Category: Irish Tech News

Dublin Discovery Trails is a new first of its kind Augmented Reality app shows Dublin as you’ve never seen it before!

Dublin City Council (DCC) today launched Dublin Discovery Trails – ‘Doors into Docklands’, the first in a series of mobile application (app) based immersive discovery trails with innovative Augmented Reality (AR).  The App, which has been co funded by Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland through its Destination Town Investment Scheme, will help to further unlock the tourism potential of the Docklands by bringing the area and its story to life for visitors in a new and immersive way.

This App is an innovative way to see the history of the Docklands come to life through Augmented Reality which combines the real-world history with smart technology. This app merges the old and the new, combining history and technology, and will guide the user in their own time on a journey of discovery to some of the Docklands most loved sites and attractions, enabling them to uncover compelling stories of Dublin’s culture, heritage and history via Augmented Reality (AR) technology.

You can experience the Guinness barges sailing down the River Liffey, to the Crimean Banquet held in the CHQ and the story of the famine statues.  Along the trail you can see the ‘history come to life’ with a 360-degree view of the Custom House fires blazing in 1921, the Scherzer Bridges in 2d animation and Port workers in the Diving Bell toiling at the bottom of the sea. You will also meet many Augmented Reality characters telling their stories from Captain Bligh who surveyed Dublin Bay in the 1800’s to Maggie Doyle telling her tale as a Docker’s daughter.

Caroline Conroy, Lord Mayor of Dublin, launching this exciting new app, said: “This is amazing technology, bringing a part of Dublin alive that most of us have never seen! It’s really exciting innovation and as Lord Mayor, I’m proud to see Dublin at the forefront of smart tourism technology joining the past and the future together. I’d like to take the opportunity to encourage visitors and Dubliners alike to download the app and try out this immersive new experience.”

Dublin City Council directed the implementation of this exciting first trail on Dublin Discovery Trails App, ‘Doors into Docklands’ developed by Peel X . The development of the Docklands AR trail was in collaboration with representatives from Fáilte Ireland, Dublin Port Company, OPW, EPIC, Smart Dublin and Dublin City Council Culture Company.

The Dublin Discovery Trails app is a platform on which multiple Dublin tourism agencies and local authorities can develop new and exciting immersive experiences. The underlying tender framework facilitated by DCC has structured Dublin Discovery Trails as a centralised App to provide immersive experience development across Dublin. Members of this tender framework include Fáilte Ireland, Dublin Port Company, Waterways Ireland and the four Dublin Local Authorities.

The App is a first-of-its-kind development for Dublin City Council and further promotes the capital’s position as a leading ‘Smart City’. The app is aimed at locals and visitors to the City who want to know more about and experience the history of the Docklands from a new and unique perspective. It will transport the user back in time using 3D graphics, animations, and storytelling immersing them in historical scenes and shocking events from the Docklands’ past.

Karl Mitchell, Director of Service Area Management in Dublin City Council, said: “The App was jointly funded by Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland and the innovative technology that was developed offers a new way for visitors and locals to experience the capital city like never before. This App through its immersive AR technology allows users to explore the City’s Docklands in an engaging and exciting way. You can find out more about Dublin’s maritime history, visit famous landmarks and heritage sites, uncover hidden wonders, and experience history and culture in a new fun way.”

Speaking at the launch, Paul Keeley, Director of Regional Development at Fáilte Ireland said: “Today’s tourists are looking for more unique and compelling ways to immerse themselves in the local culture, heritage and history of a destination, Fáilte Ireland was pleased to the support the development of the innovative Doors into Docklands heritage trail through our Destination Town Investment Scheme. Building on the work being done to date as part of the Docklands Destination Experience Development Plan, this interactive AR heritage trail will also help improve visitor flow to the area and will encourage visitors to stay longer both during the day and into the evening, further spreading the economic benefits of tourism to the local businesses.”

The App uses a Wi-Fi or data connection to download the initial content including the geo-enabled landmarks and map. These landmarks will be a prompt for visitors to point their phones where the images and videos will then appear. There is no need for a live data connection while using the app, as everything is stored on your phone after the initial content download, so users won’t be charged for expensive data roaming during their experience.

The digital trails app is part of a larger Smart Tourism strategy to invest in digital to transform Dublin’s tourism experience for how we tell the story and history of the city. This flagship project will help further position Dublin as a world class tourism destination with this new unforgettable digital experience and create the building blocks to deliver many more unique and tailored experiences.

