report about H&R Block and OpenAI partnership, a recent Harris poll found that 45% of respondents are considering using AI for future tax preparation, while 17% have already tried AI-powered filing assistance.

The partnership is seen as a strategic technology investment that will not only improve service speed and accuracy but also optimize operations during peak season and advance industry innovation.

As GlobeNewswire details the integration of AI with human tax expertise, the solution integrates extensive, up-to-date expertise on federal, state, and local tax law, while human tax experts remain integral for complex cases.

Describing the approach, Ronnie Chatterji, OpenAI's Chief Economist, stated:

“Millions of hardworking taxpayers trust H&R Block to ensure the best possible outcome at tax time. By pairing OpenAI's advanced AI technology with the unparalleled tax knowledge of The Tax Institute, H&R Block's tax experts can deliver more personalized, highly nuanced guidance, streamline tax preparation, and improve the experience for millions of Americans.”

For a deeper dive into how this initiative will transform tax season for both professionals and clients, read the comprehensive overview at CNBC's coverage of the H&R Block and OpenAI strategy.

The Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC) has emerged as one of 16 prime candidates in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) ambitious push to fast-track major federal AI infrastructure across the country.

As part of a historic initiative responding to recent executive orders aimed at securing American AI leadership and modernizing energy deployment, the DOE's April 2025 Request for Information spotlights sites like KCNSC for potential rapid data center construction, enabled by existing security, robust power infrastructure, and a flexible 50-acre footprint near Kansas City, MO. The DOE has structured this opportunity to encourage public-private partnerships, seeking industry input on operational models, technology integration, and power needs - with a clear focus on co-locating renewable and next-generation nuclear power with critical AI computing.

As Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared,

“We're at the start of Manhattan Project Two. It is critical, just like Manhattan Project One, that the United States wins this race. We could lose this race in many ways if we don't get energy right. If we don't unleash American energy, we can't win the race for artificial intelligence.”

The table below summarizes the DOE's identified sites, underscoring KCNSC's national significance:

DOE Site	Key Feature
Kansas City National Security Campus	50 acres (35 cleared), secured, strong power/water access
Idaho National Laboratory	Nuclear energy leadership, 62,000-acre facility
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	Advanced AI and quantum research programs

The DOE's initiative is expected to expedite permitting and unlock innovative collaborations between industry leaders, academia, and federal labs, facilitating “rapid development approvals” and powering the next generation of AI technology.

For further details on the DOE's RFI and the strategic importance of the Kansas City National Security Campus, read the official Federal Register announcement on DOE AI infrastructure, learn about the policy's context in DOE's exploration of AI data center development on federal lands, and explore industry analysis on the U.S. AI data center infrastructure push.

Kansas City's healthtech sector is making national waves as ClinTrial Research (CTR), an innovative site management organization, teams up with Kansas City-based startup Trially to transform clinical trial recruitment and operations through artificial intelligence.

Their partnership has enabled CTR to increase monthly patient enrollment rates, drastically reduce screen failures, and streamline electronic health record (EHR) chart reviews, yielding greater efficiency and more diverse participant pools across a wide range of therapeutic areas.

As summarized by CTR Chief Commercial Officer Sam Searcy,

“Trially's proprietary AI has improved our ability to pre-screen candidates, reducing the time and resources typically spent on manual EHR chart reviews while improving the diversity and quality of our patient pools.”

Trially's HIPAA-compliant platform rapidly integrates with leading EHR systems and has delivered impressive results - multiplying enrollment rates by 200%, cutting screen failures by 73%, and boosting site efficiency by 90%.

The startup, lauded as one of Kansas City's 2025 startups to watch, is led by CEO Kyle McAllister, who brings deep expertise from Epic and Cerner and a drive to solve the root causes of clinical trial delays.

For more on how this game-changing collaboration is advancing medical research and patient care, read the official Business Wire announcement on CTR and Trially's partnership, explore why Trially is among the top Kansas City AI startups to watch in 2025, and see the impact of AI on clinical research at ClinTrial Research.

