Limerick start-up Mavarick raises €1.3m to fuel international expansion – The Irish Times

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Limerick-based AI startup Mavarick has raised €1.3 million in funding to support its plans for international expansion.

The financing round was led by ACT Venture Capital, with participation from private investors. This is the first fundraising for the company, which is largely up and running so far. At the end of last year it also received €100,000 in funding as part of the InterTrade Seedcorn competition.

The software company, which was founded in 2022 by Dr. Paul Byrnes and Koen Jasper, wants to help manufacturers become more sustainable and efficient. It builds technology products for manufacturers that help them track how sustainability data flows through their operations, with a particular focus on carbon and energy. The software platform provides them with detailed data and AI insights to help them make accurate sustainability decisions. The company is building an AI analyst for the factory floor and recently started expanding into Germany.

The funding will be used to further develop the product and expand Mavarick’s team from the current seven to 12 employees by the end of July, with the company recruiting for technical roles such as developers and data scientists, in addition to marketing roles.

“Overall, Ireland has a very good talent pool,” said Dr Byrnes. “The hardest part is getting people who have the technical skills, who click with us in terms of personality, but who are ready for the race when it comes to a start-up.”

Mr Koen highlighted the opportunities at the company, which he said outweigh the benefits of higher salaries offered by multinationals, many of which have lost jobs in the past two years as the technology sector cooled.

“You come into contact with parts of the company that you would not encounter at a multinational, so I think the development opportunities are much greater. If you succeed in this, 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 driven by regulation, but a much more traditional driver also comes into play: increasing profitability. “The reality is, if you’re on the coal side, manufacturers have to make financial sense to really get mass adoption,” he said.