Ireland has performed strongly in the Sifted 2026 ranking of UK and Ireland fast-growing start-ups, with seven Dublin headquartered companies securing rankings.
Punching well above their weight, seven Dublin‑headquartered companies have earned places on the Sifted leaderboard – all fast‑growing, product‑led firms expanding rapidly across Europe and the US. Leading the Irish cohort is Kota (#9), a quickly scaling employee‑benefits platform whose culture is deeply rooted in AI‑driven productivity.
Close behind is Protex AI (#21), which delivers computer‑vision workplace‑safety analytics to global logistics and warehousing operators; its CEO even relocated to Boston to support its US push.
Also making waves is Nory (#44), whose restaurant‑operations software is gaining strong global traction, with its leadership recently moving to New York to accelerate growth. Supporting the care sector, Altra (#41) has evolved from a bootstrapped Irish startup into a Europe‑wide digital‑infrastructure platform for care homes.
And rounding out the group, Tines (#70) – now a recognised Irish unicorn – continues to expand the reach of its security‑automation technology worldwide.
Here is a deeper dive into each of the companies:
Kota (#9)
Irish employee benefits platform Kota recently launched the country’s first instant auto-enrolment pension solution, designed to help employers meet new statutory requirements ahead of the January 2026 rollout.
The launch follows Kota’s €12.6m Series A investment in May and comes as one in four businesses remain unprepared for the upcoming pension reform.
Kota’s platform addresses common concerns with the Government’s ‘My Future Fund’, including limited flexibility, fixed contribution rates, and a salary cap of €80,000. The company’s technology ensures compliance by integrating with HR systems and automating enrolment.
The business was founded by Luke Mackey, Patrick O’Boyle and Deepak Baliga.
Protex AI (#21)
Protex AI develops an AI-powered proactive health and safety technology that enables an injury-free industrial workplace. The business was founded in Limerick in 2021 by CEO Dan Hobbs and chief technology officer Ciaran O’Mara.
Protex AI uses computer vision to identify health and safety issues and reduce injuries.
Last year the business secured $36m in a series B funding round to power its US expansion.
Altra (#41)
Growing up and working in a family-owned nursing home business inspired Adam Keane to create Altra, a resident experience and family engagement tool that helps care teams, residents and families stay connected.
The platform is live in hundreds of care homes across Ireland and the UK and the company, which has bootstrapped itself to profitability, is expanding across Europe, starting in France and Belgium this year after winning a significant contract with one of the largest European nursing home groups. “We help care homes improve wellbeing of residents in senior care. Studies show that seniors are physically and mentally healthier when they maintain social connection and foster relationships,” Keane told ThinkBusiness.
Nory (#44)
Nory, founded by Conor Sheridan, co‑founder of Mad Egg, is an Irish AI‑driven restaurant management platform that helps hospitality operators streamline inventory, workforce planning and profitability.
The company has raised $63m, including a $37m Series B led by Kinnevik and a prior $16m Series A led by Accel, supporting US and European expansion.
Nory’s system leverages historical data to automate workflows and boost efficiency for major restaurant groups.
CleverCards (#54)
Last year ranked by Sifted as the fastest-growing start-up in Ireland, CleverCards is a Dublin-based fintech company founded by Kealan Lennon. It operates a global digital payments platform that enables businesses and public sector organisations to instantly send digital Mastercards via SMS, WhatsApp, or email. These cards can be used online or in-store through Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay, with configurable limits and spend categories for employers.
Launched officially in 2023, CleverCards has rapidly scaled, onboarding over 10,000 businesses and reaching 350,000 users across 92 countries. The platform is widely used for employee benefits, expense management, insurance payouts, and social welfare payments. It supports Ireland’s Small Benefit Exemption scheme, allowing employers to issue tax-free non-cash benefits to staff.
In June 2024, CleverCards raised €8m in funding from Pluxee, a global leader in employee benefits, alongside existing investors. This brought its total capital raised to €28 million. The funding will accelerate global expansion and product development, positioning CleverCards as a leader in digital payments innovation.
Founder and CEO Kealan Lennon has led the company through multiple funding rounds, including early backing from Delta Partners and angel investors from Ireland, the UK, and the US. CleverCards has invested over $10 million in its technology platform, which operates as a plug-and-play solution for businesses to generate, distribute, and manage payment cards globally.
Barespace (#56)
Barespace was founded in 2022 by Conor Moules and Glenn McGoldrick, both of whom began their careers in the beauty industry.
Moules started as a teenage apprentice in a Dublin salon, while McGoldrick spent over a decade scaling a men’s hairdressing brand across seven countries. Their experience led them to develop a platform designed to help salons grow sustainably by streamlining operations and improving profitability.
Barespace provides an integrated software platform for the beauty industry, combining scheduling, payments, resource planning, marketing and analytics. The company says its system saves salon owners approximately 10 hours of manual work per week and eliminates third-party transaction fees through built-in payment processing.
The platform is currently used by more than 260 salons and barbershops across Ireland, the UK, France and Spain, including Buff Day Spa, Boom-Bae and The Laser Club UK. Barespace plans to expand into two additional European markets by 2026 and will create new roles in engineering, sales and customer success to support its growth.
The business recently raised €2.9m in seed funding to accelerate the rollout of its AI-powered operating system for salons and barbershops across the UK and continental Europe.
Tines (#70)
Tines is a Dublin-based cybersecurity company that provides a no-code automation platform designed to streamline and secure enterprise workflows.
Founded in 2018 by Eoin Hinchy and Thomas Kinsella – both former senior security operators – the company was born out of a need to reduce the burden of repetitive, manual tasks in security operations. Tines empowers security and IT teams to build, run, and monitor complex workflows without writing code, enabling faster incident response, improved efficiency, and reduced burnout.
The platform uses a drag-and-drop interface to automate tasks such as alert triage, ticket creation, and threat intelligence gathering. It integrates seamlessly with existing tools and systems, allowing users to orchestrate actions across their tech stack. Tines is trusted by global organisations including GitHub, Canva, Coinbase, and McKesson, and has grown rapidly, now employing over 250 people.
Tines has raised over $270m in funding, most recently closing a Series C round in 2025 that valued the company at over $1.1bn.
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