Google Fiber installs begin, bringing new Kansas City startups to life

In a move that will likely jump-start Kansas City’s startup scene, Google has begun installations of its groundbreaking Google Fiber service, the company announced today.

Google unveiled its Fiber service in July and promised to bring crazy-fast Internet speeds that are “100 times faster than today’s average broadband” to neighborhoods (or “fiberhoods”) in the Kansas City area. The Kansas City Star notes that this promise has spurred lots of development and encouraged people from outside KC to start new businesses there.

One of the more interesting developments in Fiber-fied Kansas City is “Homes for Hackers,” an initiative that gives entrepreneurs housing in a Google Fiber-connected space for three months.

Then there’s the KC Startup Village, which is located in “the Kansas neighborhoods of Hanover Heights and Frank Rushton and/or the Missouri neighborhoods of West Plaza North and West Plaza South.” Essentially, it’s a collection of startups connected through proximity and shared interest in Google Fiber.

The startups in the KC Startup Village include:

• EyeVerify — Enables mobile users to authorize transactions and access information via eye vein biometrics.
• Form Zapper — “Makes it easy for you to put your forms online, fill them out, store them, and share them with others.”
• Leap2 — “A mobile search app that delivers web, image, local, and social results.”
• LocalRuckus — “Connecting Web users to area events and attractions.”
• Rocket Fuel Partners — “It’s our mission to bring good vision and creative companies to market.”
• SquareOffs — “Where the world picks a side.”
• Trellie — “Ensures you never miss an important call again from those who depend on you.”

Most of these companies appear to be quite young, and some don’t even have fully developed websites, but it’s encouraging to see these companies planting their flags in KC. It’s also fascinating to see these startups working together to fill various needs like marketing or design.

“It helps for us to share information,” Leap2’s Mike Farmer told the Kansas City Star. “To do this you have to go through a number of different domains — financing, graphic design, marketing. It helps to have people around you who can say, ‘Been there, done that.’”

Check out the video from Google below for more about Google Fiber.

Photo via Google/YouTube