Dragons’ Den star sells tech company

DRAGONS’ Den star Barry O’Sullivan has sold his Altocloud business to US-based Genesys.

Galway-based Altocloud, set up in 2013, provides what it calls a digital customer engagement platform. This combines predictive analytics with voice, video, and messaging interactions – allowing businesses to communicate with their customers.

Larger US rival Genesys was founded over a quarter of a century ago. It specialises in omni-channel customer experiences, and today has over 100,000 customers in 100 countries.

“We built Altocloud because we saw a more dynamic way to drive better business results by taking advantage of the power and potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI),” Barry O’Sullivan, Altocloud chief executive (pictured), said. “We are excited to join a proven customer experience innovator and AI leader like Genesys.”

The Altocloud management team of Dan Arra, Joe Smyth and Mr O’Sullivan will all join Genesys, taking on “important leadership roles” within the company. “The acquisition of Altocloud bolsters our ability to optimise and connect the entire customer journey to ensure the best business outcomes,” Paul Segre, CEO of Genesys, said.

Along with it headquarters in Galway, Altocloud also has a small presence in the San Francisco Bay area of the US.