Skueeze founder and CEO Conor Sheridan. Image: Shane O'Neill
NDRC has awarded Skueeze founder Conor Sheridan with €20,000 in follow-on funding for his machine learning solution.
Today (25 June) machine learning start-up Skueeze won €20,000 in follow-on investment at the NDRC Investor Showcase.
Founded by Conor Sheridan, Skueeze has developed a solution that applies machine learning to the food and beverage industry. Judges said they were impressed with Sheridan’s domain expertise and that his technology has the potential to “scale well beyond its current sector focus”.
Prior to setting up Skueeze, Sheridan spent years working in the hospitality industry. He recognised that one poor performing week in the business can mean a month of profit is wiped clean – an issue that has only been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. With Skueeze, he is aiming to help widen the profit margin for businesses.
The Investor Showcase
Six companies from NDRC’s spring accelerator programme participated in the showcase: Champion’s Mind, Site Passport, Lintil, AIP, Skueeze and Animis Labs.
The event was judged by a number of industry experts. These were Ben Hurley, CEO of NDRC; Isabelle O’Keefe of Sure Valley Ventures; Finn Murphy of Frontline Ventures; Niamh Sterling of HBAN; Richard Watson of DBIC Ventures; Nicola McClafferty of Draper Esprit; and Debbie Rennick of Act Venture Capital.
Hurley said that it was not easy to choose a winner. “It was a very difficult decision, choosing just one business from a group showcasing a variety of propositions, and who each have made significant progress in recent weeks and months. However, Skueeze did stand out.”
He added that along with Sheridan’s deep domain experience, the founder also has a good understanding of the marketplace.
“The route to market is compelling and there appears to be a growing need in the sector for the company’s offering in a post-Covid-19 world,” Hurley said. “We also feel there is potential to scale out from the initial market Skueeze operates in. There’s value to be delivered elsewhere.”
NDRC is currently seeking start-ups to participate in its next programme. Details on how to apply can be found here.
