💡 The Third Musketeer

Céad míle fáilte!

After months of scouring the globe (and a very rigorous vetting process involving tech creds, personality, and the ability to hold their own in a group chat)...

We’re buzzing to welcome Conor Flanagan - our newest recruit and yet another proud Omagh man to the crew!

Conor is a keen technologist who has been flexing his digital strategy skills at Storm Technology, where he has spent the past five years dazzling customers with his technical expertise and strategic thinking.

Now based in the buzzing metropolis of Bunvegas, Co. Donegal (yes, it’s real, we checked), Conor brings with him a wealth of experience, serious brainpower…

…and unfortunately, a bit of a lightweight reputation when it comes to drinking. 🍻 But hey, nobody’s perfect.

⏳ Today’s dispatch takes 5 minutes 15 seconds to read. ⏩ Only got 10 seconds? Here’s what matters:

• Milk Video lands at Oktopost, Joe O’Sullivan leads Ophir Manufacturing from Singapore, and Dublin’s Mesh is acquired by Bitdefender with its founders still on board.

• Irish startups from agtech and medtech to retail AI and pet pharma pulled in $186M+ this week—Felix Pharmaceuticals led the pack with a hefty $175M raise.

• Quick bites to chew on: AudioStack’s Aussie roadshow, dairy-health AI in Northern Ireland, VC’s AI obsession, Galway’s €34M health-tech hub, Dua Lipa’s Dublin pint, and more.

Enjoy ☕

NEWS FROM ABROAD
Irish YC Alumnus Ross Cranwell Pours Milk Video into Oktopost 🇺🇸

Oktopost, the B2B social media management and marketing intelligence specialist, announced in June that it’s snapped up Dublin-born Ross Cranwell’s Milk Video – the slick short-form video creation tool beloved by marketers.

Founded in 2020 by Ross and Lenny Bogdonoff, Milk Video built a platform that enables B2B teams to create scroll-stopping social clips from webinars, interviews, and testimonials. The key figures:

🚀 Launched in the Y Combinator Winter 2021 batch
💰 Raised a $1.5 million seed, led by YC and HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah
🎥 Simplifies video production so marketers can create content into bite-sized reels
🌍 NY-based, serving B2B social teams across LinkedIn, Instagram and beyond

Ross couldn’t be happier: “We built Milk Video to harness the power of video without the usual headaches. Joining forces with Oktopost means our vision scales to every B2B team that needs fast, intuitive video tools.”

It’s also a good excuse to reshare our “Irish in YC” Deep Dive from last week – possibly our favourite yet. If you missed it, catch it here.

👏 Fair play, Ross & team, I'm looking forward to seeing what you create next!

More stories you need to know 🔍

🇨🇳 From Cork to China – Meet the Irishman Who Taught Tim Cook How to Scale

Joe O'Sullivan doesn’t shout. He doesn’t trend on X. But if you’ve ever held an iPhone, you’ve touched the legacy of a man from the northside of Cork who helped build Apple’s global supply chain.

As VP of Asia Operations at Apple in the '90s and early 2000s, Joe:

🛫 Led the charge to move Apple’s manufacturing to Asia
🏭 Kept Cork open when it was on the chopping block
👨‍🏫 Trained a young Tim Cook in ops leadership
🧠 Built the systems that would underpin a $3 trillion empire

Now based in Singapore, he runs Ophir Manufacturing Solutions, which quietly guides startups and giants alike through the complexities of product, supply chain, and NPI.
 
Joe O’Sullivan is precisely the kind of Irish talent we love spotlighting. Check out the recent brilliant profile on him by Tom Lyons in The Currency, which includes some brilliant quotes:

"Manufacturing is like the mafia. You don’t injure. You have to kill to survive.” - Joe

🇷🇴 Built in Dublin, Bound for Global – Mesh Snapped Up by Bitdefender

Dublin-based Mesh, founded in 2020 by Brian Byrne, Ralph Casey, and Daimhin K. has been acquired by global security heavyweight Bitdefender. Why it matters:

🛡️ Mesh built a platform used by 4,000+ customers, blending secure email gateways with slick mailbox-level protection.

🧠 Their tech now joins Bitdefender’s XDR arsenal, powering smarter, more scalable email threat detection.

💼 All three co-founders are staying put. No price hikes. No post-acquisition ghosting. Just more fuel in the tank.

FUNDRAISING
💰 Cows, Cameras & Canines: Irish Startups Raise $186M+

🐄 Antler Bio raised $4.3M to turn livestock genes into data-driven decisions. Moo-ving agtech forward.

🫀 CroíValve scored a $2.5M grant to tackle severe heart conditions without cracking open the chest. Dublin medtech doing the (heart) work.

📸 VisionR bagged $1.45M to help retailers see the unseen with their AI-powered Scout Cameras. Rathfarnham meets Minority Report.

💊 Priothera got $1.7M in grant money to make stem cell transplants safer and more effective for blood cancers. Quietly massive.

🐕 Felix Pharmaceuticals pulled in a whopping $175M to bring affordable generics to pets. Your dog’s meds might soon be made in Ireland.

🧠 BRAIN FOOD
AI Grabs the Money, AgTech Solves Real Problems, and Ireland Becomes a Startup Bargain

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

🎧 AudioStack heads down under - The Irish-founded, UK-based startup is hosting a roadshow in Sydney and Melbourne next week. Check out the links to attend

🐄 An Northern Irish startup is utilizing AI technology to help farmers reduce losses and improve dairy cows' health through smart monitoring systems. READ HERE

🌐 Adrian Weckler notes that 71% of venture capital this year has been directed towards AI, questioning Ireland's intentions in the tech landscape. LISTEN HERE

🇮🇪 Ireland Reportedly Ranks Among Europe's Most Affordable Nations To Start A Business READ HERE

🏥 The University of Galway will host a new health-tech hub focused on smart implants, wearables, and AI-driven modeling, backed by €34 million investment. READ HERE

🎤 Dua Lipa celebrates her sold-out concert at Aviva Stadium with friends at a Dublin pub and enjoying a Guinness. WATCH HERE

🏠 Institutional investors and State-backed entities purchased over a fifth of homes sold in Ireland last year. READ HERE

🚗 The new multi-million Northern Ireland Technology Centre aims to unite engineers to drive global innovation in automotive technology. READ HERE

🏟️ A report reveals which fans benefit most from a GAA+ subscription, alongside a ranking of counties leading in free-to-air games on RTÉ. READ HERE

📉 Bank of Ireland’s Recession Warning: Bank of Ireland's quarterly savings and investment index reveals that recession concerns have become the top worry for Irish households. READ HERE

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