Trinity computer science spin-out ETU closes €500k funding round

22 Nov 2012

Software as a service (SaaS) player EmpowerTheUser (ETU) has just secured €500,000 in funding from Leaf Investments along with Enterprise Ireland and private investors.

The investment will enable the company to expand its sales operations in Europe and recruitment will commence for new highly skilled roles in sales, marketing and product development.

ETU’s Talent Development Platform is said to be the world’s first commercial Role Play Simulation Platform which allows anyone with training or assessment experience to rapidly design, develop and deliver adaptive video-based role play simulations without any need for programming skills.  

The simulations empower organisations with the abilities to remotely measure, develop and monitor the skills and behaviours of individuals, teams and entire organisations to improve performance and develop talent.

Heritage in R&D

ETU spun out of Trinity College Dublin in late 2010.

Originating from the Department of Computer Science’s Knowledge and Data Engineering Group and the Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry, ETU draws on a strong heritage in applied R&D for learning and development.

ETU has secured high-profile clients in the US and Europe and is set to grow rapidly over the next five years

“I’m delighted to have the backing of Leaf Investments as they know the training and development industry, they recognise the achievements of ETU to date and they see the growth potential in exporting our products to the global assessment and training markets,” said Dr Declan Dagger, CEO and founder of ETU.

“Ireland is the perfect place to launch ETU. With a strong heritage in R&D innovation coupled with great access to Europe and beyond, the future is exciting,” Dagger added.

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

editorial@siliconrepublic.com