Result	Trially AI Impact
Enrollment Rate	+200%
Screen Failures	-73%
Site Efficiency	+90%

Kansas City's automotive tech landscape just accelerated as Click-Ins launched its advanced AI-powered vehicle fraud detection platform locally, offering a breakthrough in fast and accurate vehicle inspections across insurance, rental, auction, and transport sectors.

Leveraging synthetic data and proprietary CAD simulations, Click-Ins' system can detect dents, scrapes, rust, and even subtle misalignments with over 80% accuracy - delivering a comprehensive inspection in under 30 seconds while factoring in real-world complexities like reflections, dirt, and lighting conditions (Click-Ins AI vehicle damage detection technology overview).

The company's Kansas City HQ not only marks its North American expansion but also spearheads strategic collaborations, such as its partnership with Turn Automotive, where real-time AI-driven assessments are improving marketplace trust, transparency, and efficiency for both car dealers and consumers (AI-powered inspections on wholesale automotive marketplaces).

Insurers and rental agencies benefit from the mobile-friendly platform's instant, guided photo reports, which allow for baseline damage checks, fraud reduction, and smoother claims without requiring costly special hardware or highly trained staff.

As CEO Josh Parsons notes,

“The goal was always to get more scientific with the inspection. Not that you don't rely on the human element - but if you can enable humans to be more scientific in a process that's open to interpretation, that's the North Star.”

For a deeper dive into its AI approach and industry benefits, visit the Click-Ins official website.

Kansas and Missouri are grappling with how best to leverage artificial intelligence to improve school safety, as legislators debated and ultimately vetoed multi-million dollar funding bills that would subsidize deployment of AI-powered gun-detection systems like ZeroEyes in public schools.

ZeroEyes, currently operational in 42 states and founded by former Navy SEALs, integrates with existing school camera networks to detect firearms in real time, sending alerts, with human verification, to administrators and law enforcement within seconds - features now in use at Missouri's Scott County R-IV School District, where Superintendent Dr. Bradley Kolwyck says,

"ZeroEyes is not intrusive or invasive, and it does more than just detect; it alerts, responds, and continues to do so throughout any situation involving a potential threat."

Despite some districts embracing the technology as a modern safeguard, critics - including experts and civil libertarians - highlight concerns about false alarms, privacy, and whether such reactive systems address underlying causes of gun violence.

The debate intensified as both states' funding bills specified requirements - such as proprietary patents, DHS anti-terrorism designation, and proven scalability - that largely fit ZeroEyes alone, raising concerns over vendor favoritism and competitive fairness.

Missouri's legislature initially included $2.5 million for such technology in its 2025 state budget, but Governor Mike Parson vetoed the initiative due to procurement concerns, mirroring Kansas's $5 million veto for similar reasons.

For a closer look at the legislative debate and concerns over market competition and vendor selection, read how Kansas lawmakers negotiated AI gun detection funding.

For insight into ZeroEyes' deployment and verification process, see the discussion in Scott County R-IV School District's technology rollout.

For a comprehensive background on Missouri's budgetary moves and veto rationale, visit the Associated Press's breakdown of school safety funding politics.

District	Annual Price	Cameras Monitored	Contract Length
East Union (IA)	$27,500	Up to 38	1 year
Mount Pulaski (IL)	$38,280	Up to 116	5 years
Iberville Parish (LA)	$134,400	Up to 800	5 years
Park City (UT)	$109,200	650	Annual

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Kansas City and across the Midwest is confronting the 2025 severe weather season with critical staffing shortages, the result of federal workforce cuts that have driven vacancy rates above 20% in nearly half of NWS field offices - double the rate from a decade ago.

This lean environment, exacerbated by voluntary buyouts and administrative mandates, has forced the reduction or suspension of key forecasting operations such as weather balloon launches vital for tornado and hurricane prediction.

Despite these challenges, NWS meteorologists are turning to artificial intelligence to fill the gap: machine learning systems are increasingly deployed to rapidly analyze complex atmospheric data and improve forecast precision, echoing global advancements like StellerusTech's real-time flood prediction technology.

However, experts and frontline staff caution that while AI tools enhance efficiency, human expertise remains irreplaceable for issuing life-saving warnings. As one union representative affirmed,

"The mission to save lives has not suffered. Communities are still being covered across the country by NWS employees."

