It officially opened its doors in July 2017 alongside corporate partner Barclays Eagle Labs and other strategic partners, including early stage investment fund TechstartNI.
Today, Ormeau Baths announced that London based tech firms Chargifi and Smartzer and homegrown sports tech business Kairos have taken office space in the building.
They join a list of residents that includes start-up accelerator specialists Ignite NI, who run Invest NI’s Propel programme, Digital Catapult’s Immersive Lab, NI Screen’s Pixel Mill gaming lab, global insurance tech company Trov and film industry skills partnership Future Screens NI.
Steve Pette, co-founder of Ormeau Baths said: “When we opened Ormeau Baths the vision was to create a genuine startup community and a hub that could become the beating heart for the creative, tech and digital sector in Belfast. Today, we are delighted that both wings of the building and our event space continue to be buzzing with activity.
“We are excited that Chargifi, Kairos and Smartzer have chosen to join the wide variety of start-ups, scale-ups and tech related organisations that call Ormeau Baths home and we look forward to working with them as they continue their growth journeys.”
London-headquartered Chargifi, the market leading cloud-managed wireless charging provider, has opened a new office in Belfast as a result of rapid growth and rising demand for the commercial application of cloud connected Qi wireless charging.
Dan Bladen, CEO of Chargifi said: “We see this as just the beginning of our growth in Belfast. The company will take advantage of the high level of talent from both Queen’s University and the University of Ulster, with the ongoing support of Invest NI. The Belfast team will spread the word and build awareness of the multitude of additional upside benefits that businesses can get through deploying cloud connected wireless charging.”
Smartzer is a video platform that can be used to make videos interactive and shoppable by adding an overlay with clickable hotspots.
Karoline Gross, founder and CEO of Smartzer said: “We are constantly improving our product and have come to Belfast to source and build a development team to help us achieve this. Belfast has a fantastic talent base in software development and is quickly becoming a key European hub for innovative technology companies.
“Being able to share ideas and problems with innovators like us on a day to day basis is highly valuable to us and Ormeau Baths makes that possible.
Founded by professional rugby player Andrew Trimble and Digital DNA director Gareth Quinn, Kairos is a tailored and dynamic sports performance platform for streamlining planning and optimizing the performance of elite athletes.
Gareth Quinn, co-founder of Kairos said: “Ormeau baths a great place for the Kairos team to work in. In our early stages of development, we were able to meet people from different backgrounds and collaborate network with them, share our knowledge and learn from their experience. The infrastructures is great, the atmosphere is very dynamic and friendly. It is the best place to work!”
Ormeau Baths is located in an iconic Victorian bathhouse that was first opened in 1888. The building was empty and unused for five years before co-founders Jon Bradford, Mark Dowds and Steve Pette invested in its transformation into a vibrant co-working space. The project has also been supported by tech leaders from Northern Ireland’s digital diaspora, including Sarah Friar of NextDoor, David Singleton of Stripe and Tony Carson of Greenacre Capital.
In 2018, Ormeau Baths doubled in size and it is now home to more than 80 startups and businesses. It has held over 650 events, including Pitch at the Palace, attended by more than 10,000 visitors.
Claire Dowds, General Manager of Ormeau Baths, Andrew Trimble from Kairos, Dovydas Pliauga from Smartzer and Nathan McClatchey from Chargifi.
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