Full coverage: Start-ups

Kinsale-based Zirkulu has been working to develop truly sustainable alternatives to waterproof gear. Founders Fionn McCarthy and Jack Norman talk about how a lockdown project has morphed into a fully-fledged sustainable brand.

The new CEO of Elkstone sets out plans for its second venture fund and to ramp up delivery of apartments and student beds, as Alan Merriman steps back from the chief executive role.

The race to get into hot AI startups has led to unequal deals for investors, raising questions about how much companies are really worth, writes Angel Au-Yeung, The Wall Street Journal.

US AI company Partsol Global has moved its headquarters to Dublin. CTO John Callahan explains how its defence-built AI is used to combat terrorism, how it’s entering the private sector, and why Ireland could become a major AI hub.

Bootstrapping and doing everything yourself puts early-stage entrepreneurs in the seductive position of being in full control, but this comes at a growing cost over time.

The Limerick start-up has raised funding from Frontline Ventures and angel investors like Des Traynor but has scheduled a creditors meeting next month with a view to appointing liquidators.

From the Taoiseach down, Ireland has been fascinated by Xavier Niel’s French start-up incubator. What is Station F, and can the decentralised Irish ecosystem replicate its success? Thomas Hubert reports from Paris.

Nine years on, the Cork hub’s first employee is confident he can balance start-up accelerator programmes with the provision of flexible office space – including for large corporations.

Feargal Harrington’s latest venture aims to bring alcoholic kombucha to Irish shelves, scaling production from West Cork as demand grows for lower-calorie, “better-for-you” drinks. Now he’s raising fresh EIIS funding to build a cannery and expand across Ireland, the UK and Europe.

Kota, led by Luke Mackey, raised a Series A round this year and has prepped its platform to meet fresh demands for pension products amid the backdrop of the state’s auto-enrolment scheme.