💡 Community is King

Céad míle fáilte!

Big news – irish insights just hit a combined 4,000 readers, subscribers, and followers.

But let’s be real: it’s never just about the number. It’s about the energy – of Irish people building, backing, and believing in bold ideas across the globe.

So this week, we’re going one better.

📱 Introducing the Irish Insights WhatsApp Group – your digital snug for sharing ideas, asking questions, making connections, and staying one step ahead of the action.

And if you’re wondering what this community feels like, here’s a graph that sums it up better than we ever could 👇

Now then, lets get down to business. This weeks dispatch 4 minutes 5 seconds to read. ⏩ Only got 10 seconds? Here’s what matters:

• Tech Trailblazers Crack Deloitte’s EMEA Fast 500

• Cyber firms take San Francisco by storm

• Students Wow China with Life-Saving AI Wearable

• KOTA raises $14.5 million to kill the PDF

• Irelands Best Meme, Trump’s Trojan Horse and Learning Irish is Cool in this weeks brain food.

Enjoy ☕

NEWS FROM ABROAD
Irish Tech Trailblazers Crack Deloitte’s EMEA Fast 500

Deloitte just dropped its EMEA Technology Fast 500 rankings — and 20 Irish companies made the cut.

That’s not just a nice-to-have. It’s a neon sign blinking: Irish tech is scaling fast, far, and fearlessly.

And get this — four Irish firms blasted into the top 100:

• Wayflyer #43 – 3,169% growth

• Fibrus #48 – 3,009% growth

• Tines #55 – 2,786% growth

• Buymedia #73 – 2,208% growth

Another 16 Irish outfits (shoutout Swoop, Locate a Locum and friends) round out the leaderboard.

Proof that a small island can build companies with skyscraper-sized ambition.

👉 Check out the full list here

More stories you need to know 🔍

🇪🇺 Ryanair: Euro Record Flights, Not So Record Profits
200 million passengers this year — a European first. And yet… profits dipped 16%. Michael O’Leary blames high costs but remains optimistic on the future. See his typically subtle take in this Bloomberg interview.

🇺🇸 Cyber firms take San Francisco by storm
Eight Irish cybersecurity startups strutted their stuff at RSAC — think Tines, UrbanFox, Waratek, Vaultree. From AI-powered encryption to next-gen threat hunting, this is a story worth reading.

🇨🇳 Students Wow China with Life-Saving AI Wearable
In Huawei’s Tech4Good global final, five Irish students clinched People’s Choice and Global Bronze with a 5G, AI wristband that detects child anaphylaxis in 60 seconds.

FUNDRAISING
KOTA raises $14.5 million to kill the PDF

Kota has just announced a $14.5M Series A to help start-ups to automate and manage employee benefits.. Think: unified API, global insurer integrations, and HR workflows that don’t require a printer.

Led by Eurazeo, with backing from EQT Ventures, Northzone, Frontline, 9Yards, and Plug and Play, Kota’s total funding now hits nearly $23M.

And here’s the kicker: they just secured approval from the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary — rare air for a tech-first platform in this space.

📌 Why it matters:

• Built by Luke Mackey, Patrick O'Boyle & Deepak Baliga

• Trusted by Remote.com, Carwow, Tines, and Zoe Health

• Aiming to be the Stripe of benefits infra

• Regulated across the UK & EEA

No more PDFs. No more clunky portals from 2006. Just modern, embedded infrastructure for companies trying to scale without HR headaches.

Who else has been raisin’💸

🏛️ Corporate Governance Institute (Founders: Anthony Quigley, David Duffy) 
Raised: €3M Seed It’s not the sexiest corner of edtech, but governance never looked this sharp. Their online platform is schooling boardrooms across the globe on how to steer the ship properly.

🌍 Nexus Inclusion (CEO Kyran O'Mahoney)
Funding: Undisclosed Still flying under the radar, but no less mighty — Nexus keeps pushing for accessible digital spaces for all. Keep an eye out, their mission’s loud even if the press release wasn’t.

🌬️ Wind Capture Technology (Founders: Aaron Boylan, Ronan Hearne)
Raised: €30K Grant They’re not blowing hot air. This early-stage win supports their R&D in next-gen wind capture systems — a fresh breeze for renewables in a country known for wind and wit.

🚶 GoChallenge (Founders: John Barron, Dr Caitriona Mooney)
Raised: €500,000 Pre-Seed The Waterford start-up is aiming to enhance workplace culture through movement-based challenges that boost team engagement and connections.

🧠 BRAIN FOOD
Irelands Best Meme, Trump’s Trojan Horse and Learning Irish is Cool

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

📱 Post of the week is from Joe.ie, our personal favorite is #4. Click below to check out the full video:

joe.ie

584K followers

View more on Instagram

🐴 Is Ireland Trump’s Trojan Horse? The EU’s had enough of tech regulation bottlenecking in Dublin – especially with Trump back on the scene. Politico argues it’s time to shift power away from Ireland. READ HERE

👩‍💻40 over 40: Ireland's unstoppable movers and shakers in tech READ HERE

🤖 Nine Irish Startups Betting Big on AI The new AI Ecosystem Accelerator has kicked off with 9 startups building tools in health, finance, and energy. READ HERE

📉 Irish CEOs Are Spooked by Trade Tensions A new survey says 90% of Irish CEOs are rejigging investment plans due to global uncertainty. READ HERE

📱 A 17-Year-Old Just Made Learning Irish Cool Darren Maher’s app Piósa Beag teaches one Irish word and phrase daily. READ HERE

🇪🇺 Irish startups are reportedly at the forefront of AI adoption in Europe, with significant opportunities for global expansion as highlighted during a recent AWS event. READ HERE

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