START-UPS PITCH FOR €9.5 MILLION AT AXISBIC INVESTOR EVENT
Doctrine Skincare named Most Investible Company and Ailtire was voted Best Pitch
Entrepreneurs pitched for a total of €9.5 million at this year’s AxisBIC Venture Academy, up from €5.7 million in 2025. The AxisBIC Venture Academy offers High Growth Start-ups an opportunity to pitch in front of an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and the startup ecosystem. The Venture Academy has helped startups raise over €37 million since it started 16 years ago.
The companies pitching at the event in the River Lee Hotel are involved in sectors such as skincare, health-tech, sports-tech and cybersecurity. Prior to the live pitching event, the selected companies took part in a mini-accelerator programme, including a raising investment masterclass and a series of one-to-one sessions with experienced entrepreneurs and investors who prepared them for raising investment and pitching.
AxisBIC identifies and works with innovative entrepreneurs in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick, providing them with support and essential business expertise to help them grow and succeed.
Doctrine Skincare was voted Most Investible Company by a panel of judges while the audience awarded the Best Pitch to Colm McSweeney of Ailtire.
Cork based Doctrine Skincare founded by cosmetic chemist Tracey Ryan and a team of industry experts, is an Irish, science-led skincare brand creating cult-status skincare that transforms routine into ritual. The team formulates every product in-house using active ingredients at effective, evidence-based levels.
Tracey Ryan of Doctrine Skincare and Colm Sweeny of Ailtire. Photo: John Allen.
Colm Sweeney is the CEO and co-founder of Ailtire which is a cybersecurity company that helps organisations identify security risks early when building or updating digital systems. It supports teams struggling to keep up with complex and rapidly changing technologies.
Larry O’Donoghue, CEO of AxisBIC, said: “I would like to congratulate all the start-ups that took part in this year’s Venture Academy with a special mention to Doctrine Skincare on being awarded Most Investible Company and Ailtire on being voted the Best Pitch. This year’s pitching event saw a 66% increase in the money being raised when compared to last year which indicates a strong desire to support and invest in start-ups. There has also been a significant increase in technology companies, making a valuable impact on people’s lives. We want to encourage anyone with a start-up to get in touch with the team at AxisBIC who can support you on the next steps to growth and success.”
The Venture Academy is part of the Growth Pathway Programme organised by AxisBIC with partners Cork City Council and Cork County Council.
On winning the Most Investible Company, Tracey Ryan from Doctrine Skincare said: “I’m delighted but in shock. We have been thinking of raising investment for the last six months to a year and now we’re finally ready to get out in front of people. To win here at the AxisBIC Venture Academy is a real confidence boost, a pat on the back to say we’re going in the right direction. I’ve had amazing support from AxisBIC, particularly in applying for Pre-Seed Funding from Enterprise Ireland which has really set us on our way.”
Colm Sweeney from Ailtire added: “It’s a bit surreal to have won Best Pitch but I’m really proud of the team and appreciative of the support we’ve received from AxisBIC. We wouldn’t have won it without the honest and direct feedback from the mentors at AxisBIC.”
Tracey Ryan of Doctrine Skincare. Photo: John Allen.
The other pitching companies were:
Colata (Cork): an AI-powered SaaS platform that helps sports organisations bring together and use data from different systems like performance, medical, and fan engagement tools. It makes it easier for teams to turn scattered data into useful insights.
CommPAL (Cork): helps community palliative care teams plan and prioritise patient visits more effectively. It uses data and analytics to predict needs and optimise schedules and travel routes.
Kinematic Tracing Systems (KTS) (Clare): develops clinical tools that make injury and musculoskeletal assessments faster and more objective. Its technology enables quicker, more efficient evaluations with results delivered in minutes.
SeeGap (Limerick): a platform that helps consumer brands drive sales, build loyalty, and capture insights from their retail customers using intelligent AI experiences. It bridges the gap between brands and shoppers, especially in physical stores where most purchases happen.
The MenoPal (Dublin): the central intelligence platform for menopause health data. Women’s hormone health remains one of healthcare’s largest unstructured data gaps, fragmented across apps, clinics and wearables and no unified system connecting the ecosystem.
