The Week In Irish Startups
Exited Founder Invests, E.I Grant & 4 Great Irish Startups Hiring
Newsletter 119
Hi folks,
Here’s the main events, funding and hiring news this week that I thought you might find of interest in the Irish Start-up Ecosystem:
Funding/Investor News:
Johnson Hana: Sean Pollock reports that Dublin-based alternative legal services firm Johnson Hana has been acquired by California-headquartered Eudia, an AI platform for Fortune 500 legal teams, in a $50 million deal. Johnson Hana's founders are brothers Dan and Alex Fox, who established the company in 2017 as Ireland's first independent ALSP (Alternative Legal Service Provider). According to the report, the acquisition creates substantial paydays for investors including Dan Kiely, AIB, and Enterprise Ireland, with AIB set to be one of the largest beneficiaries following their leadership of Johnson Hana's €10.5 million funding round in 2022. The company had previously raised €3.5 million in 2020 from investors including Voxpro founders Dan and Linda Kiely and specialist investment fund BVP, with Enterprise Ireland as an early backer.
CroíValve: Irish medical device company CroíValve has been awarded funding from Horizon Europe's European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Programme for their pioneering work in treating Tricuspid Regurgitation (TR). Croivalve was founded in 2016 by Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe, Dr. Martin Quinn, Dr. Paul Heneghan, and Prof. Bruce Murphy. This Dublin-based medtech company is a spin-out from Trinity College Dublin, According to the report, the award includes €2.5 million in grant funding combined with a €10 million equity investment in their next financing round, selected from 959 applications with only 40 awards across 16 countries. The clinical-stage company is developing a novel transcatheter device for tricuspid regurgitation treatment, with Research, Development and Operations based in Ireland and Clinical, Regulatory and Marketing operations in the United States.
Certio: Nick Webb reports that the Cavan-based food compliance and certification startup Certio, founded by Anna Wanicka and Grzegorz Koscielecki has raised an undisclosed investment from Sam Dennigan’s Square Root. The investment will be used to simplify supplier onboarding, product testing, and regulatory compliance in the food sector, which faces heavy EU legislative oversight. This was also featured in the excellent Renatus newsletter.
Events/Programmes:
TechFoundHer Frontier Tech Session Event: On Monday 14th of July, TechFoundHer is hosting an event featuring a fireside chat with investor Andreea Wade, General Partner at Delta Partners VC, who will discuss technology trends that investors are currently targeting and opportunities for women innovators. The event at Huckletree includes lightning talks from founders Julie Garland (Avtrain), Ciara Reynolds (Iaso Solutions), and Pauline Timoney (RoutineRoo). Special guests Mathiew Gorge and John Murat will present on French Tech in Ireland for Bastille Day. The event is designed for aspiring founders, women tech founders at all stages, product and innovation leads, and investors supporting diverse teams. For further details and to register please click here.
Pitch and Run Dublin: Pitch and Run is hosting a networking run on this Wednesday, July 9th, meeting at 6 PM in the Docklands. The event welcomes everyone - founders, funders, startup employees, and startup enthusiasts - with all running paces accommodated. The 4-mile route runs around Docklands and back, with a photo stop at the Samuel Beckett Bridge. Introductions run from 6-6:10 PM, where participants share their name, how long they've been doing Pitch and Run, and something good that happened that week. The initiative was founded to make it easy for founders to connect with Angels and VCs without the pressure of formal pitch meetings, while also facilitating connections between founders and startup employees. The event emphasizes community support and organic networking in a relaxed, active environment. For full details and to register click here.
Enterprise Ireland Cyber Security Review Grant: E.I, in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre, is offering a Cyber Security Review grant for Irish companies. The program provides 80% funding of a fixed €3,000 project cost, covering consultant time, travel, and project expenses. Companies receive access to cyber security experts who conduct an independent review of their security status, identify vulnerabilities, and develop a clear roadmap for enhancing security measures. The review is tailored to Irish companies and encourages them to take their first or next step in their security journey. An important additional benefit: completing this Cyber Security Review is a necessary prerequisite for applying for the National Cyber Security Centre grant of up to €60,000. For full details and how to apply click here.
Hiring:
DevAlly: NDRC alum startup DevAlly is building the future of digital accessibility by combining human-centric issue detection with AI-powered code remediation and supercharged DevOps reporting into one powerful platform. They are creating solutions that make digital products more inclusive while helping developers integrate accessibility seamlessly into their workflows. They are hiring for a Lead Product Designer to take full ownership of product design across key areas of their platform. You will own design across the product; auditing, reporting, dashboards, AI-powered remediation, integrations, and developer tools. The ideal candidate will have shipped complex, high-quality software products with technical depth, excellent visual and interaction design skills, and the ability to balance speed and craft in fast-paced environments. For more details and to apply, click here.
Noloco: Y Combinator-backed Noloco turns data into custom, AI-powered apps that teams love to use, empowering businesses to create internal tools, client portals, and CRMs without writing code. This remote-first company has a team spread across Ireland, Spain, and North America. They are hiring for a Founders Associate (based in Barcelona or willing to relocate). This high-agency role involves working directly with the CEO to drive the mission forward by reducing operational friction, unlocking strategic insights, and taking on strategic projects. You'll own internal operations including monthly finances and payroll coordination, prepare materials for company-wide meetings, coordinate European offsites and team events, and draft job descriptions while screening applications. The ideal candidate will have 1-3 years of experience in startups, consulting, or VC, be technically curious with strong spreadsheet skills, and thrive in ambiguous environments without needing direction. For more details and to apply, click here.
Weve Security: Dublin-based cybersecurity SaaS company Weve is backed by top-tier investors and positioned to reshape how Cloud Security Operations are conducted. Founded by a seasoned ex-Fortune 500 security leader they are hiring for a Fullstack Software Engineer to work directly with the founder. You'll architect and develop robust backend services that integrate with various security tools, build scalable distributed systems including advanced asynchronous data processing, and implement analytics services that provide actionable security insights from vast datasets. The role involves driving product development by understanding customer needs and learning cybersecurity while engaging with security experts. The ideal candidate will have 5+ years of product engineering experience with a track record of supporting production services, extensive TypeScript experience, proven experience developing data-heavy integrations with third parties, and understanding of data pipelines and failure-proofing asynchronous systems. For more details and to apply, click here.
Altra: Ireland-based Altra has helped hundreds of care homes across Ireland, the UK, France, and Belgium enhance their resident experience and family engagement using their app since 2019. They work with large global players in the social care sector and have just launched in DACH. They are hiring for an Account Executive (reporting to the CEO) to lead their go-to-market efforts in the DACH region as their first dedicated hire there. You'll develop and execute commercial strategy for entering and scaling in DACH, identify and prioritize target segments, generate and qualify new leads, and own the full sales cycle from prospecting through to deal closing. The role includes exploring strategic partnerships with care management systems, representing Altra at industry events, and sharing customer feedback with product teams. The ideal candidate will be a native or fluent German speaker with excellent English, have 3+ years sales experience ideally in B2B SaaS or healthcare/social care, and proven ability to build from the ground up in startup environments. For more details and to apply for this remote role, click here.
Best,
Ed
PS. Five hard truths I learned building and scaling AI (and why founders should care): Andreea Wade is a General Partner at VC Delta Partners and previously was a successful founder in the AI space. She explores five things here her company nailed early, and why they’re essential for anyone building AI products today.