Limerick-based AI start-up Mavarick has raised €1.3 million in funding to help support its plans for international expansion.
The funding round was led by ACT Venture Capital, with participation from private investors. This is the first fundraise for the company which has been largely bootstrapped until now. It also was awarded €100,000 funding as part of the InterTrade Seedcorn competition late last year.
The software company, which was founded by Dr Paul Byrnes and Koen Jasper in 2022, aims to help manufacturers become more sustainable and efficient. It builds technology products for manufacturers that allows them to track how sustainability data moves through their operations, predominantly focusing on carbon and energy. The software platform gives them granular data and AI insights that allows them to make accurate sustainability decisions. The company is building an AI analyst for the factory floor and recently began its expansion into Germany.
The funding will be used to further develop its product and grow Mavarick’s team from the current seven staff to 12 by the end of July, with the company recruiting for technical roles such as developers and data scientists, along with marketing roles.
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“As a whole Ireland has a really good talent pool,” said Dr Byrnes. “The hardest part is trying to get people that take the technical skill sets, that click with us personality wise, but that are ready for the race when it comes to a start-up.”
Mr Jaspar highlighted the opportunity at the company which he argued outweighs the benefits of larger salaries offered by multinationals, many of which have shed jobs in the past two years as the tech sector cooled.
“You get to touch areas of the business which you just wouldn’t get to touch in a multinational, so that development opportunity I believe is much greater. If you succeed there is a clear path to very senior positions within the company as we grow.”
Dr Byrnes says much of the focus on sustainability is being driven by regulation but a much more traditional motivator is also coming into play: increasing profitability. “The reality is for manufacturers when you’re at the coalface it has to make financial sense for them to really get mass adoption,” he said.
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