Iconic Translation to create jobs after raising seed funding

Irish translation software company Iconic Translation is to create 15 jobs at its Dublin headquarters after it raised €400,000 in seed funding.

The company said the new jobs, which are expected to be filled by the end of next year, will bring the total number of staff to 25. The firm provides cloud-based translation solutions to language service and translation companies.

The new roles will be primarily highly technical, with Iconic seeking machine translation specialists and software engineers, but it is also looking for sales and marketing candidates.

Iconic’s flagship product, which uses proprietary technology developed from years of research at DCU’s CNGL Centre, automates the translation of intellectual property documents, and has been a success for the firm.

The company is now planning to expand in a number of sectors, including the financial services and life sciences.

Chief executive Dr John Tinsley said the announcement signalled the firm's ambitious growth plans. "Our team of experts has created machine translation solutions for content which had been considered too technical and challenging for automated translation.

“We are excited about the strong growth we have already achieved in delivering translation technology to the very complex intellectual property and financial services sectors.”

Among the users of its product is Welocalize, a top global language service providers that uses the translation automation service in its US and China offices.

The news of the expansion was welcomed by Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation Damien English. "Iconic is a highly innovative young Irish company and an excellent case study of how Ireland's start-up eco system can help companies grow and develop, from the initial concept stage right through to becoming a commercial reality," he said.

Iconic raised the €400,000 seed funding from a number of investors, including Enterprise Ireland, and business angel investment from Bloom Equity and the Boole Investment Syndicate through the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN).