The Week In Irish Startups
Instant VC Deal-Killers, Dublin Startup Raises Big, Meet Quadri Ventures & Top Tech Jobs
Newsletter 113
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:
AI Ecosystem Accelerator Programme: Nine start-ups have been selected to participate in the second 6-month AI Ecosystem Accelerator Programme which is being delivered by NovaUCD and CeADAR Ireland. The participating start-ups are; Ailtir, Leapifai, NestiFi, PacSana, Reactable AI, Run_Audit, TrojanTrack, UniDoodle and UnitMode. The focus of the programme is to support a cohort of entrepreneurs who are developing disruptive AI solutions in sectors including; advertising, construction, content creation, cybersecurity, education, finance, healthcare and sportstech, for a global market. The programme will end with a showcase event in October. More details here
Kota: Irish insurance and employee benefits platform Kota has announced it has raised $14.5m of Series A funding from Eurazeo, bringing their total raised to more than $22m with existing investors EQT Ventures, Northzone, and Frontline Ventures doubling down, and participation from 9Yards and Plug and Play Ventures. Headquartered in Dublin, Kota was founded in 2022 by Luke Mackey, Patrick O’Boyle and Deepak Baliga. The employee health insurance and benefits platform aims to empower start-ups and scaling organisations to automate and manage team benefits. Alongside their Series A, they’ve also announced they’re now licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary. This makes them the only insurance benefits platform with regulatory approval across the EEA and the UK.
QuantumLight: Ann O’Dea reports that QuantumLight, the AI-powered venture capital firm founded by Revolut founder Nik Storonsky, has closed its inaugural $250m fund. It is backed by a global group of undisclosed LPs, including “billionaire tech founders and prominent institutions”. Since its launch in 2023, QuantumLight has already backed founders across AI, Web3, fintech, SaaS and health-tech.
5 Instant VC Deal-Killers:: Sure Valley Ventures Investor DC Cahalane has written on the red flags that sink founder credibility here. As someone who’s walked the path from founder to venture capitalist, DC details how he’s seen countless pitch meetings derailed in the first few minutes by avoidable mistakes and he provides practical advice on how to address them.
Events/Programmes:
Quadri Ventures Office Hours: Quadri Ventures is a venture capital firm investing from Seed to Series B across Europe and the US. They bring deep enterprise connections and insights coupled with a unique distribution model to help their portfolio companies gain customer access. Quadri Ventures will be holding office hours on Wednesday 11th 10am-12pm in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startup Loft. Are you looking to raise capital? Would you like to discuss your GTM or international expansion? Or, simply get introduced to the Quadri team? Drop in to speak with Scott Law and Andrew Drylie from Quadri Ventures about your startup. Register here.
INVENT: Hosted in partnership with Bank Of Ireland by Catalyst, Invent, gives early-stage startups and aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to showcase big ideas, get expert feedback, and compete for a share of a £55K prize fund. INVENT 2025 will have six categories reflecting that innovation comes in various forms from reimagining leisure experiences to exploring environmental solutions. The categories are:
1. Creative Leisure, 2. Green Horizons, 3. Future Business, 4. BioBreakthroughs 5. Living Well and 6. Uncharted Ideas. The awards have a total prize fund of £55,000 available, with each category winner securing £5,000 and the overall winner walking away with an additional £20,000, totalling a £25,000 top prize. The awards finale will be held in ICC Belfast on 23 October. Click here for more info.
Hiring:
Mastercard: Mastercard's regional Foundry team is looking to hire for the role of Director, Start Path Accelerator, Europe. You will support Mastercard’s engagement with fintech startups across Europe, helping to identify, onboard, and collaborate with high-potential companies through the Start Path Accelerator and other fintech programs. Your focus will be on executing Mastercard’s fintech partnership strategy, working closely with business development (BD) teams, product teams, and regional divisions to drive fintech adoption of Mastercard products and services. Role responsibilities will also include to source and evaluate fintech startups for Mastercard’s Start Path accelerator program, ensuring alignment with Mastercard’s strategic objectives. You will manage the end-to-end onboarding process with the Global Start Path team for fintech participants, ensuring smooth program execution.
Intercom: Intercom is the AI Customer Service company on a mission to help businesses provide incredible customer experiences. Their AI agent Fin, the most advanced customer service AI agent on the market, lets businesses deliver always-on, impeccable customer service and ultimately transform their customer experiences for the better. They are hiring for a Senior Software Engineer. The successful candidate will be a Senior Software Engineer - someone who solves real customer problems through a smart and efficient application of your technical knowledge and your tools. You’ll be part of one of their multidisciplinary product teams, where you will build both back-end and front-end systems, and work closely with designers, product managers, researchers, and data analysts.
Best,
Ed
PS. 40 over 40: Ireland’s Unstoppable Movers And Shakers In Tech: While the Business Post does their annual 30 under 30 highlighting exceptional young achievers this year Elaine Burke has compiled a list celebrating those who have seen success in their tech journey post-40, and are just as worthy of a moment in the spotlight for their achievements. Read who features here.
PPS. Reasons To Be Optimistic: Richard Howard publishes this Optimistic Tech newsletter, the goal of which is to highlight the founders pushing us forward. He highlights one company or organisation every week that he believes is helping build a better future. If you’re feeling a bit down about the world, it’s a good antidote!