Eight Startup Founders Graduate From Phase 2 Of New Frontiers At TU Dublin

Eight early-stage founders have graduated from Phase 2 of the New Frontiers programme at TU Dublin. The graduation showcase, held on 10th July, offered them an opportunity to meet with various members of the national and local startup ecosystem as well as compete for one of the awards offered by the event sponsors.

Also present to celebrate this important milestone were Ciara Concannon, National New Frontiers Programme Manager at Enterprise Ireland; Paul MacGabhann, Business Advisor at Dublin City Local Enterprise Office; Majella Murphy, Head of Acceleration at Furthr; Hugo Grattirola, Partner at Philip Lee; and representatives from TU Dublin.

Over the past six months, this cohort has strengthened its commercial readiness by securing investment, advancing fundraising, establishing legal structures, refining go-to-market strategies, speaking at industry events, and building strategic partnerships and distribution channels. Award-winners on the day were:

• Investor Ready award: Paul Murnane of DocuSmart AI (€10,000 in legal fees, sponsored by Philip Lee)
• Ignition Award: Rusha Sen of Garnet AI (€1,000, sponsored by LEO Dublin City)
• 2 Mentoring Sessions: Bryan McKeon of Kaisoft (sponsored by LEO Dublin City)
• Founder Half-Day Mentoring – from Pitch to Funding: Vincent Ghiotti of SectorSift (sponsored by Resolve Partners)
• Most Engaging Stand award: Liana Anca Tomescu of SonnyLabs (3 months of hot desk access provided by TU Dublin)

Speaking after the event, Programme Manager Laura Enache said, “It has been a real privilege to witness this cohort transforming ideas into real businesses and building momentum – securing pilots, design partnerships, investment, paid customers, and opening doors to international markets. These are all very valuable achievements. This group was made up of founders who were ambitious, adaptable, and generous with their time and expertise. These qualities will stand the test of time, helping them navigate the inevitable challenges and opportunities that come with building and scaling a business.”

New Frontiers cohort in TU Dublin

The startups have already secured multiple paid pilots, design partnerships, and early customers across Ireland, the UK, Europe, and the USA, with several ventures converting pilots into commercial contracts. This year’s graduating founders are:

Barbara O’Riordan of Lennon Governance

Lennon Governance is a governance platform for regulated fund directors.

Bryan MacKeon of Kaisoft

Kaisoft is a governed industrial intelligence platform that turns manufacturing data into trusted insights for regulated industries such as pharma, medical devices, energy, and food manufacturing.

Gerhard Drobits of Hybopay Finance

Hybopay Finance is an AI-powered fintech platform that streamlines bridge loan financing for the UK and Irish markets, helping lenders, brokers, and property finance providers make faster, more efficient lending decisions.

Liana Anca Tomescu of SonnyLabs

SonnyLabs is an AI security platform that protects enterprise AI by detecting threats, preventing data leaks, and producing audit-ready evidence for boards and auditors. It integrates in one line of code and supports cloud and air-gapped deployments.

Paul Murnane of DocuSmart AI

DocuSmart AI creates an intelligent knowledge layer over organisational documents, helping nonprofits and impact organisations instantly find information, query knowledge in plain English, and keep all answers source-cited. It also automates grant applications, saving up to 30 hours per cycle.

Rusha Sen of Garnet AI

Garnet AI is a diligence orchestration platform for manufacturing, logistics, and maritime industries that automates onboarding, verification, and trust validation for suppliers, clients, and assets, integrating with RFP tools, GRCs, and CRMs to streamline compliance workflows.

Therese Lockwood of Voice of the Clinic

Voice of the Clinic is an implementation intelligence platform for MedTech that tracks the health of active deployments and supports Field, Clinical, and Support teams in delivering fast, targeted assistance to Clinical Engineering teams.

Vincent Ghiotti of SectorSift

SectorSift is an autonomous AI outbound sales platform that helps B2B teams discover, qualify, and engage ideal customers through lead discovery, verified contacts, and personalised outreach in one system, boosting pipeline growth and sales efficiency.

Best of luck to these founders as they take the next steps with their businesses!

Calling startup founders in Dublin

If you have an innovative business idea and the ambition to found your own startup, New Frontiers can equip you with the right connections, the right skills, and the right route to capital to build a successful and sustainable business. Explore the New Frontiers programmes in or near Dublin (remember, application deadlines vary around the country).