AI-powered manufacturing platform Keychain has expanded into Ireland, appointing a new general manager as it plots to widen its offering in Europe.
Keychain, which was cofounded by Irish entrepreneur Oisin Hanrahan, puts brands, retailers and manufacturers in touch with manufacturing partners, cutting out brokers and making the process more efficient and cost-effective.
The company counts eight of the 10 top US retailers among its customers, with seven of the top 10 CPG brands, including General Mills, the Hershey Company, and Schreiber Foods, also using the platform. It has raised $68 million to date, including a $30 million Series B funding round led by Wellington Management and existing investor BoxGroup.
The new Irish operation will serve as the hub for Keychain’s European expansion, with Alan Metcalfe as general manager for the European business.
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Among the initial tasks for Mr Metcalfe will be building up a team here, adding to the near-100 staff that Keychain already employs.
“We’re going to ramp up the team there to tackle the market locally,” said Mr Hanrahan. “The plan is to go further than Ireland, so we will be looking at folks to help us expand into Europe – European languages and ideally some market knowledge of the larger markets in Europe.”
He said establishing the Irish presence was an important step for Keychain. “We’re making this announcement for Ireland but you can expect very soon there’ll be announcements of all the European countries.”
The Irish office will allow Keychain to serve European markets directly, including the European operations of clients it already works with in other markets. Among the key considerations in locating here were the availability of a skilled workforce, access to Europe and Ireland’s history in producing high-quality food.
“Europe is going to be a very important market for us,” Mr Hanrahan said. “We think Ireland is a great place to start our European operations.”
Separately, data collaboration platform Datavant said its staff numbers have reached 40 people in the six months since it announced its expansion into Ireland, ahead of its hiring target.
The Galway-based company originally pledged to hire 125 new roles at its global R&D centre in the city before the end of 2027, with more than a third already hired.
The company will now look at its next phase of hiring, with engineering, IT staff and data scientist roles. Datavant has also appointed Josh Builder as its new chief technology officer, the ormer CTO of Signify Health.
“Since launching on March 31st, we’ve built a strong foundation here in Galway, and reaching more than 40 hires in our first six months has exceeded all our expectations. It’s a major milestone and a clear signal of the strength of the talent pipeline we’re tapping into here in Ireland,” said Datavant Ireland site lead Deirdre Giblin.