For data on how staff shortfalls are impacting operations, see the table below.

For a detailed account of how AI and staffing trends are reshaping weather safety in Kansas City and beyond, review the full analysis from Straight Arrow News on AI filling NWS gaps, the AP's coverage of NWS vacancy rates and tornado response, and PBS NewsHour's special highlighting how NWS staffing shortages may risk public safety.

Metric	2021	2025
Avg. NWS Office Vacancy Rate	10-12%	19-20% (half of offices)
NWS Offices with >20% Vacancy	n/a	55 out of 122
Weather Balloons Launched Daily	~200	Reduced at 17+ stations

A heated copyright battle has emerged in Kansas City as bestselling author Bryn Greenwood discovered her novels - including the acclaimed All the Ugly and Wonderful Things - had been used without consent to train generative AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Meta's large language models.

Greenwood described the revelation as a "gut punch" and voiced deep concern:

"It horrifies me... if AI gets hold and there are no regulations over it, future generations are not just going to lose the stories that they would tell - they're going to lose the stories that they would read."

Investigative reporting by KCUR's Up To Date podcast episode on AI trained on stolen books and journalist Alex Reisner revealed that almost every published author from the past two decades may have had their works pirated for AI training, sparking multiple class-action lawsuits joined by authors and prominent figures such as Sarah Silverman.

As Greenwood prepares to release her new thriller,

Nobody Knows You're Here, this issue underscores broader anxieties about the future of storytelling, copyright, and digital culture.

As litigation proceeds and cultural debate intensifies, you can read more about Greenwood's perspective on her official author blog or listen to the full KCUR discussion via Apple Podcasts AI training discussion episode.

Kansas City is leading the charge in workforce innovation as the Women's Employment Network (WEN) recently hosted its AI-driven KC Job Fair, bringing together top employers and empowering women job seekers with cutting-edge technology.

The event, held at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, offered direct access to dozens of hiring organizations, expert-led resume optimization workshops, and hands-on experience with AI-powered job search tools like Jobscan.

WEN stands out as the only nonprofit in Kansas City to provide Jobscan's advanced job-matching platform free to clients, addressing both the skills gap and fears surrounding AI in the hiring process.

As Sherry Turner, WEN President, emphasizes,

“AI is transforming the hiring process, and it's critical that the women we serve are not left behind. By integrating tools like Jobscan into our programming, we're giving our clients a competitive edge - empowering them to present their skills with confidence and clarity in an evolving job market.”

WEN's approach prioritizes accessible education and women-centered support, reducing barriers for those less familiar with technology.

For a full list of participating employers and upcoming events, visit the KC Job Fairs event page. Dive deeper into how WEN is equipping women to navigate AI-powered hiring with confidence in Startland News's coverage of the fair's impact on job seekers, or secure your spot at future events and explore available resources directly through the Women's Employment Network job fair page.

Kansas City's tech trajectory is marked by both immense opportunity and significant challenges as it evolves into a prime Midwest hub for AI and data-driven innovation.

The region boasts a rapidly growing tech sector, supporting over 77,000 technology jobs and 4,400+ companies - a community contributing nearly 10% to the local economy, as detailed by the Kansas City Area Development Council.

However, with expansion comes disruption: a recent study estimated that 10.2% of Kansas City's workforce, or about 110,000 workers, face risk of displacement from AI and automation, ranking the area seventh among large U.S. metro regions.

Occupations at high risk include not only fast food and administrative roles but also accountants and specialized technical jobs, bringing both workforce anxiety and new upskilling pressures.

As one worker bluntly noted,

“You have to be ready to respond when the AI fails... It's added to my workload...”

(read more at Flatland KC's workforce report).

In response, regional initiatives like the KC Techbridge and large-scale investments - such as the Wyandotte County's $12.6 billion data center proposal - signal a push to bridge tech talent gaps and ensure the benefits of growth are widely shared (Kansas Reflector).

The road ahead will depend on education, collaboration, and policy innovation to balance Kansas City's economic promise with thoughtful solutions for workforce displacement, energy demands, and equitable access to future-defining careers.