Top tech companies in Cork, Ireland

Cork is Ireland’s second-largest city and has become one of Europe’s most notable tech hubs. Apple’s European headquarters are in Cork, along with other international conglomerates such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, EMC and Siemens.

Why do international companies come to Ireland? There are two key reasons: Ireland’s low corporation tax and highly skilled English-speaking workforce. The reliable infrastructure and easy connections to Europe also make it the perfect location for many international tech firms to base themselves.

But what about the smaller companies making their own waves in the tech field? Here are eight Cork businesses among Ireland’s fastest-growing – and most notable – tech companies.

Giyst

Upload your video and go

People’s attention spans are now so short that – hey, keep reading! We blame platforms like TikTok and Instagram, which mean videos in particular are becoming shorter and shorter. So what do you if you have long-form videos that you want people to watch. The answer, as you may have guessed, is Giyst.

Giyst summarises longer videos to make them more engaging and easier to consume for a modern audience. Naturally, it uses AI and machine learning to do this, including caption creation (another thing youthful people love). The videos’ reduced length also makes it far easier to share them on social media.

Judging from the feedback on Giyst’s website, it’s a particularly powerful too for conference organisers. That rambling 45-minute presentation becomes a snappy 90-second video. However, we can also see its use for lectures, sporting events and meetings.

Trustap

Buying from a stranger takes a lot of trust, and as anyone who has been scammed knows it isn’t an experience you forget. Using the escrow principle, Trustap aims to make such problems a thing of the past.

Trustap is a digital transaction platform which essentially secures your money until you receive the product you’ve paid for. By this process, it allows buyers the peace of mind that they will receive the product they’ve purchased and reassures sellers that money won’t be withheld. The end result? A safer environment for both parties.

The technology works as both an API built into existing ecommerce platforms (Trustap has a partnership with Stripe) or via an app that private buyers and sellers can use. And it’s rapidly become a worldwide hit, launching in Cork in 2017 but now with offices in the Croatia, the UK and the United States.

Everseen

Everseen claims that it has “created the world’s first end-to-end platform for solving business problems”. A big claim, and one that makes more sense once you realise that its focus is on retail.

Literally, its core product is Visual AI: which uses artificial intelligence to analyse footage from surveillance cameras to detect problems (such as items not being scanned by customers at self-service checkouts) and streamline a retailer’s processes. It can also spot empty shelves and help with queue management.

Keelvar

Example provided by Keelvar of the optimisation workspace

Keelvar was founded in Europe’s largest artificial intelligence research lab by a team of computer scientists and engineers specialising in AI, optimisation and game theory. Expertise that they then applied to strategic sourcing.

The result is cloud-based software (Sourcing Optimizer) that helps businesses with procurement processes, supplier relationships and sourcing. While the company is headquartered in Cork, it has employees around the world to support its international clients.

Smarttech247

Example showing the Smarttech247 platform

Smarttech247 is an award-winning MDR (managed detection and response) company and a market leader in security operations. Its platform — which works on everything from AWS to Azure, from Google Cloud to IBM Cloud — combines threat intelligence with MDR to provide actionable insights and 24/7 threat detection. It’s geared towards proactive prevention. It does this by utilising the latest developments in cloud, big data analytics and machine learning, along with its own dedicated incident response team.

Spearline

Spearline is a global software firm whose main base of operations is in West Cork. Its tagline is “transforming global communications”, which it does by replicating the experience of your customers and callers. Essentially, it puts itself in your customers’ shoes and tests the various paths that connect you — whether that’s by fixed line, mobile or WebRTC (the technology that underlies real-time communication on the internet). Spearline can proactively monitor and test toll, toll-free and premium rate numbers, alerting you to problems before they hit your bottom line.

StudioForty9

StudioForty9 is a digital commerce agency that delivers, maintains and optimises e-commerce and online platforms for the retail industry. It offers a range of services, including strategic help, e-commerce integration, digital marketing and analytics. But fundamentally what it offers is expertise, with the promise of a “long-lasting partnership” that, it claims, already extends to 70 of Ireland’s best-known businesses.

Zartis

Zartis is an outsourcing services provider specialising in building remote developer teams. The idea is that Zartis will take care of everything from hiring and onboarding to ongoing support, so your business can focus on product development. It works with many of Ireland’s leading technology companies, partnering with firms across financial services, healthcare, media, logistics, renewable energy and more.

More top tech companies

This is part of our growing series about tech companies based in cities all around the world. Next, why not read about the top tech companies in Reading and the Thames Valley or the top tech companies in Brisbane, Australia? Here are some other cities we’ve covered!

ARTICLE UPDATE This article was updated on 5 February 2024 to include Giyst and Trustap.