Altada to create over 100 jobs after securing $11.5m in investment

Altada, a Cork-based company that has developed an artificial intelligence-based platform to help create operational efficiencies, is to create more than 100 new jobs after securing $11.5 million (€9.85 million) in investment.

Founded by Allan Beechinor and Niamh Parker in 2018, Altada provides AI-based solutions to companies in financial services, travel and security that use data to improve decision-making and business processes.

The new investment, which comes on top of a €1.5 million funding round earlier this year, is led by Rocktop Partners, a Texas-based alternative investment manager that was originally one of the Cork company’s clients. It moved to back Altada after using its solutions to reduce the cost of processing loan files from $400 to $25, and to cut the time it takes to process a portfolio from six to eight weeks to just 48 hours.

Rocktop led the company’s earlier round and has returned to spearhead the new investment with other long-term backers, Elkstone Partners and Enterprise Ireland.

Hiring

Altada employs 70 people. Mr Beechinor, the company’s chief executive, said it would be hiring across its five offices in Europe and the United States, with roles available in the areas of quantum computing, engineering, data science, product development, blockchain engineering and cloud platform management.

Mr Beechinor said the world is only just fully waking up to the possibilities behind artificial intelligence with spending on AI set to double over from $50.1 billion in 2020 to more than $110 billion in 2024.

The company is keen to embrace the opportunities arising from this and has beefed up its senior team with a number of senior hires in recent months. It has also opened up several offices in the US and mainland Europe and has plans to expand to Austin, Texas, and Asia Pacific in the near future.

“We’re essentially providing AI as a platform to companies, particularly those in the financial services space, to rapidly increase their adoption of commercialisation activities,” Mr Beechinor said.

“Our solutions help reduce processing costs, create new levels of efficiency and optimise existing resource allocation, which is why we believe we can scale and assume a leading position in this space” he added.

Reporting: The Irish Times