A new Bank of Ireland-backed venture capital fund will make Cork its first stop as it looks for Irish technology businesses in which to invest.
The fund, which is managed by Delta Partners, will invest at the earliest stages of company building, often as the first investor and to support companies to launch their products and services internationally. It aims to invest in 30 tech start-ups.
The Delta team is hosting an event in the Tyndall Institute on September 15 to give start-up founders an insight into how venture capital investors and founders work together over the entire start-up journey, with first-hand lessons from both sides.
Guest speakers include Carl Jackson, the founder of Cork’s SensL Technologies Ltd, which was later acquired by Nasdaq-listed Fortune 500 company ON Semiconductor. Delta partner, Rich Barnwell, will also share his experience as a hands-on entrepreneur having created Digit Games which subsequently sold to US games company Scopely.
Dermot Berkey of Delta Partners said: “We are excited to host this first roadshow event in Cork, given the number of exciting companies we have had the chance to support in the region. By sharing insights into the VC/Founder relationship, we hope to inspire entrepreneurs to optimize their business building with a network of support from Delta and our partners including Bank of Ireland.”
Established in 1994, Delta has completed more than 130 investments and over €1.8bn in exit returns.
Paul Swift, Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) at Bank of Ireland, said: “At Bank of Ireland we are delighted to see this latest fund coming on stream, providing much-needed capital to seed and early-stage businesses at a very crucial point in their growth cycle and when they need it most.”
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