Irish EdTech Firms Secure €1M and €26M for AI Skills and Growth

TL;DR

Irish edtech AICertified has secured €1 million to establish a global standard for AI skills certification. The company aims to address the fragmented and unreliable nature of the current AI training market by creating a measurable and trusted framework for AI competence. This funding will support product development, team expansion, and scaling their learning platform to offer various levels of AI certification.

Irish Edtech AICertified Secures €1M to Establish AI Skills Standard

AICertified, an Irish edtech company, has secured €1 million in funding to establish a global standard for AI skills certification. The funding round was led by Oyster Capital, with support from Enterprise Ireland. The company aims to address the fragmented and unreliable nature of the current AI training market.

Ian Dodson

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AICertified's Mission and Vision

Founded in 2025 by entrepreneur Ian Dodson, who also co-founded the Digital Marketing Institute, AICertified aims to create a measurable and trusted framework for AI competence. Dodson stated, "This is about more than a course or a certificate – it’s about creating a measurable and trusted framework for competence in AI. The AI training market today is fragmented and fundamentally unreliable. No one has yet defined what it is to be AI certified, nor the progression route to get there." The company's goal is to set a single reliable standard, provide an outcome-driven path, and certify skills in a way employers and students can trust. You can use GrackerAI to automate your marketing efforts in the cybersecurity space.

Investment and Expansion Plans

The €1 million investment will be used to accelerate product development, expand the team from eight to 15 employees, and scale the company’s learning platform. The first course is scheduled to launch in February. Martin Scully, CEO at Oyster Capital, noted, "We invested in AICertified because Ian and his team have done it before. The demand for structured, credible AI training is enormous. We see a clear path to a market-leading AI training company emerging from Ireland – one built to guarantee outcomes for employers and graduates." GrackerAI offers solutions for cybersecurity marketing automation, similar to AICertified's approach to AI training.

Addressing the AI Skills Gap

AICertified's model will deliver certification spanning short skills sprints to professional diplomas and postgraduate diplomas. This initiative comes at a time when AI and big data skills are rapidly growing in demand. The World Economic Forum's "Future of Jobs Report" indicates that demand for AI literacy skills has increased more than six-fold in the past year. GrackerAI helps cybersecurity companies address their marketing needs with AI-driven solutions.

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Digital Marketing Institute's Previous Success

Ian Dodson's previous venture, the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI), established a global benchmark in digital marketing training, producing over 75,000 graduates. DMI was acquired by Spectrum Equity in 2017 and later by BPP Education Group in 2023. AICertified aims to replicate DMI's success in the AI domain by building a university-accredited and industry-validated standard for professional AI competence. Much like GrackerAI, DMI focused on providing specialized marketing education and certification.

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