Category: Irish Tech News

TechFest 2022 returns in-person to Cork City

it@cork has today officially launched TechFest 2022, its annual flagship technology conference, which returns for its first in-person event since 2019. The technology conference will be held in the Clayton Hotel in Cork City from 9:30am on the 25th of May 2022 with a festival of supporting technology events all that week. Tickets for the main conference are currently on sale at https://bit.ly/itcorktechfest22.

The technology festival will feature expert speakers from across the world, including Global Tech for Good practitioner and Director at GitHub Mala Kumar and Environmental Scientist Dr. Tara Shine. The event, MC’d by award-winning industry broadcaster Jonathan McCrea, will also feature workshops, networking opportunities and an industry expo.

Gillian Bergin, it@cork Chairperson and Senior Consultant with DELL Technologies commented: “We are energised and excited that TechFest returns as an in-person event this year. There are two years of networking and knowledge sharing to catch up on, and we have a jam-packed day planned with panel discussions, breakout sessions and keynote addresses.

“With our three key themes of Transform, Innovate and Inspire, attendees will hear from industry leaders and subject matter experts on how tech has enabled them to adapt and succeed, overcoming the lingering impacts of the pandemic. There will also be a focus on how companies can overcome the current talent crisis, how current and future transformative technologies will impact the nature of work and challenging discussions on possibilities and practicalities.” 

Over 250 people are expected to attend the event, giving the opportunity for attendees to network, connect and collaborate. Other speakers include Dr Marguerite Nyhan, Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering and Future Sustainability from UCC, Rois Ni Thuma, Head of Cyber Governance from Redsift, Niamh Parker, Co-Founder from Altada, Greg Tarr, Chief Executive Officer from Inferex, Conor O’Loughlin Co-Founder of Glofox, and Ross Frenett, Founder and Chief Executive Officer from Moonshot. Plus, many more speakers will be released in the coming weeks. 

TechFest project lead William Dalton, Head of Global Infrastructure Services at Trend Micro and it@cork board member added: “We are also inviting organisations in the region to host satellite events that week, creating a multi-day technology festival, offering diversity of thought and experience, and showcasing the best of what the region has to offer”

As part of the TechFest 2022 schedule, it@cork is inviting organisations in the southwest of Ireland to host an event for it@cork members and beyond. If you have an idea for a partner event, please contact Juliette at juliette@itcork.ie. 

At their recent AGM, it@cork appointed five new members to their board, including Laura Hughes, Program Manager at Cloudera, Vikram Kunnath, Lifesciences Manufacturing, Supply chain and Technology Consulting leader and Partner at Ernest & Young, Louise O’Neill, Associate Director at Berkley Group, Catherine Evans, RDI Collaboration Manager at Fexco and Matthew Camilleri, Founder and CEO at Castille.

Tickets for the event are now on sale at https://bit.ly/itcorktechfest22, but numbers are limited so attendees are encouraged to book early as the event is expected to be a sell-out.

Dublin’s Future Human partners with IT Ukraine in May

Future Human will partner with the IT Ukraine Association for this year’s event. Future Human takes place on May 12-13, at the state-of-the-art Trinity Business School on Pearse Street in Dublin, where leading international thinkers will share their wisdom on the future of everything.

Produced by Silicon Republic, and supported by Aon, the event replaces the award-winning Inspirefest, which ran for five years at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin.

Full details at:  https://hopin.com/events/futurehuman2022/registration

Along with leading thinkers on Entrepreneurship, Web3, Climate, Future of Work and Business, the event will host a special panel on the Future of Ukraine. Along with Irish-based speakers like Neill Dunwoody, co-founder of TechLink Ukraine, IT Ukraine Executive Director Konstantin Vasyuk will be dialled in live to join the panel.

“It was important that at an international event like Future Human, we hear from our peers in the innovation sector in Ukraine at such a tough time,” says Ann O’Dea, founder of Future Human and CEO of Silicon Republic.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Konstantin and the team at IT Ukraine, as well as with other players locally like Tech Link Ukraine and Pryvit.ie to ensure our Ukrainian friends and colleagues have a presence and a voice at the event.”

“We are so pleased that Future Human will be a platform for exploring the Future of Ukraine,” says Vasyuk. “Especially considering that the future – being the joined values of civilized nations – is exactly what Ukraine is fighting for in the war with Russia. I believe at this forward-looking event, we will be able to discuss how Ukrainian tech contributions can inspire the world.”

