Irish tech firm plans growth on foot of €8.6m investment

ALTOBRIDGE, the privately-owned technology group based in Tralee, Co Kerry, is to receive a $12 million (€8.66m) investment to drive its low-cost international mobile global communications business.

The two investors are Intel Capital and IFC, which is the venture capital arm of the World Bank.

While Intel is the lead investor, Dick Spring, the former leader of the Labour Party and current Altobridge chairman, declined to give a breakdown of the figures.

Up to 50 of the group’s 130 employees are based in Tralee and this capital injection should help boost jobs down the line, the firm said, although it gave no details on how many jobs might be created.

Damien Callaghan, Intel Group’s investment director, said Intel has been a major investor in technology companies with $327m injected in 2010. Its investment portfolio globally is understood to be more than $2bn.

“Data congestion in urban area wireless networks and connecting remote communities in rural areas are major challenges for communications services providers.”

The investment will help accelerate the company’s growth and expand the use of this technology.

Altobridge chief executive Mike Fitzgerald & welcomed the investment.

He said the funding will help increase the roll-out of the group’s low-operating cost remote communications technology. This equipment can take up to 50% off the cost of delivering those services to remote corners of the world where the group is active.

“This strategic investment by Intel Capital and IFC will enable us to scale commercially and advance our R&D to further reduce transmission costs for mobile network operators,” he said.

Richard Bruton, Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, welcomed the investment.

“I would describe this as a wonderful microcosm of what we can do in Ireland,” he said.

He said Ireland’s 300,000 businesses will play an important role in building our recovery and his aim is to launch a “loan guarantee fund” for SMEs as well as a “€100m micro-enterprise fund” to get that process under way.

“This new Government can become a catalyst and we have to look at what we can do” to aid this process to ensure other companies have their potential exploited down the line.