Business News

The Vaults opens at Dogpatch Labs

By Business & Finance
19 November 2015
The Vaults at Dogpatch labs
Pictured (L-R): Patrick Walsh, managing director, Dogpatch Labs; Simon Harris TD, Minister of State at the Departments of Finance; Maeve McMahon, Ulster Bank and owner of the chq Building; and Neville Isdell

Dogpatch Labs has developed a new event space in 200-year-old vaults below The chq Building in Dublin’s Docklands.

In recent years Dogpatch Labs has been home to many of Ireland’s fastest growing technology companies, including Intercom, Logentries and Boxever and currently houses a mix of leading Enterprise Ireland Irish start-ups such as Trustev, Voysis and Hiri, as well as international IDA client tech companies.

All companies in Dogpatch Labs have potential for high growth and are looking to create, test, market and deliver scalable world-class technology products and services.

Patrick Walsh, managing director, Dogpatch Labs, said: “The first phase of Dogpatch focused on creating a world-class office space for start-ups. This second phase of Dogpatch will see us playing a much wider role in supporting Ireland’s technology community through events, workshops and meet-ups. This vital piece of infrastructure will support Ireland’s burgeoning start-up ecosystem and it has been made possible by our partnership with Ulster Bank. Dogpatch will now also house an ‘offsite innovation hub’ for the Bank this is a growing trend in other parts of the world, but a pioneering first for Ireland.”

Ulster Bank has also announced the opening of an offsite innovation initiative ‘the Ulster Bank hub’ in Dogpatch Labs. The Ulster Bank hub will house the bank’s offsite Technology Innovation Solutions team and will also be used showcase the latest in innovation delivered by this team, along with hosting offsite customer and staff events. This initiative will place the Bank closer to the pulse of market disruption and enable it to connect more closely with Ireland’s tech start-up community.

Maeve McMahon, director of Customer Experience and Products, Ulster Bank, commented: “At Ulster Bank we are putting the customer back at the centre of everything we do, we are changing to create an innovative environment within the Bank to ensure we are relevant for the future. The redeveloped vaults will provide the Bank with an offsite campus, allowing our Innovation Solutions team to sit side by side the fintech start-ups we are supporting there, helping to change the way we look at the financial ecosystem. This ‘hub’ will enable us to showcase the next generation of digital customer experiences we are developing as well as provide an offsite campus for corporate workshops, events and showcase demonstrations.”

Various fintech events will be hosted in The Vaults, including the Ulster Bank sponsored ‘Fintech Fireside Chat Series’ which will see leading Irish and international CEOs share learnings about how they have built fintech businesses with global reach.

Speaking about the opening, Minister of State Simon Harris TD, said: “I welcome this next stage in the evolution and expansion of Dogpatch Labs. Bringing the vaults to life for the purposes of tech innovation and networking sends a strong message as to the ambition and vibrancy of Ireland’s tech and fintech scene. I look forward to continuing engagement with Dogpatch and other enterprise hubs in advancing the objectives of the Government’s IFS2020 Strategy.”

Ulster bank Dogpatch