In Ireland, AWS In Communities is supporting Future Human to bring a group of recently arrived Ukrainian STEM professionals in person to this year’s event for free, and many have already received their tickets, by applying via Pryvit.ie. On Friday afternoon, attendees will get to mingle in smaller groups when the main stage closes early, with a special Masterclasses programme this year, which will include several masterclasses and workshops aimed at recent arrivals from Ukraine.

“We want to ensure our new arrivals get a great welcome into the sector here and make valuable connections, and we’re very grateful to AWS in Community and Pryvit.ie for supporting us to do this,” says O’Dea.

The rest of the main stage programme includes industry leaders like Aon president, Eric Anderson, entrepreneurs like Des Traynor, co-founder of Irish Unicorn, Intercom, and Dee Coakley, co-founder of Boundless, as well as academic speakers like Professor Alice Roberts, who is a familiar face from her 100+ TV appearances in the UK. You can find the speaker line-up and programme to date here.

In-person numbers are limited this year, but the entire main stage programme will be streamed live on 12 and 13 May for virtual ticket holders.

McGreals Health introduce the innovative Irish designed Novaerus Defend 400 air cleaning technology

McGreals Health has launched the innovative Defend 400 as the next generation model to their range of Novaerus air cleaning devices. Using pioneering patented NanoStrike™ air disinfection technology it inactivates 99.9% of all airborne viruses, bacteria and fungi including Sars-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and mitigates odours, pollen and mould spores to support user’s health and wellbeing all year round.

The medical grade and portable Defend 400 has a four-stage pathogen inactivation and filtration – the NanoStrike system inactivates while the use of medical-grade filters capture nanosized pathogens in the air, providing advanced rapid air dis-infection and purification to users.  The Irish-designed Defend 400 advances indoor air quality (IAQ), is FDA approved and CE marked. Those suffering from respiratory diseases and allergies have seen a positive benefit from using Novaerus devices and its use has also shown to reduce absenteeism* in the workplace.

Deirdre Devitt, CEO of Novaerus by McGreals Health, which distributes the devices in Ireland, said: “We are delighted to be adding the Novaerus Defend 400 to our product portfolio. Indoor air quality has become an essential health and safety component across all businesses and organisations in every sector. Providing clean air is a priority, especially when we know that indoor air can be up to twice, even five times** more polluted than outdoor air. As we’ve learnt, this can lead to illnesses and infections, but we also know that it can reduce cognitive function which impacts productivity levels in the workplace. Clean air technology can play a central role to support everyone’s wellbeing and comfort levels whether they are at home, at work or in any indoor setting.”

The Novaerus range of portable air cleaning devices are available in four sizes (NV 200, NV 800, Defend 400 and Defend 1050) catering for small to large spaces. Developed by WellAir, the Novaerus devices are sold in 72 countries worldwide, supporting all sectors with additional frontline protection without generating any harmful by-products to clean the air 24/7. The Defend 400 is available from €6,500 (ex VAT). For more information visit www.novaerus.ie.

McGreals Health, distributor of Novaerus NanoStrike™ technology in Ireland are the Official Clean Air Partner to Leinster Rugby.

Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is back for 2022 hosted by the Irish Film Institute

The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is now in its fifth year. Ireland’s only International Film Festival dedicated to filmmakers exclusively using mobile devices (Phones & Tablets) is finally going mainstream with a partnership with the Irish Film Institute. Taking place on April 30th-DubSmartFF has the usual exciting mix of shorts, features and workshops, but this time at a beautiful venue at the heart of Ireland’s capital. 

This year’s festival is bigger than ever with filmmaking workshops, a range of short films from 15 countries around the globe, feature films (a first for the festival) and the premiere of an exceptional documentary Are Your Eyes Nicely Open? from award-winning director S.J. van Breda.

The partnership with the IFI is an amazing opportunity for the filmmaking community. The festival team has worked for five years to build a community of mobile filmmakers and this is an exciting culmination of their efforts to finally bringing these talented filmmakers to a wider audience. 

The festival programmers have worked to create an outstanding programme with a focus on strong original concepts and inventive use of the technology. This year the festival teams up with SV Assets, Dreamgrip, Shoulder pod, Alight Creative, Refurbed.ie, Conns Cameras and Pair Mobile as well as Ireland’s premium tech site Goosed.ie to provide amazing prizes and gifts for some lucky filmmakers.

