WIREDGOV

Smartpipe Solutions yesterday officially opened its new software and development research centre in Cwmbran, in a move backed by the Welsh Government that will create more than 40 highly-skilled jobs in the IT sector.

The company, which has its sales and marketing functions in London, is developing new highly innovative technology and hardware to enable network operators to monetise their data in real time.

The new centre at Ty Coch was opened with £1 million business finance from the Welsh Government, £700k from Notion Capital, £500k from Finance Wales and a further £4 million from private investors.

Smartpipe has already recruited 13 new employees for the Welsh centre and is set to recruit more than 30 other IT engineering specialists in 2016.

Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, Edwina Hart, was joined at yesterday’s opening by Smartpipe co-Founders Tobin Ireland (Executive Chairman) and Tanya Field (CEO).  

Mrs Hart said:

“This latest inward investment in one of our priority economic sectors, ICT, is very welcome, and I am pleased to hear that the strength of the sector in Wales and the availability of high level skills was a deciding factor for Smartpipe to open its new centre here.

“This is exactly the type of investment we want in Wales – companies with innovation at the heart of their business that will create high-quality, highly skilled graduate level jobs and develop new technologies for a global market.”

Executive Chairman of Smartpipe, Tobin Ireland, added:

“We are delighted that the Welsh Government has invested in Smartpipe, and the opening of our software and development research centre in Cwmbran marks an important phase in the company’s expansion. Smartpipe is a thriving, entrepreneurial company developing new technology solutions with innovation at our core.  We are proud to be building our global technology business from its base in Wales.”

SaaS venture capital firm, Notion Capital also funded the start-up. Stephen Chandler, Managing Partner of Notion Capital commented:

“Smartpipe’s solution is genuinely innovative in providing a secure, global ecosystem for operator’ customer data. Smartpipe is a great example of the type of innovative company that should be making its mark on Wales.”

James Henderson, Fund Manager at Finance Wales welcomed Smartpipe’s news:

“Smartpipe’s technology has achieved significant market traction since its launch in 2014 and the new centre will be pivotal to the future development of Smartpipe’s software.  Smartpipe is an important part of Finance Wales’ growing portfolio of technology companies and we wish Tobin, Tanya and the team at Smartpipe every success.”

Smartpipe, whose break-through technology enables network operators to monetise their rich customer data in real time, opted for Wales because of the wealth of skilled resources. After launching in 2014, Smartpipe’s solution is already being deployed by leading operators in Europe and the Middle East, and the hiring of a highly skilled product and technology team is due to play a key part in supporting the company’s further expansion.

Smartpipe plans to expand further in the UK and enter new markets such as US, India, Indonesia and China, extending its intelligent identification customer data profile matching platform to new data markets such as financial service providers, retailers, and content providers in 2016.