Storyful, the Irish media start-up acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp last year for €18m, is to create 30 new R&D jobs in Dublin as part of an IDA-backed investment.
The company, established three years ago by former RTE journalist Mark Little, has been described by Little as “the first news agency of the social media age” and has inked lucrative news deals with Facebook as well as mainstream titles like the New York Times.
The roles, located at Storyful’s Dublin headquarters, will support the company as it deepens the existing Storyful technology platform and brings it to the next level of its development. Recruitment for the technology roles will begin immediately.
The expansion was welcomed by IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan and he said the company has brought enormous innovation to the area of social media and video content.
The Dublin office will acquire a dedicated R&D structure and an opportunity to implement a real step up in terms of the company’s core technology platform. Storyful acquires video content it considers newsworthy and sells licenses for their use to organisations such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and ABC.
‘Dublin is our home’
“We have ambitious plans for growth and innovation across platforms, and these new roles are critical to achieving our vision over the coming years,” Little said.
“Dublin is our home, and we are excited at what’s to come.”
Storyful was established by Little when he had an epiphany about the direction of media and he jettisoned a comfortable and secure job with RTE to pursue his ambition.
Investors in Storyful included SOSventure and technology investor Ray Nolan prior to its acquisition almost a year ago by News Corp.
“In a very short timeframe since it started, it has grown rapidly through cutting edge innovation in a fast-moving area, and is now selling its services around the world and creating jobs in Ireland. This is exactly what we are trying to achieve with our plan,” Jobs Minister Richard Bruton said.
“That is why my Department through Enterprise Ireland and now IDA Ireland has provided support to Storyful as it grew from a start-up, to a high-growth company, and now to a company which is creating large numbers of high-end jobs in Dublin.”
Social media news image via Shutterstock