Festival Director Robert Fitzhugh commented: “We just could not believe the success of the festival in the past four years. We sell out each year before the doors even open. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have brought about an incredible period of creativity with people forced to use the tools they have at their disposal to tell stories. This partnership with the IFI means we have an opportunity to showcase these filmmakers to a wider audience and a chance to legitimize their hard work. Despite the current situation we all find ourselves in there has never been a more interesting time to explore Smartphone filmmaking. This is what the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is here to do; to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to create their stories using their phones and to provide them with the widest possible platform to present these stories to a wider audience”

 

IFI’s Head of Education, Alicia McGivern said: IFI is delighted to partner with DUBSMARTFF 2022, expanding our programme with work in a new format, and opening up our historic building as both screening venue and location to smartphone filmmakers. The collaboration gives us a chance to reach new audiences and to engage with next generation filmmakers, inspired by the energy and creativity of the DUBSMARTFF team.

The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival will take place on the 30th of April 2022 at the Irish Film Institute and online from May 1st to May 7th 

Tickets

Morning:  https://ifi.ie/film/dublin-smartphone-film-festival-2022-morning/

Afternoon: https://ifi.ie/film/dublin-smartphone-film-festival-2022-afternoon/

Full Day: https://ifi.ie/film/dublin-smartphone-film-festival-2022-full-day/   (In person ONLY from the IFI)

Citi creates 300 new jobs in Ireland

Citi today announced that it intends to create 300 new jobs for Ireland this year. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe T.D. and Cecilia Ronan, Citi Country Head Ireland, with Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland made the announcement at Citi’s European Bank headquarters on North Wall Quay in Dublin.

The bank employs 2500 people in Ireland currently. It has a significant presence in Dublin with several of its global businesses operating here including Corporate Banking and Private Banking, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Markets, and Securities Services.

The new positions available in 2022 include Risk, Audit, Finance and Treasury; Technology roles including Cloud and Cyber specialists, Software Engineering and Architects, Developers, Blockchain specialists; Client facing roles in Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions business and Commercial Bank; Operations roles including Fund Accounting, Asset Servicing; and Credit Management.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD said “I’m very pleased that Citi is announcing these new jobs today which comes at a time in Ireland when employment in the international financial services sector is at the highest level it has ever been at, boosted by Ireland’s highly educated and skilled workforce. Citi has a long history in Ireland, consistently evolving to keep pace with the rapid changes in the financial services sector and I congratulate them today on this important announcement.”

Cecilia Ronan, Citi Country Head Ireland, said: “This is an exciting announcement for Citi and for Ireland. Financial services has changed over the last ten years and more change is on the horizon as the pace of digitisation increases. Many of these new roles reflect this changing reality where skills like risk, software engineering, data analytics, cloud and cyber are of increasing importance to the growth and soundness of our business. We already employ 700 people in technology roles in Dublin and this is now set to increase.”She continued, “We also recently announced the sale of our building at North Wall Quay and plans to purchase a modern and sustainable building in Dublin, reaffirming our long-term commitment to Ireland. We have flourished here because of the talent pool, the open economy and integrated ecosystem, and the access to the EU and I am excited to see that continue into the future.”

Commenting on the announcement Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said “Citi’s considerable footprint and its growth across multiple and diverse business functions in Dublin, greatly adds to Ireland’s reputation as a global centre for Financial Services. IDA Ireland has supported the development of Citi in Ireland for many years and we wish the company continued success with this expansion.”

Citi has had a significant presence in Ireland for over 55 years. It was one of the first foreign banks to open an office in Dublin. Citi opened its first Global Innovation Lab in Dublin in 2009, which was supported by the Irish Government and IDA; Dublin is now also the home of Citi’s Global Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain.

Every day in Dublin, Citi’s global teams interact with colleagues and clients in over 100 countries processing millions of transactions and supporting next-generation technology. With a firm focus on building careers, the team at Citi benefit from mentoring and excellent training, and the opportunity to build a global career from Dublin. Citi Ireland was recently named by LinkedIn as one of the Top 25 Employers in Ireland.

Citi champions diversity within the workforce, with 60 different nationalities working in the Dublin office.
Shape your Career with Citi in Dublin

Welltel connects Insomnia’s 76 locations in deal worth quarter of a million euros

Welltel, Europe’s leading dedicated business communications and managed IT solutions provider, today announces that it has delivered robust connectivity to Insomnia, Ireland’s leading independent coffee shop chain and the 15th largest in Europe. Insomnia has invested almost a quarter of a million euros to enable connectivity to its 76 coffee shops, more than 500 employees, and customers across Ireland and Great Britain.

Following extensive site assessments, Welltel designed a bespoke solution which has almost entirely eradicated connectivity issues for Insomnia, with any remaining issues easily mitigated. The system can withstand any fixed-line interruptions and provides automated backup in case of an outage or failure, meaning minimal downtime for the business.

