Nory, an AI-powered operating system for the hospitality industry, has won the KPMG Global Tech Innovator Ireland final. Conor Sheridan, Nory founder and CEO, will represent Ireland against 22 other country finalists in the global final in Lisbon on 15 November.
Conor competed against seven other innovative start-ups from across the island of Ireland, with solutions covering everything from diversity and inclusion and influencer marketing to child-protection and women’s health.
Anna Scally, KPMG’s Head of Technology & Media and member of the Global Tech Innovator judging panel said:
“The standard of entries to this years’ competition was excellent and each of our eight finalists challenged valiantly to be the winner. As judges, we had a really difficult job but ultimately Nory came out on top. We wish Conor the best of luck when he goes to Lisbon in November from everyone at KPMG in Ireland. It will be a fantastic opportunity to meet with investors, get mentoring from top CEOs, meet tech industry peers and be in with a chance to take home the global prize.”
From restauranteur to tech entrepreneur
Before founding Nory, Conor worked in finance before deciding to start his own restaurant, ultimately founding the popular and fast-growing independent Mad Egg restaurant group. As a restaurateur, Conor saw a gap in the market for an intelligent restaurant management system that could work with frontline teams to help them perform better.
Nory’s platform is purpose-built to help venues control their costs and perform consistently each day. Nory centralises core restaurant operations into one single control point. From sales analytics and forecasting to workforce management and inventory management. It uses proprietary AI models to analyse business data in each restaurant and recommend simple actions to help teams control costs, increase productivity and boost employee engagement. Nory works with several brands across Ireland, continental Europe and the UK including Stonegate Pubs, Jamie Oliver Group, Freshly Chopped and Dr. Juice. It has consistently delivered a 50%+ increase in net profit for its customers, proving to be transformational.
Earlier this year, Nory secured €7 million in a seed funding round co-led by Triple Point Ventures and Samaipata VC. Participating investors also included Playfair Capital, Cavalry VC and Circlerock Capital. The investment is being used to extend capabilities of Nory’s proprietary technology and accelerate its go-to-market strategy.
Conor Sheridan noted:
“We are pumped to be named Ireland’s KPMG Global Tech Innovator winner. The quality of the competition was immense, which is a testament to the level of innovation happening here at the moment. For Nory, our mission is to revolutionise how hospitality businesses are operated around the world. These businesses are currently being hit with a huge amount of operating pressures, it’s a tough trading environment. We’ve demonstrated that leveraging AI can be transformational for your bottom line, irrespective if you are operating in New York or Newcastle. I’m proud to be representing my peers in Lisbon and will try to bring it home for the Irish ecosystem!”
Conor’s winning pitch can be viewed here: Global Tech Innovator 2023: Nory pitch – YouTube