Three start-ups selected for Dogpatch-Fidelity fellowship

17 Jul 2024

From left: Richard Murphy, Aaron Smith, Auindrila Das, David Atkinson, Cormac Chisholm, Patrick Guiney, Elizabeth Fingleton. Image: Dogpatch Labs

David Power, managing director of innovation at Dogpatch Labs, called the inaugural one-year FCAT Fellowship the hub’s ‘most personal programme yet’.

Three start-ups have been selected for a new fellowship programme to be based at Dogpatch Labs that will help them accelerate their “breakthrough” businesses.

In collaboration with the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT), Dogpatch Labs provide these start-ups – Lip, gClinics and DevA11y – with support and networking opportunities for a period of one year starting this month.

Launched today (17 July), the so-called FCAT Fellowship will give the founders access to the networks and expertise provided by the Fidelity centre, which tests and scales “groundbreaking” concepts and ideas that advance the investment company’s business.

Lip, founded by former digital producer David Atkinson, has developed an AI-powered video translation platform that can enable multilingual interactions. Clients include big names such as Treatwell and Utempo Global.

Meanwhile, gClinics was founded in February by Auindrila Das, a genomics scientist with a background in genetic engineering and molecular medicine. The health-tech helps individuals make better health decisions by integrating actionable genomic insights into standard medical practice.

And DevA11y, founded by Cormac Chisholm and Patrick Guiney, is an AI-powered accessibility compliance platform designed to simplify and streamline the process of making digital products accessible to all users. The start-up, which is one of seven companies in NDRC’s latest accelerator cohort, integrates accessibility expert feedback and AI to manage risk and enhance accessibility in real-time, aiming to making websites as well as web and mobile apps more inclusive.

Aaron Smith, head of innovation ecosystem at Fidelity Investments, said that the collaboration with Dogpatch Labs on the FCAT Fellowship will strengthen Ireland’s innovation ecosystem.

“By leveraging our collective expertise, resources and global network, we have the opportunity to drive significant advancements for these start-ups,” he said. “We believe in working with these committed founders to help them achieve their potential. This programme can be a catalyst in accelerating these start-ups, helping them scale and ultimately have a profound impact.”

Dogpatch Labs managing director of innovation David Power called the FCAT Fellowship the Dublin-based hub’s “most personal programme yet”.

“The start-ups on the programme will receive the very best available supports from our innovation team here at Dogpatch, and the access to the expertise and global network of the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology takes this to the next level.”

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Vish Gain was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com