Céad míle fáilte!

Remember this: In tech, never push changes on a Friday.

Last week, Crowdstrike learned this the hard way. A content update by the cyber security firm affected a massive 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide. This led IT professionals to work nonstop to implement manual solutions.

George Kurtz, the CEO of CrowdStrike, faced criticism for his passive and legally worded response on social media and for not apologizing to customers.

On a lighter note, If you were impacted, this might help fix the problem (and put a smile back on your face!) 🙂:

Here’s a sneak peek of what we have in store from the global Irish tech scene:

• Overhaul's Innovative Approach Helping Ship Criminals to Prison. 🇺🇸

• Building Bridges for Irish Start-ups: New Digital Irish $1m Venture Fund announced. 🇺🇸

• Former Deliveroo CEO Ed McManus Joins The Riverside Company. 🇦🇺

• ZeroMission is gearing up for expansion with €2.75m investment. 🇪🇺 🇺🇸

• We cover seven Irish-affiliated startups that raised a cool €22.85 million in funding in the last fortnight. 🚀

• Impress your friends with five pieces of the latest Irish brain food stories. 🧠

Enjoy ☕️

Overhaul's Innovative Approach Helping Ship Criminals to Prison 🇺🇸 

Check out the incredible story about Overhaul, a cutting-edge supply chain technology company based in Texas.

Co-founded by former elite Army Ranger from Ireland, Barry Conlon, Overhaul provides real-time visibility on fleets and cargo for Fortune 100 companies.

In a recent operation, Overhaul partnered with the California Highway Patrol and the San Bernardino Police Department to take down a significant auto theft and drug trafficking ring.

Thanks to the state-of-the-art technology provided by Overhaul, it led to the arrest of 51 suspects and the recovery of $8 million worth of stolen cargo, a working meth lab, and significant quantities of illegal substances and firearms.

It's not every day that a supply chain company becomes central to a crime-fighting saga, but for Conlon and his team, it's all in a day's work.

Overhaul's solutions are not just about preventing theft and ensuring visibility and predictability across supply chains – they are changing the crime-fighting game!

Here's to Irish innovation – keeping cargo safe and bad guys behind bars.

Building Bridges for Irish Start-ups: Digital Irish Launches $1M Venture Fund 🇺🇸

Digital Irish, a non-profit networking group for Irish start-ups, has launched a $1M venture fund to help Irish entrepreneurs expand globally. The launch of Digital Irish Venture Fund was revealed during a trade mission to the US led by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke, TD.

Vision 👁️

• The Digital Irish Venture Fund connects Ireland’s start-ups with the global Irish diaspora network.

• The fund is managed by experienced investor Marty Loughlin (pictured) and provides capital, vital industry connections, and expertise.

• Each start-up will receive $100,000 to $150,000 in investment, plus access to a network of industry experts, partners, and mentors.

Highlights 🏆

• The fund’s first investment is in Cork-based fintech TRUSTAP, a payment platform for online and face-to-face transactions with unknown parties, which recently raised $5.5M in a Series A funding round.

• The investment committee includes Feargall Kenny, Lindsay Browning, Marius Smyth, Darragh O'Flaherty, Rael McNally, and Paul Murphy.

Applications for the fund are now open on the Digital Irish website.

This is an excellent opportunity for Irish start-ups to get the support they need to succeed globally; we look forward to reporting on their successes.

Ed McManus Joins The Riverside Company Down Under 🇦🇺

Ed McManus, Deliveroo and Meridian Energy's former CEO has been appointed Senior Operating Partner at The Riverside Company. McManus, a Trinity College Dublin graduate, will use his extensive executive experience to help grow Riverside's portfolio companies in ANZ.

He will manage RAF’s six-person operating team and enhance its local capabilities, drawing on Riverside’s global team of over 75 experts. McManus will also chair the board of RAF’s recent investment, Virtual IT Group, guiding the business towards continued success.

RAF typically partners with entrepreneurial founders of high-growth, profitable businesses in Australia and New Zealand, looking to accelerate their growth domestically or internationally. Since its inception in 2010, RAF has completed over 45 investments, building bigger, more sustainable, and more profitable businesses.

With the Irish man’s appointment, Riverside is set to continue its success, ensuring that its portfolio companies achieve their full potential.

💰 That money was just resting in my account…

A massive congratulations to the Irish-affiliated businesses that have achieved an impressive total of €22.85 million in recent fundraising victories: 🥂

Our pick of the bunch this week is ZeroMission 🚚

ZeroMission is on a mission (excuse the pun) to address companies' challenges when transitioning to electric fleets. It offers a fleet management solution that optimises energy usage, streamlines daily operations, and enhances system performance.

Based in Clonmel, Co Tipperary and led by Leah O’Dwyer the company has already established a customer base in the USA, demonstrating its effectiveness ✅ and reliability ✅.

In a world where businesses are heavily focused on emission and cost reduction, ZeroMission offers a robust, end-to-end solution for fleet electrification. With its innovative approach and recent funding, ZeroMission is one to watch in the future! 🚀

🧠 Brain Food

Here is your quick serving of Irish Insights-related wins, trends, events, media and resources that we think you’ll enjoy digesting 🍽️:

📈 Cork-based We Are Riley, known for its sustainable and toxin-free period products, plans to expand into the US within two years following successful growth across Ireland and Europe. CLICK HERE

🇪🇺 Enterprise Ireland will represent the country at the Europe Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA) to help create a more supportive and innovative ecosystem for Irish startups and entrepreneurs. CLICK HERE

💰 Dublin-based Wayflyer, a cutting-edge platform revolutionizing access to capital, has made it onto CNBC's list of "The World’s Top Fintech Companies 2024" for the second year. CLICK HERE

🌊 XOCEAN, the leading provider of carbon-neutral ocean data based in Co. Louth, has announced the opening a new technical centre in Melbourne. CLICK HERE

👛 Stripe now has a valuation of around $70bn as venture capital firm Sequoia Capital offered to buy shares from the fintech’s investors. CLICK HERE