Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.
š CĆ©ad mĆle fĆ”ilte! This edition of Irish Insights is being published under difficult conditions. Stephen, my wee bro and co-founder of irish insights, had his stag last weekend. Last known location: Some dive bar in Melbourne. Current status: unknown.
The rest of us aren't exactly thriving either. We won't go into details. I did scour the group chat for a photo worth sharing publicly, and came up empty. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about what that means.
But the newsletter is here. The stories are good. That's all we can promise this week.
TL;DR:
āļø Abroad: Solidroad and Ulysses raise a combined $71 million, Tines down under & sees.ai gets the nod from Uncle Sam.
š At home: Amazonās subsea cable to Cork, Irish space tech officially has a manufacturing presence, Vox Talk AI & Seapoint funding.
šŗļø Founder Directory: Jackie Durnin, Founder of Hinterland Health Retreat, blends counselling, somatic therapies and neurotechnology to help people heal mind, body and nervous system together.
š§ Brain food: The protests aren't just about fuel, essential listening for any Irish founder thinking about their first round, the quirkiest perks at tech startups & more.
Enjoy ā
LATEST UPDATES
News from abroad āļø
(L-R): The solidroad lads - Patrick and Mark
šŗšø Solidroad banks $25M: Most QA teams spot-check 1-3% of customer support conversations and call it a day. Solidroad, the Dublin and San Francisco outfit founded in 2023 by ex-Intercom pair Mark Hughes and Patrick Finlay, reckons that's laughable, so its AI reviews the lot. Hedosophia clearly agrees, leading a $25M Series A that brings total funding to $31.5M on a team of just 20. Customers already include Ryanair and Crypto.com which is a spread that tells you the problem is universal. The Intercom mafia continues its quiet domination of customer-facing AI, and honestly, good. Someone should be reading those tickets. Read more
š¦šŗ Tines lands down under: Tines has formally opened its APAC hub across Sydney and Melbourne, with plans to double regional headcount this year. The Irish security automation unicorn, led by CEO Eoin Hinchy, already has Canva, Australian National University and REA Group on the books down there, which is a decent signal that the market was ready before the office was. Australia is having a moment as a serious enterprise-software buyer, and Tines is smart to stop servicing it from a time zone that requires someone staying up until 2am. A proper APAC footprint from a Dublin company is still rarer than it should be. Read more
šŗšø Ulysses Takes $46M, a16z onboard: Irish-founded autonomous vehicle startup Ulysses, led by founder Will O'Brien, has closed a $46M round with Andreessen Horowitz among the investors, backing its mission to keep the world's oceans safe through autonomous maritime technology. Autonomy has been through its hype cycle, its disillusionment cycle, and is now somewhere in the quietly-shipping cycle. a16z does not write cheques at this size for vibes, so O'Brien and the Ulysses team are clearly building something that stood up to serious scrutiny on Sand Hill Road. Read more
šŗšø sees.ai gets the nod: Irish-led, Boeing-backed sees.ai has received FCC Conditional Approval to operate autonomous drones over critical US power infrastructure, joining a select group. After Washington restricted foreign platforms like DJI, it established a Conditional Approval process for serious operators, which sees.ai successfully navigated. CEO John McKenna emphasized the importance of regulatory alignment for drone technology adoption in the U.S. With the American grid facing challenges from aging infrastructure, AI data center demand, decarbonization targets sees.ai is now authorized to address these issues. Read more
At home š
Dublin's Seapoint has closed a ā¬7.5M seed led by 13books, with Intercom legend Des Traynor on the cap table.
Amazon has secured planning approval for its Cork landing station, the Irish end of its Cork-to-Maryland subsea cable.
Mbryonics, the Shannon-based space-tech company, is adding a new production facility to its footprint.
Dublin's Vox Talk AI has raised ā¬1.35M pre-seed to build AI operators for alarm monitoring. Computer vision for CCTV is next.
š° Have a story that needs to be told? Drop us a note here.
šŗļø FOUNDER DIRECTORY
Jackie Durnin - Hinterland Health Retreat
- Role: Founder, Hinterland Health Retreat
- Base: Queensland, Australia
- Focus: Neuroscience-driven wellness retreat for burnout, trauma, anxiety and chronic stress
- Stage: Early (founded 2024, team of 3)
Jackie Durnin is the Founder of Hinterland Health Retreat, a space built on the belief that lasting change happens when the mind, body and nervous system are treated together, not in isolation. A qualified counsellor and EFT practitioner, Jackie has spent years working with clients across Australia and internationally, supporting people through depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction and chronic pain.
Her own healing journey is what started it all, sending her deep into the world of therapeutic modalities and shaping the integrated approach the retreat is known for today. Jackie blends counselling, energy psychology and somatic therapies with functional health and neurotechnology, creating personalised programs that help guests regulate their nervous system, not just talk about it.
Her mission is simple: a safe space where people can reconnect with themselves, break the patterns keeping them stuck, and leave with clarity, strength and a bit of their life back.
š 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
š§ BRAIN FOOD
5 other things we are snacking on this week
The protests aren't just about fuel - SinƩad O'Sullivan, Harvard economist, on what is really driving the unrest and why the obvious explanation is not the full one. This one got the country talking!
Will Europe's ā¬80bn VC bet pay off? - The Next Web on the enormous pile of public money being funnelled into European venture and the very reasonable question of whether it will actually work.
Digital Irish Podcast - Amy Neale (Delta Partners) pulls back the curtain on early-stage VC in Ireland. Essential listening for any Irish founder thinking about their first round.
Curious about the quirkiest perks at tech startups? - Eanna Kelly from Sifted.eu explored over 100 careers pages, revealing unusual benefits like home cleaning services and "pawternity" leave for pets.
Merz and Siemens want Brussels to ease up - Germany's new chancellor is pushing for lighter AI regulation. The EU is about to find out how much of its rulebook survives contact with political reality.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.
š” irish insights quick links:
Story idea? Send us a note
Hiring? Post a job
Founder Directory? Join today