Development Capital invests €10m in Cork firm Zartis

Zartis, which is headquartered in Cork, offers software development solutions and advisory services to clients.

It has offices in Spain, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, UZ and the Czech Republic, with a total of 280 employees across Europe.

The €10m investment from Development Capital will be focused on international growth opportunities, Zartis reported. It plans to double in size over the next three years, with the company forecasting annual revenues of more than €50m by 2028.

The company also hopes to increase staff numbers to 500 in the same period. It plans to use the investment to grow its artificial intelligence practice through a number of senior hires to meet demand in this space.

As part of the new investment, Development Capital executives Fran Stafford and Andrew Bourg will join the company’s board.

“From our due diligence and research, we see strong market trends supporting Zartis’ growth plan driven in-part by increasing demand for the digitalisation of business processes and a shortage of IT skills,” Mr Bourg said.

He pointed to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), which are expected to “accelerate growth within the market.

“The technology services industry is at an inflection point with the massive growth in AI opportunities, and the investment from Development Capital in Zartis will help catalyse further rapid expansion of the business in the years ahead,” added Zartis chief executive Padraig Coffey.

The investment in Zartis is the 14th made by Development Capital and is the first made in Cork and Munster.

It also brings the fund manager’s total investments in Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to €120m in the past decade.

The fund manager provides development and growth capital ranging from €2m to €12m to Irish SMEs.

The €10m investment in Zartis is also the fifth by Development Capital Fund II, a €75m fund.

The other companies the fund has invested in since its establishment in 2020 include Spotlight Oral Care, based in Galway, as well as Donegal firm Nomadic Care, Louth company Wogan Build Centre and Dublin-based IP Telecom.