Altada, winner of the Cork Chamber Large Company of the Year award earlier this year, has made redundant its staff in America and implemented a temporary layoff for a  number of employees in Ireland.

In a statement the Artificial Intelligence company said the scaling back is due to “unforeseen market conditions affecting our clients” and anticipated venture capital funding not being forthcoming.

Altada stated: “We realise that this is a very challenging time for our incredible employees. This is a temporary situation and we are working on funding solutions that will bring our full team back within six weeks. We thank you all for your hard work and contribution to Altada’s success.”

The company raised €8.75m in October 2021 from investors in a funding round led by Elkstone, which invested €4.3m in the round, and Rocktop.

In April 2022, state agency Enterprise Ireland said it is committing €20m from its Seed & Venture Capital Scheme to a new EIIS fund managed by private family office Elkstone.

In Association with

Altada’s most recent allotment filing relates to a €550,000 cash injection from Enterprise Ireland effected in March 2022.

In its statement, Altada said that its next funding round will enable the company to deliver on 2022 projects in Financial Services and also expand into other use cases such as climate change, security and travel, including human trafficking solutions.

“It will also enable us to work with our creditors who have been supporting us through this very difficult time,” the company added.

"The founders and the management team are confident for the future of Altada. We are working closely with our shareholders and advisors to secure funding and stabilise the company."

Established in 2017, Altada's principals are husband and wife Allan Beechinor and Niamh Parker.

The venture has been shortlisted for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards 2022 in the Emerging category.

In a recent nominee interview in the Irish Times, the founders said their previous back to the wall moment came after building an engine for personal identifiable information which was designed to manage a data subject access request arising from GDPR rules.

“The market was a lot smaller than we initially expected. Following this realisation, we had to refocus and pivot our capabilities into financial services and into the US market in 2020.”

It also emerged in the interview that the start-up has implemented a four-day work week to boost staff engagement and efficiency.

In addition, Altada partners with a number of healthcare, financial, and professional-development firms to ensure there is support available to employees if needed.

"We regularly sing together and have an Altada company beverage, which is the whiskey sour," the founders disclosed.

Photo: Altada directors Allan Beechinor and Niamh Parker