For more information on ‘Doors into Docklands’ and to download the app visit https://doorsintodocklands.com/

Irish consortium led by ServBlock and Irish Manufacturing Research win EU funding to build Manufacturing Data Space

Blockchain and pharmaceutical compliance company ServBlock has received funding alongside Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to build a trusted data exchange system for outsourced pharmaceutical manufacturing. Wicklow based ServBlock leads a consortium that includes NEXA | EAM (Cork), Ingeniero Solutions (Dublin) Unison Process Solutions (Limerick) and Plant Quest (Waterford) as a pioneering test case for trusted data transfer in pharma supply chains.

The project is supported by the EU’s i4Trust program, which provides funding for innovative research and development projects. The funding will enable the consortium to bring together experts from various fields, including data science, manufacturing, and engineering.

Welcoming the funding announcement, Adrian Hovenden, IMR’s Industrial Solutions Architect said: “Irish Manufacturing Research is delighted to have worked with IMR Member, ServBlock, to successfully secure the i4Trust funding for MANU SPACE. Collaborating with IMR members to create impactful solutions for the Irish manufacturing industry such as this Data Space, is key to ensuring the continued growth and development of the sector. IMR are excited to participate in this consortium and facilitate improvements in patient outcomes through improvements to pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain.”

In pharmaceutical manufacturing 20% of executives in management cite disparate systems and data sources among key challenges in addressing top manufacturing objectives for life sciences companies. A dataspace is a way of bringing together data from different sources and making it accessible and usable for a variety of purposes, such as research, analysis, or decision-making.

Data spaces can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in business, science, or government. The manufacturing data space will bring together data from different factories, production lines, and supply chains, to gain insights into the efficiency and competitiveness of the manufacturing process.

In the pharmaceutical industry 60% of all manufacturing is outsourced, companies outsource business activities to external partners for a variety of reasons – cost, flexibility, time to market, and core competence. This outsourcing leads to an increased risk of non-compliance to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) procedures which in turn could be a risk to the brand reputation of the company. By utilising the Manufacturing data space pharmaceutical companies can ensure contract manufacturers adhere to the same integrity, compliance, and quality operations as in-house manufacturing.

John Ward, CEO and founder of ServBlock, said: – “We are excited to be a part of this important project and look forward to working with our partners to bring the manufacturing data space to life. Coming on the back of our recent collaboration with Microsoft, this opportunity will allow ServBlock to continue to accelerate growth while being at the forefront of the Data Space movement.”

Irish Company myVolts launches innovative audio product “Candycord Halo”

Candycords Halo – a unique range of illuminating premium audio cables for modular synths and more – is the hot new audio product from myVolts Ltd. The 2-week Kickstarter campaign kicks runs until 2nd December 2022. Candycords Halo was developed in close collaboration with Toronto-based music and video producer Andrew Huang. “It’s something I feel I will use all the time and I’m sure a lot of other synth nerds would also appreciate!”– Andrew Huang

Candycords Halo up close – techbuzzireland

Features and benefits of Candycords Halo include:

Beautifully designed: subtle LED in a metallic lacquered enclosure
Premium connectors: gold-plated with a reassuring snap-crunch on connecting
Unique colours: 7 yummy colours help keep track of gear, including Sunset Peach, Jellybean Purple, and Marshmallow Pink plus Midnight Black

Candycords Halo – techbuzzireland

Untangleable: bespoke thermoplastic rubber resists tangles, cables coil just right
Hard-wearing: thoughtful cable construction ensures long life
Pleasing finish: matte rubber velvet finish makes Candycords Halo a joy to handle
Different lengths: 15cm, 30cm, 50cm, 80cm and 150cm available, a cable for every situation
Different styles: Curly and straight available, right-angled and straight connectors available
Great for Modular, semi-modular or CV controller keyboard scenarios

 

Candycord Halo is live on Kickstarter until December 2nd. Prices start at 19 EUR for a pair of Halo Cables. The first run of the product is already manufactured and ready to ship worldwide at campaign end, so backers can buy with full confidence. Visit the Kickstarter campaign at: https://tinyurl.com/CandyHalo myVolts Ltd has been solving the power problems of consumers and professionals for well over a decade, has four previously successfully funded and shipped Kickstarter campaigns, and served tens of thousands of happy customers on Amazon, eBay and their own webshop.

