Six NDRC science start-ups receive €100k each in funding

9 Apr 2014

NDRC VentureLab director Dan Crowley

Six science-inspired start-ups taking part in the NDRC VentureLab programme in Dublin will each receive €100,000 in funding, the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) has revealed.

NDRC VentureLab is targeted at enabling ventures that are commercialising science, tech or intellectual property with high potential for success. 

The science-inspired start-ups are bringing technology to market that was developed in, or in partnership with, Ireland’s higher-level research institutions, including Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin City University, Queen’s University Belfast, and University College Dublin. 

Each will now take part in the six-month intensive accelerator programme, which is deeply experiential and focused on a strategic approach to market entry. NDRC VentureLab will provide mentoring, business insight and senior commercialisation expertise to create investor-ready businesses with investments of up to €100,000.

Start-ups underpinned by solid scientific research

“These are very promising companies underpinned by a solid basis of scientific research and experience among their founders,” said Dan Crowley, director of NDRC VentureLab.

“With our specialist and tailored approach to innovation in this sector, NDRC VentureLab has a unique capacity to support these ventures at this critical stage in their development. 

“We are focused on the conversion of these projects from a solid research platform into commercially successfully enterprises which address new market opportunities and are investor-ready in terms of the ability to attract the funds they will need to grow their businesses and create value.”

Among the start-ups joining the NDRC VentureLab programme are:

DIGIFEYE, developer of an advanced image-recognition technology that turns digital imagery into online shoppable content.

EndoDex, inventor of an automated system that monitors and improves the quality of colonoscopy procedures and can be used in real-time or for retrospective analysis by medical professionals. 

Exergyn is developing technology with the potential to significantly reduce the amount on fuel bills and carbon emissions across multiple industries worldwide. 

Low Carbon Technology, LCT Ltd has developed a battery management technology that can make all forms of battery (from lead acid to lithium) work better in array.

Nuritas Ltd is a bioinformatics technology company specialising in the discovery of peptides (chains of amino acids) with functional health or therapeutic benefits in nutrition and cosmetics.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com