Dublin-based software firm Artomatix has reached the final stages of an international start-up competition run by technology website TechCrunch.

Previous winners include Dropbox, Mint, Yammer and Zenefits.

Headed by Kildare-born Neal O'Gorman and American Eric Risser, and based in Dublin, Artomatix provides creative artificial intelligence. Its algorithm can generate thousands of images based on the initial design and parameters that an artist provides. This could be used to create an army of characters in a game or animation, thousands of unique dress designs within the same style, and more mundane tasks, such as building on an artist's surface and texture design.