Support on Kickstarter

Black Shamrock – a Virtuos Studio announces expansion of game development studio in Dublin

Black Shamrock – a Virtuos Studio today announced the expansion of its operations at the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) in Dublin City Centre. The co-development studio aims to create 80 new jobs with this expansion, bringing its total headcount to 200 by the end of 2023.

Founded in 2015, Black Shamrock is a co-development studio that specializes in RPG and action-adventure games for PC and console. Since its establishment, Black Shamrock has contributed to Ireland’s presence in the video game industry, having developed some of the world’s most popular AAA titles. The studio has worked on games such as The Outer Worlds, Grounded, Back 4 Blood, Destroy All Humans!, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Pillars of Eternity. Currently, the Black Shamrock team has multiple AAA game projects in active development and is excited about their public release.

Black Shamrock was acquired by Virtuos, one of the world’s largest independent game developers, in 2017 as part of its expansion to cater to an increased demand for AAA co-development services globally. Leveraging Virtuos’ global exposure and reach, Black Shamrock has also expanded its co-development capabilities, collaborating with the biggest game studios around the world.

The studio is rapidly expanding to take on some of the games industry’s most ambitious projects. Black Shamrock is actively seeking talent in art, design, engineering, and production, with additional business support roles opening up in the coming months. Interested candidates can learn more about Black Shamrock’s current opportunities here.

Leo Varadkar TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said, “It’s really welcome that Black Shamrock plans to create 80 new jobs in Dublin as part of its expansion. This initiative underlines the company’s commitment to Ireland by employing 200 people by the end of 2023. Black Shamrock is a global leader in game development, and having such a skilled and talented workforce at its disposal is no doubt a driving force behind this further investment. The news is particularly welcome at a time when other tech companies are announcing job losses. It also shows that the tax changes recently introduced for the digital gaming industry are working. I wish the team all the best in this exciting new chapter.”

Gilles Langourieux, CEO of Virtuos, said: “Ireland’s pool of young, diverse and highly-skilled talent has empowered it to become a key global player in video game development. In 2017, we saw the opportunity to expand into Dublin in partnership with Black Shamrock, which has proven to be a good fit with Virtuos’ company culture of innovation and creativity. Through Black Shamrock, we hope to continuously enable the long-term development of local talent and the expansion of the games industry in Ireland.”


Lukas Codr, General Manager of Black Shamrock – a Virtuos Studio, said: “We are rapidly expanding all areas of production at Black Shamrock to cater to the growing needs of our client partners. The game projects that we are currently developing are some of the most exciting in the world, so it is the perfect time to join us if you want to work on the most awe-inspiring AAA games and do some of the best work of your career.”


Eileen Sharpe, IDA Ireland’s Head of Growth Markets, said, “Ireland’s combination of creative and technical talent makes it the perfect location from which to grow and develop the video gaming sector. IDA Ireland welcomes this investment, and the opportunity to create high-quality jobs for talented people in this exciting growth area.”

IDA Ireland statement following recent news coverage of job losses in selected technology companies

The global macroeconomic environment has become increasingly uncertain in recent months due to a number of factors, including rising interest rates, inflation, and volatile energy markets.  Challenges have been felt more sharply in Technology than in other business sectors, after a period of sustained growth for many years.  Growth rates accelerated for many technology companies during the pandemic as consumers moved rapidly online and as businesses sought to increase the pace of their digitalisation efforts.  Now, after this period of rapid hiring and jobs growth, companies find that they need to reduce their costs and employee numbers in line with reduced revenue forecasts and weakening company valuations. This has led to the announcement of layoffs by Twitter, Stripe and Meta in recent days

IDA Ireland’s Interim CEO Mary Buckley said: “These layoffs are regrettable and our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs.

IDA continues to monitor the situation in the global technology sector and is actively engaged with its technology client base. We remain in close contact with the Tánaiste and officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The technology base in Ireland has been building for over 60 years and will continue to grow in the future, despite current challenges. The companies that have announced job losses in recent days will continue to operate in Ireland and are important companies in the global and Irish ecosystem. IDA’s focus is on the continued partnership with these companies to continue to grow their presence in Ireland and deepen their impact on the Irish economy. The underlying strength in the technology sector is driven by a number of factors, including the pace of digitalisation (across all sectors) and the associated need for new digital infrastructure and services.

