Wednesday 10 June, Dublin

The twice-yearly Prep4Seed programme culminated this week with Investor Day, where early-stage companies pitched to an audience of angel investors and venture capital firms. Prep4Seed is delivered nationally by the four Irish Business Innovation Centres (BICs) — AxisBIC, Furthr, Propelor BIC and WestBIC — in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland. The programme brings founders through a focused investor-readiness journey, from first principles to a confident pitch and a clear path to funding. The cohort reflects strong regional breadth and sector diversity across Digital Technologies, Enterprise Solutions, Food Tech & Food FDI, FinTech & Financial Services, and Lifesciences & HealthTech. The participating companies are:

Ascension Digital Services, Biovit Technologies, Capisso, Chuzeday, Cybervigil Pro, Fire & 5th, Flexible Power Solutions, Restore Blue, Unturn, Veloton and Weighless Wonders.

Conor O’Donovan, Head of Startups at Enterprise Ireland, said: “Programmes like Prep4Seed are essential in unlocking the next generation of high-potential startups. By supporting founders at such a critical stage, we are strengthening startup investor readiness to accelerate their growth and scale. Enterprise Ireland looks forward to supporting Restore Blue and Fire & 5th, both with the potential to be high-growth start-ups on their investment journeys.”

Mary Ryan, Deputy CEO of WestBIC, said: “Prep4Seed exists because securing investment is one of the hardest steps a founder takes, and it is a step no founder should take alone. As the four Irish BICs, we work side by side with these companies in their regions every day, and this programme allows us to bring that hands-on support together at a national level in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland. We congratulate today’s award winners and the full cohort, and we look forward to seeing where they go next.”

 Restore Blue, an AI-powered software platform that helps offshore and coastal developers embed biodiversity protection directly into project design, was awarded the One to Watch Award. Commenting on the achievement, Sarah Cosgrove, CEO and Founder, said: “Being recognised with the One to Watch Award means a great deal to us and it is a testament to the hard work our team invests daily. The BICs and Enterprise Ireland have built something that meets early-stage founders exactly where they are; the expertise and one-to-one support we received through Prep4Seed would be hard to find anywhere else at this stage. The programme challenged us to pressure-test every aspect of our business and present it with real clarity and conviction. We came in with a strong idea; we leave investor-ready and confident about the funding conversations ahead.”

Fire & 5th, an Irish-made, female-founded range of dedicated non-alcoholic aperitifs, was awarded the Best Pitch Award in recognition of its compelling presentation.

Over twelve weeks, participants took part in five masterclasses delivered by the Irish BICs and a series of tailored one-to-one sessions with BIC consultants, supported by intensive pitch preparation and trial pitches, ensuring each team applied the learning directly to their own business ahead of Investor Day.

To date, 97 start-ups have participated in the 12-week Prep4Seed investor-readiness programme.