The solution has improved customer experience in-store with high-speed WiFi for customers and more reliable card payments and loyalty transactions. The next phase of the project will see the introduction of more connected services to Insomnia, including telemetry and digital displays.

Welltel installed Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) and new routers in each location to ensure the fastest available broadband connection and better employee access to Insomnia’s cloud-based services including till systems, card payments, loyalty platforms and head office resources. High-speed mobile connectivity has also been rolled out across all stores ensuring risks of downtime are significantly reduced.

Conor Ward, Head of IT, Insomnia: “Great coffee must be matched with great internet. Today, connectivity is absolutely core to our ability to give customers what they want. We needed a secure, stable and high-quality connection that would not only ensure our business could continue uninterrupted, but underpin growth and business success.

“With Welltel’s solution, connectivity issues are becoming a thing of the past. Even when issues flare up, these are easily remedied with minimal downtime. We had been seeing a heightened demand for quality connectivity based on both customer expectation and increases in the number of connected services. Customers can now enjoy an improved experience in our stores, with fast, seamless payments and reliable Wi-Fi, while staff also benefit from improved access to the company’s cloud resources.

“We are confident this system will meet our business needs as they continue to evolve. It will support our exciting plans for the next chapter in our increasingly digital business.”

Dan Croke, Account Director and Solutions Principle, Welltel: “We were thrilled to be chosen to work with Insomnia on this exciting project. Things are becoming increasingly connected and reliable networks have never been more important, especially for a customer-facing business such as Insomnia. This project was undertaken and carried out with the needs of customers and employees at the core.

“The scalable solution will grow in line with the company’s requirements, and with the very latest connectivity technology, Welltel has futureproofed Insomnia’s systems and is enabling success in a cloud-based world.

“We’re looking forward to working with Insomnia on the next phase of the project and continuing to build on our valuable relationship.”

Irish tech firm Replan launches revolutionary supply chain planning software following £2m investment boost

Ground-breaking solution leverages AI modelling to streamline complex supply chains

Supply chain technology company, Replan, today announced a £2m investment round, led by Hoxton Ventures, the top early-stage venture firm in London, to support the launch of a transformative new production planning software for manufacturers. The tool is the first of its kind to combine dynamic production sequences with mid-term group level planning, empowering companies to navigate and respond to increasing supply chain disruption.

The funding is the latest in over £5m raised to-date by the company and will support ongoing product development and market growth in the UK and Europe, as well as future expansion into North America.  Replan was cherry picked by investors for its potential for fast growth and innovative technology that promises to revolutionise complex supply chain planning with pre-configured AI and advanced analytics.

Supply chain leaders will now be able to transform and scale production planning with a solution that rapidly automates and evaluates multiple scenarios, helping manufacturers to reduce cost, increase efficiency, and respond to disruption faster. The software enables planners to generate complex production sequencing in minutes, automatically applying the right AI algorithm to gain full control over demand forecasting and supply chain planning.

Replan

Hussein Kanji, Partner, Hoxton Ventures comments: “Replan’s technology is key to keeping the manufacturing supply chain efficient and moving. The company is tackling critical planning challenges that went largely unaddressed before Covid, but that cause costs and delays for manufacturers.”

The launch comes as supply chains continue to experience disruption due to the pandemic, supply shortages and geopolitical unrest. With the volume and velocity of change exposing critical technology and processing problems at the heart of supply chains, manufacturers are increasingly seeking to leverage digital transformation to transform and scale production planning and meet business and sustainability goals.

Richie Barter, CEO at Replan, adds: “Replan embeds cutting-edge AI modelling and optimisation capabilities within a modern, intuitive user interface to shake up the status quo and revolutionise supply chain planning. The software can streamline even the most complex production plans, helping manufacturers to improve operational efficiency and build more agile and resilient supply chains.”

 

More information about Replan can be found here.

Nikon Precision Europe to expand operations with new office at Kildare Innovation Campus

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar today announced plans by Nikon Precision Europe (NPE) to expand its operations with the opening of its new offices on Kildare Innovation Campus.  The offices will form part of its worldwide support network.

This expansion was supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

NPE has been in Ireland since the early 1990’s with local staff supporting a number of multinational semiconductor customers.  Having started with a handful of local employees, the company has steadily grown in line with customers’ needs. It now has close to 140 employees, and this expansion will continue over the coming months with an additional 40 positions available across a range of skills.