Growth in employment in 2021 brought the number of people employed in the FDI sector in Ireland to 275,384, up from 258,558 in 2020.  Job losses remained at a relatively modest level relative to the size of the overall portfolio resulting in extremely strong net employment growth last year (16,826 net increase). That investment growth continued in the first half of 2022, returning FDI employment creation plans to above the pre-pandemic 2019 record levels, despite a continuing challenging global environment.”

Mary Buckley continued: “As we have done throughout the adverse events of recent years, IDA is working closely with client companies. The agency continues to win new investment in those sectors of focus that underpin a modern economy including Technology, Financial Services and Life Sciences. We remain attuned to new areas of opportunity for Ireland in an evolving investment landscape as well as exploring emerging areas of opportunity, ranging from digital technologies and microelectronics to advanced therapy medicinal products and developments in the renewable energy sector.

Investors’ commitment to Ireland remains strong and Ireland’s value proposition as a place to do business remains a compelling one. Competition remains fierce though and, amid a volatile external environment, to remain successful in the years ahead, we must remain competitive while working to address immediate issues related to the carrying capacity of the economy including housing, energy, water, infrastructure and planning as well as policies supporting talent and skills development.”

NetApp opens new international headquarters in Ireland’s largest and most ambitious urban regeneration project

NetApp a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company today announced the opening of its new international headquarters in Cork. The office is in Navigation Square within Cork’s Docklands, Ireland’s largest and most ambitious urban regeneration project.

The new international headquarters will serve NetApp’s international commercial, sales, and technology operations, expanding the company’s ability to support its global customers through a broad ecosystem of available technology, engineering, and software development talent.

NetApp’s President, Cesar Cernuda will be joined by the Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, Michael McGrath TD, to open the new Docklands waterfront office.

“I am delighted to be here today to open the new International Headquarters in Ireland for NetApp and I welcome the creation of an expected 500 jobs by 2025,” said Michael McGrath TD, Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform. “This is a further endorsement for Cork City and the wider South West region as a prime location for technology companies like NetApp. I want to congratulate everyone who has made today’s opening a reality. I also wish to acknowledge the role of IDA Ireland which continue to be instrumental in attracting Foreign Direct Investment into Ireland.”

“NetApp’s decision to establish its international headquarters is terrific news for the South West region and indeed Ireland,” said Mary Buckley, Interim CEO at IDA Ireland. “The wealth of skilled and diverse talent, well-versed in cloud technologies and innovation available across the region is a key factor in attracting global organizations like NetApp. IDA Ireland remains committed to winning investments, like this for regional locations. I’d like to wish NetApp every success with this expansion.”

“We are honoured to have the Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, Michael McGrath TD to commemorate the opening of our new international headquarters in Cork,” said Cesar Cernuda, President at NetApp. “It is exciting to be at the centre of this massive regeneration effort within the city, home to many of the world’s leading tech companies and the companies they support. Opening our international headquarters in Ireland is an important and exciting step on our path to accelerate our transformation as a company, collaborating with partners and supporting our customers’ cloud-led digital transformation. NetApp is growing its international presence to expand its talent and continue to bring industry-leading capabilities and solutions to enhance our unique value proposition. The rich talent pool available here in Ireland will allow us to advance our hybrid cloud strategy and deliver innovative new services to our customers and partners.”

NetApp has already hired over 100 employees in Cork and will recruit a further 200 more staff by the end of June 2023, to reach 500 employees by 2025. The available positions range from early career to senior level, spanning engineering and technology roles to finance, sales, recruitment, and product management, including multilingual roles.

The Navigation Square office is accessible to all employees, through NetApp’s “Thrive Everywhere” model which provides a flexible, hybrid model of working. Employees of the international headquarters will have access to NetApp’s full range of employment benefits that includes wellbeing days, no meetings days and paid volunteer days.

“Cork has become the global hub of choice for international headquarters of technology companies, home to over 100 technology companies,” said Debra McCowan, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at NetApp. “With over 40,000 students across Cork’s two universities, NetApp’s decision to base its international headquarters in Cork provides access to a talent pool that is truly worthy of supporting the robust and evolving technology market. As well as being a part of the vibrant emerging business scene in Cork, NetApp’s hybrid working model means there are opportunities for technical and non-technical candidates across Ireland.”

