NDRC at ArcLabs has welcomed six new, innovative startups to its South East accelerator, the second of three programmes planned for the region. This year’s cohort of companies includes businesses developing information software for the leisure boat industry, safety data for care in the home, language supports and water management solutions.
NDRC sources and builds digital startups to invest in and work with, providing them with an integrated offering of knowledge, experience, expertise and a modest amount of capital to enable them to become investor-ready faster, more successfully and more efficiently than otherwise.
From left: Aisling O'Neill, Manager at ArcLabs; Feargal Duignan, PacSana; Alex Martin, Miura; David Hogan, Smartflow; Aidan Foley and Samuele Santi, Raceix; Fergal Dearle, Stackolater; Rob Ross, Hippo; Niall Larkin, NDRC. Image: Patrick Browne/Brownes Photography
Since 2017, NDRC has been bringing this model to the South East and West of Ireland, thanks to partners such as Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Galway City Innovation District and Enterprise Ireland. This accelerator programme is part of Enterprise Ireland’s overall strategy to increase the number and quality of startups that have the potential to employ more than 10 persons and achieve €1 million in export sales within three years.
Based in ArcLabs in WIT, this initiative aims to drive the growth of digital startups nationally. Previous companies to have come through NDRC at ArcLabs include Property Bridges, a business allowing anybody to invest in property developments throughout Ireland through a crowd-fund platform.
The investors and supporters of NDRC at ArcLabs, in addition to Enterprise Ireland, include Sure Valley Ventures, Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund, Bord Gáis Energy in partnership with Centrica Innovations, South East BIC, and Local Authorities of Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford, Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Centres.
NDRC currently runs programmes in Dublin, Galway and Waterford, as well as providing support for similar activities in Oman.
Gary Leyden, Commercial Director, NDRC: “It’s great to welcome these six businesses into our NDRC at ArcLabs investment programme. This is the second time we’ve operated an accelerator in the South East and, with support from our partners Waterford Institute of Technology and Enterprise Ireland, we expect this programme to push on from all we have achieved in the region already.”
Aisling O’Neill, Manager, ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre: “Here in ArcLabs, we are just thrilled to welcome the new cohort of six of the most interesting digital technology start-up teams around. Hosting the NDRC under this Enterprise Ireland regional accelerator initiative adds additional depth to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of ArcLabs which is so committed to the development of innovative enterprises in South East Ireland. Check out our website www.arclabs.ie to learn more about what we do.”
Martin Corkery, Regional Director, South & South East Regions, Enterprise Ireland said: “Supporting innovation and regionally based businesses to start, scale and expand their reach in new, global markets is a key objective of Enterprise Ireland’s work. That is why we offer such a broad range of supports for companies across a variety of sectors and stages of development. Our partnership programme with NDRC at ArcLabs is an essential element of our campaign to promote entrepreneurship in the South East region.”
The startups are:
Smartflow is a water monitoring, conservation and leak detection system which protects the home or business from experiencing damage caused by a plumbing leak. It allows the user to control the flow of water into a premises by their mobile app.
Raceix is bringing connected and informed boating to the marine-leisure space for the first time. The Raceix solution begins with next-generation mapping to provide the best marine data available today. This is then presented to the boat user in a highly intuitive way, using a combination of live video and augmented reality.
PacSana records changes in movement patterns in the home, maintaining a real-time connection between older people and those who care for them. It partners with carers providers, health trusts and housing associations in the UK and Ireland.
Stackolator helps companies achieve the savings many initially thought would come from moving their data into the cloud. It allows customers to rapidly configure servers, databases and other services in the Cloud. It also provides the orchestration tooling to allow these services to be started and stopped on demand.
Hippo has created an online platform that enables universities to support the language needs of their English learners to reduce failures, drop outs and financial losses. Universities worldwide face significant financial losses when trying to recruit and retain international students. Hippo will fix this.
Miura Miura provides a comprehensive, technology led regulatory and compliance platform for companies, freeing up key personnel to focus on other tasks within the business.