Nikon Precision Europe (NPE) GmbH is the organisation supporting Nikon’s Lithography systems for its European customers. It provides service to customers during the lifecycle of the Lithography system. Whether it is during installation, wafer production ramp-up or in a sustaining production environment, their team provide expert analysis and solutions to enable optimal usage around-the-clock of the capital equipment in the customer factory.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said: “This expansion, which will create 40 new jobs in Nikon’s new offices in the newly launched Kildare Innovation Campus, is a great boost for Kildare and the surrounding area. Congratulations to the team, I’m sure it has taken a huge amount of work to make these plans a reality. The very best of luck with it.”

NPE President Harumi Sawada said: “Our continued investment in Ireland underlines the importance Nikon places on the support of our customers locally as well as creating a technical hub that can support our worldwide semiconductor operations.”

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said: “Nikon Precision Europe has been in Ireland for close to 30 years now, supporting a number of multinational semiconductor customers. The company has grown from a handful of local employees as the business developed in line with customer needs to close to 140 employees at present in its international support hub. These new offices in Kildare Innovation Campus will add a further 40 roles; a very welcome development demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to its Irish operations. I wish them continued success.”

To learn more about exciting careers at this moment of unprecedented rapid and ongoing growth in the semiconductor industry, go to NPE’s application portal here https://nikon-precision-hr.secure.force.com/recruit/fRecruit__ApplyJobList

Delta Partners Targets 30 Tech Investments With New Venture Capital Fund

Dublin-based venture capital firm Delta Partners has announced the launch of its new venture capital fund which will invest into seed and early-stage technology businesses in Ireland. The fund has reached a first close with Bank of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland as cornerstone investors, supported by Fexco and several family offices. New investors will be added to the fund over the coming year, with a target close of €70m.

The Delta team will invest in 30 of Ireland’s most innovative and exciting start-ups over the next 3-4 years, and Delta’s strategy is to invest at both the seed stage, where it will be the first institutional investor on board, and the Series A stage as companies launch their products and services internationally and require more capital to fund the scaling stages.

Expanding the team, Maurice Roche and Dermot Berkery, the existing Partners in Delta, are joined by two new Partners. Amy Neale is joining from a senior role in Mastercard where she led innovation teams focused on fintech across the globe from New York to Singapore and Kenya. Richard Barnwell brings vital experience as a hands-on entrepreneur having created Digit Games, previously an investee of Delta Partners which subsequently sold to U.S. games company Scopely.

Delta has a strong track record, with over 120 investee companies to date with successful scaling companies such as Luzern and Sirius XT in the current portfolio. To date, the team has realised €1.8bn from companies such as Clavis (sold to Ascential plc), Sensl (sold to OnSemiconductor) and Neuravi (sold to Johnson & Johnson).

Commenting on the new fund:

 Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said: “We are constantly looking at ways we can back Irish businesses, especially at an early stage when raising finance is often the most difficult. I really admire those that are brave enough to start their own business. This Fund will be a €70m pot of money, supported by the Government through Enterprise Ireland for seed and early-stage technology businesses, working on ideas that will create the jobs of the future. I look forward to seeing the success of those that receive funding and wish the Delta team the very best of luck.”

 Jillian Clarkin, Head of SME Markets at Bank of Ireland, said: “This new fund will support the talent and ambition of dozens of fledgling Irish technology businesses. I look forward to seeing them grow into successful employers and exporters and I’m excited that Bank of Ireland will be part of that journey. Bank of Ireland is committed to supporting the innovation that is so important to Ireland’s future economic success.”

 Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said: “This fund will increase the availability of capital to early-stage companies to deliver on their business plans and compete with international peers.  Enterprise Ireland’s focus on seed-stage investments, which enhance diversity and experience in the ecosystem, is underpinned by this excellent launch and we look forward to working with the team at Delta over the coming years.”

 Dermot Berkery and Maurice Roche of Delta Partners Limited said: “This fund is aimed directly at the funding gap for early-stage companies in Ireland. Great Irish entrepreneurs are succeeding across the technology spectrum and the main thing they lack is capital to help them to achieve their ambitions. Our two new partners, Amy and Richard, bring incredible skillsets to help these entrepreneurs along their journeys.  We are delighted to have the support of Bank of Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Fexco and the family offices of some of Ireland’s most successful technology entrepreneurs.”

 Neil Hosty, CEO of Fexco Group said: “Innovation is at the core of Fexco’s strategy and we are delighted to support the next generation of Irish technology success stories. This new fund will provide critical investment to exciting new businesses as they take on the international marketplace.”