To find out more about NetApp’s international headquarters in Cork, Ireland and to view current job openings, visit https://www.netapp.com/company/cork-location/.

Microsoft Announce Collaboration with Irish Pharmaceutical Blockchain Disruptors ServBlock

ServBlock, a Blockchain and pharmaceutical compliance company is collaborating with Microsoft’s Early Access Engineering programme to produce a novel business case for the use of NFT technology in meeting compliance standards.

Servblock translates the current human to human based quality assurance process to a digital first trust system underpinned by machine to machine interactions and blockchain technology, providing verified data that is automatically checked for compliance.

Pharmaceutical compliance entails a multitude of processes requiring manual checking of data and tasks which require detailed attention, passing numerous levels of scrutiny often multiple times. ServBlock automates this process in a much more secure, timely and cost-efficient manner than the current status-quo with the use of blockchain technology.

The use of blockchain helps create validated digital traceability systems for pharmaceutical parts by recording data in real-time throughout a supply chain. With blockchain solutions, pharmaceutical-based transactions and processes can become secure, cheaper, and quicker than usual. For new biotech facility start up projects ServBlock can save 14,400 commissioning hours resulting in an average saving of 1.5 million euros per project.

As well as cost reduction ServBlock’s technology:

  • Eliminates fraud in the pharmaceutical supply chain

  • Eliminates the risk of counterfeit or contaminated drugs entering the market

  • Greatly reduces human error in the supply chain.

Blockchain is most commonly known for its uses in the financial industry and being particularly rooted in cryptocurrency over the last decade, but its fundamental data integrity properties means it is particularly suited to regulated industries, such as pharmaceutical production and distribution.

In collaboration with Microsoft, ServBlock has developed a novel use of non-fungible token (NFT) technology. NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated, normally bought and sold. This model presents the perfect framework to ensure transparency for all stakeholders from beginning to end.

John Ward, CEO and founder of ServBlock, said: ‘Implementing new technologies to aid in the continued improvement of compliance standards is a core pillar of what ServBlock does. To have Microsoft on board gives further validation to the work we have been doing since founding the company and blockchain as a powerful business tool. NFTs have gained recognition and popularity for their use in selling art and a new internet culture, but we are glad to be starting the adoption of real world use within an enterprise setting.’

Quality assurance data is tokenized and in this way shows an end-to-end business use case for NFT use in the pharmaceutical industry. Every business process is signed by business participants, stored then shared through a ledger which itself shows ownership of assets from their creation. Every business process is shared among business participants ensuring traceability at every stop.

Small, Medium & Corporate Lead for Microsoft Ireland, Peter Lougheed said: “NFTs are one of the most exciting concepts to emerge from blockchain technology, and have grown to be hugely significant. It’s great to see a Microsoft Founders Hub member, like ServBlock, continue to scale and expand. We, at Microsoft, are excited to collaborate with ServBlock in developing their technology to better enable the pharmaceutical industry to meet their, often very complex, compliance standards.”

This collaboration presents the first use case of NFTs within a pharmaceutical manufacturing setting and therefore uncovers great potential for the use of blockchain technology in a variety of areas which rely heavily on secure, transparent ownership of assets.

HP Inc. launches new device in Ireland in a bid to combat security threats and protect confidential business information

Today, HP Inc. has announced the Irish release of its new multi-function A3 office printer with built in HP Wolf Enterprise Security features. The announcement comes as a reminder to businesses that as Cyber Security Awareness Month draws to a close, businesses are encouraged to ensure their devices operate with the best security features to ensure secure working environments.

Multi-function printers are one of the most common and useful devices in any office environment with most doubling as copiers, scanners, and fax machines which have built-in memory and can store data. Due to their storage capability, many printers contain personal data like contracts, confidential company information, and any other files printed or sent via the printer. Without a strong security defense, some printers can leave businesses exposed to security threats and could have serious consequences for affected businesses.

In a bid to continue to combat security threats and continuously improve technology that detects and adapts to new threats, HP Inc. has launched the most secure printing through industry-leading and self-healing protection for businesses.

