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The Mayo-based machine learning start-up, joined by internet pioneer Dr Dennis Jennings, plans to ramp up international expansion over the next 18 months.
Peroptyx, a machine learning start-up based in Co Mayo, has raised €1.7m in a seed funding round led by Delta Partners to help it expand into more international markets.
The start-up develops a platform that helps companies refine their use of artificial intelligence to improve business functions. According to Peroptyx, companies are still struggling with developing their AI and machine learning strategies even though the global machine learning market is rapidly growing.
Enterprise Ireland, the Western Development Commission and a number of private investors also contributed to the round.
The start-up, founded in 2018 by Paul McBride and Maeve Bleahene, said it will invest the funds in recruiting in roles such as data science, software engineering and marketing.
McBride said the company already has a footprint in 20 markets and will expand that further over the next 18 months. It is targeting business in the African, Asian and Caribbean markets.
“We operate on a global scale and with a level of transparency that reduces the risk for customers by addressing country-specific contractual, regulatory, security and data privacy requirements in our platform,” he said.
“Our global network of subject matter experts delivers data and insights at the scale required by machine learning systems to function effectively in both on-premise and cloud-based environments. We also plan on using this funding round as a means of boosting our operational capacity in these areas.”
The company is based in Mayo but has also opened an office in Houston, Texas, to have boots on the ground in the US.
McBride and Bleahane are joined by chair Dr Dennis Jennings, a physicist whose work helped shaped the early days of the internet and who has invested in Peroptyx.
“The demand for solutions that build more trust and less bias into machine learning models and data is growing rapidly, translating into a market growth rate forecast of 35 to 40pc in 2021 alone,” Jennings said. “We are excited by the possibilities this investment brings to Peroptyx, and believe we are well placed to address this growing market with our unique solutions.”
