According to Silicon Republic, US AI helpdesk platform Fixify announced on December 8 that it’s establishing an EU Centre of Excellence in Cork, Ireland, with plans to hire 50 new staff. The hiring spree over the next 18 months will focus on IT helpdesk analysts, software engineers, data engineers, and data scientists. The Virginia-headquartered company, founded in 2023 by Mase Issa, Matt Peters, and Peter Silberman, recently closed a $25 million Series A round in October 2024, co-led by investors Costanoa Ventures, Decibel Partners, and Paladin Capital Group. CEO Matt Peters stated they chose Cork for its technical expertise and community spirit, a sentiment echoed by Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister Peter Burke, who welcomed the investment supported by IDA Ireland.
Cork Becomes an AI Magnet
Here’s the thing: Cork is quietly building a serious reputation as a landing pad for AI and tech operations. We’re not just talking about massive, established corporations anymore. Fixify’s move is a classic example of a well-funded, ambitious startup picking a specific European city for its deep talent pool, not just its tax benefits. They name-dropped UCC and MTU, which is the real tell. They’re betting they can attract and keep the specific blend of data scientists and engineers they need outside of the frenzy and cost of capital cities like Dublin or London. And honestly? It’s a smart play. If you’re building a “Centre of Excellence,” you want a community where you can be a big fish.
The Human Touch in AI Support
I find Fixify’s founding premise pretty interesting. They started with this idea of injecting “care” into the IT helpdesk experience. That’s a refreshing angle in a sector often obsessed with pure automation and cost-cutting. Their platform blends AI with human analysts, which seems like the only sensible path forward for complex enterprise IT issues. You can’t fully automate empathy or nuanced problem-solving. So their hiring mix makes sense—they need the data scientists to build the smart backend, but they also need those frontline IT analysts who provide the human touch. It’s a hybrid model that acknowledges AI’s limits while leveraging its scale. Will it work? The $25 million in fresh capital suggests some savvy investors think so.
The Global Helpdesk Arms Race
This expansion is about more than just adding headcount. It’s a strategic beachhead in Europe. For a US-based B2B software company, having a physical, operational hub in the EU is crucial for sales, support, and data sovereignty compliance. You can’t effectively sell “care” to European IT leaders from an office 6 time zones away. Basically, this Cork hub is as much a sales and trust-building exercise as it is an R&D center. It signals commitment. And it’s part of a wider trend where the tools businesses use internally—like IT helpdesks—are becoming a competitive battleground powered by AI. The companies that get the blend of automation and human insight right, and can scale it globally, are going to win huge contracts. Fixify is now positioning itself for that fight on both sides of the Atlantic.