The new HP Color LaserJet Managed multi-function printer offers over 200 embedded security features, such as:

  • HP Sure Start – Critical operating code (BIOS) is automatically checked during start-up and repairs itself if compromised.
  • Run-time intrusion detection – Common Criteria certified to continually monitor memory activity to detect and stop attacks in real time.
  • HP Connection Inspector – Outgoing network connections are inspected to stop suspicious requests and thwart malware.
  • HP Memory Shield™ – an embedded security feature that helps prevent a wide variety of malware attacks from redirecting the execution flow of a programme.
  • Whitelisting – Firmware is automatically checked during start-up to determine if it’s authentic code -digitally signed by HP.

Understanding the importance of managing printers containing confidential information is essential for maintaining privacy and security in any business. Security starts with having the visibility of who and what is connecting to your network, and printers are no exception when it comes to potential vulnerabilities in a business.

Speaking on the importance of security features in printer devices, Managing Director of HP in Ireland, Val Gabriel said:

“As Cyber Security Awareness Month comes to a close in Ireland, we welcome the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee encouraging business owners and employees to ensure company data and information is protected through up-to-date security.

“For multi-function printers specifically, HP offers security protection that detects attacks on the operating system as well as the network, print, scan and fax applications. This new technology maintains an established first line of defense and provides security services for businesses of all size and scale. It works to safeguard businesses with always-on hardware-enforced protection that stays vigilant so work can continue safely – anytime and anywhere.”

Auctioneera signs-up with NoFrixion to ensure low-cost and seamless payments

Auctioneera, Ireland’s largest and fastest growing fixed fee estate agency today announced it has initiated an agreement with NoFrixion for the provision of digital payments infrastructure for real time payments reconciliation and accounting updates, while enabling instant payments and settlement to and from customers. As the result of its partnership with NoFrixion, Auctioneera is cutting its payments processing charges by 87%, while also considerably reducing its manual processing needs.

There has been enormous innovation at the consumer end of payments in recent years but almost none in business payments. Now NoFrixion is delivering efficiencies and savings to Auctioneera and core to the service is NoFrixion’s MoneyMoov API, which bridges legacy and digital infrastructure while simplifying payments automation, making the use of internet banking redundant.

Eddie O’Driscoll, Director, Auctioneera, said: “We have taken the plunge and have migrated our company’s payment processing to NoFrixion, and we could not be happier with how it has gone. While the payment processing fee savings got our attention, NoFrixion’s technology has proven to be the main advantage. It is integrated with our accounting system, saving us substantial hours every month of labour-intensive data entry work. Partnering with an innovative payment partner at rates substantially less than our previous service-provider has expanded our margins and has helped us to streamline our operations to a level not previously possible. It is of huge benefit to us.”

Feargal Brady, co-founder and CEO of NoFrixion, said: “Auctioneera is a perfect NoFrixion customer, in that it is a disruptive high growth business, enabled by internet technologies that did not exist ten years ago. Both the business and its customers rely on instant, low-cost payments, with immediate notification and settlement which traditional banking services don’t provide. We are delighted to align with Auctioneera and look forward to playing a role in its future success.”

With Covid now in the rear-view mirror, Auctioneera is actively recruiting estate agents in Dublin and Cork to add to its existing team to fuel expansion as the market normalises after the pandemic shock. The company believes that its low fixed fee model is the future of estate agency. It will ultimately see property sellers start to realise that they can sell their property for the best possible price while paying a low fixed fee. As vendors become aware of this alternative, they are eschewing the notion of paying several thousand Euro to sell a property.

NoFrixion is currently adding five to ten customers each month and has seen keen interest from e-commerce and SaaS businesses looking to cut payments processing fees and automate reconciliation. The Auctioneera model is a good example of the potential for both cost-savings and automation.

To date, Auctioneera which was established in 2018 has sold almost €350 million worth of property saving its vendors an estimated €4.4 million in fees compared to traditional estate agencies rates, where circa 1.5% of the value of the property is charged to customers. Its average client saves over €4000 in estate agent fees.

Established in 2021, NoFrixion is a fast-growing digital payments provider headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, which specialises in Banking as a Service solutions for business. It currently employs seventeen people at its headquarters in Dublin and expects to grow its headcount to thirty people by next year. NoFrixion’s current customer base spans Ireland, the UK, Belgium and Portugal. It recently announced a €3.6M funding round led by Delta Partners and Middlegame Ventures and joined by Furthr VC.