30 Irish start-ups named for Google’s Adopt a Startup 2016

20 Apr 2016

Kaitriona McBride and Ian Harkin from Arklu. Image via Shane O'Neill Photography

Google has revealed the 30 start-ups selected from across Ireland to take part in its Adopt a Startup programme, which will provide each company with 12 weeks mentoring before they face off in a Dragons’ Den style competition.

The Adopt a Startup Programme has been running for some years now as a means of assisting start-ups to develop their business strategies and provide them with hands-on support and advice on how they might be able to take their enterprises even further.

With 52 taking part in the previous Adopt a Startup, this year’s batch saw representatives from 30 start-ups arrive at the company’s EMEA HQ in Dublin, each of which will gain access to 12 weeks of mentoring by a dedicated Google support team, as well as access to its various office products for one year.

Ones deemed to be worthy of making it through to the next round will then get the opportunity to pitch their refined business plans and findings to members of Google Ireland’s leadership team, as well as prominent figures from the Irish start-up community, at a finals event this July.

A diverse range of companies have applied to this year’s programme across areas including mobility assessment technology, personalised children’s books and fertility trackers.

‘Large number are headed by female founders’

There are some names in the list of 30 that have made the shortlist that might be familiar, including Arklu (the team behind Lottie Dolls), GirlCrew, Altocloud, Ourobotics, OxyMem and Skytango.

Previous participating companies include FoodCloud, Jobbio and Beats Medical, which have all gone on to success in their own regards, in addition to Bizimply, which secured €2m in funding this month, as well as doubling its workforce.

Speaking of the programme, the head of Google Ireland’s start-up programme, Paddy Flynn, said: “The calibre of participants in the spring programme is very strong. Close to half of the companies are based outside of Dublin and a large number are headed by female founders and co-founders.

“This includes Ourobotics, a 3D bio-printing company, which won the 2015 SVOD Europe competition and BonzaQuote, the online DIY marketplace and community that recently participated in the prestigious Silicon Valley Blackbox Connect accelerator programme.”

The full list of start-ups signed up to the programme include: