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👋 Céad míle fáilte! A West Cork co-op just went shopping in America. Carbery Group, the farmer-owned ingredients company from Ballineen, has acquired Prinova's US flavours business from Japan's NAGASE Group in a multimillion-euro deal.
The acquisition expands Carbery's Synergy Flavors brand across the US and adds global premix manufacturing to its portfolio. Not bad for a company that started with farmers and a butter churn.
More on that below, plus a Galway company cracking MLS, Version 1 crossing €500M, and Cork cooling data centres.
TL;DR:
✈️ Abroad: Carbery buys Prinova's US flavours business, Orreco joins MLS Innovation Lab, Version 1 crosses €500M with CreateFuture acquisition, and Ignite Partners marks 12 months leading Ailytics' ANZ expansion.
🏠 Home: GridBeyond opens new global HQ managing 5GW of assets, Nexalus partners with TuffTek on cooling, Currenxie creates 30 Dublin jobs, and Enterprise Ireland invests big.
👑 Founder: Ciara Byrne of Green Our Planet scaled a school garden startup into a 1,300-school US platform serving 400,000 students.
🧠 Brain Food: David McWilliams on Ireland's overqualified baristas, the Two Johnnies' million-euro empire, and why being knocked out by the Czechs might have saved us a grand.
Enjoy ☕
LATEST UPDATES
News from abroad ✈️
Dr. Brian Moore - ORRECO
🇺🇸 Carbery banks multimillion-euro US deal: West Cork's Carbery Group has acquired the US flavours business of Prinova, a subsidiary of Japan's NAGASE Group. This expands their brand Synergy Flavors across the US and adds global premix manufacturing. CEO Jason Hawkins said it gives Synergy "a broader offering for our customers." Carbery now operates across eight countries. A farmer-owned company from Ballineen, going global one acquisition at a time. Read more
🇺🇸 Orreco picked for MLS Innovation Lab: Galway-based Orreco selected for MLS's 2026 Innovation Lab. Founded by Dr Brian Moore in 2009, Orreco uses AI and biomarker data to predict injury risk and optimise recovery. They already work with elite teams across EPL, NBA, PGA and MLB. The MLS retains the option to take equity after the programme. Read more
🇬🇧 Version 1 crosses €500M with CreateFuture deal: Irish-founded Version 1 has acquired UK firm CreateFuture: 4,250 employees, €500M+ in annual revenue. CreateFuture specialises in AI-native solutions for iGaming, financial services and utilities. CEO Roop Singh called it "a growth acquisition." Version 1 was founded in Dublin 30 years ago. Half a billion in revenue later. Read more
🇦🇺 Ignite Partners marks one year in the ANZ market: Our very own Stephen Mullan and Ignite Partners have hit twelve months leading the ANZ market entry for Singapore's Ailytics at Sydney Build 2026. Validated product across live ANZ sites, signed first commercial contracts, cracked open a mining vertical. Same playbook now running in the UK. An Irish-founded go-to-market operation proving it can sell complex tech in any hemisphere. Read more
At home 🏠
Dublin's GridBeyond has opened a new global headquarters, now managing 5GW of energy assets across nine markets.
Cork's Nexalus has partnered with TuffTek to develop next-generation cooling systems for data centres and AI infrastructure.
Enterprise Ireland confirmed €32.9M invested in 198 Irish startups (mostly AI) in 2025 and a new €21M National Accelerator Programme
Fintech platform Currenxie will create 30 Dublin jobs following Central Bank authorisation for its cross-border payments service.
Perigus Energy, a new onshore renewables company has set up headquarters in Cork to develop wind energy projects across Ireland.
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🗺️ FOUNDER DIRECTORY
Ciara Byrne - Green Our Planet
Role: Co-Founder and CEO, Green Our Planet
Base: Las Vegas, USA 🇺🇸
Focus: EdTech platform connecting K-12 students to STEM, sustainability, nutrition, and financial literacy
Stage: Funded · Founded 2013 · 28 employees
Ciara Byrne has spent more than a decade proving that the best classroom is the one you can grow things in. She has scaled a Las Vegas grassroots initiative into a nationally recognised education platform in 1,300+ schools across 44 US states, serving 400,000 students and 14,000 educators, with $30M+ in funding secured.
Before founding the company, she was CEO of Lion Television USA. She was a 2019 Obama Fellow, selected from 5,000+ applicants worldwide. A DCU graduate who has lived in eight countries. The latest chapter: AI Teaching Assistants Dr. Splash, Bugsy, and Quasar, embedded in the platform for inquiry-based learning.
🍀 The Global Irish Founder Directory | The Irish diaspora is building the future in every corner of the world. Are you on the map? Join the Directory | Explore the Map
🧠 BRAIN FOOD
5 other things we are snacking on this week
David McWilliams questions if Ireland has the world's most educated bar staff. When he graduated, 14% attended college; now it's 70%. He argues that the economy can't absorb this many graduates, and AI will exacerbate the issue.
The Indo Daily did a deep dive into the Two Johnnies' million-euro empire as the duo go private. From Tipperary to Ireland's biggest podcast, have a listen.
Some of us are still hurting after the Czech Republic defeat. But maybe we dodged a bullet, even Trump says he wouldn't pay $1,000 to attend a World Cup match, admitting "I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you."
The Belfast-Dublin Enterprise train is getting a €700M upgrade: 16 services daily, under two hours journey time. The island of Ireland, inching closer together
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