Kilkenny entrepreneur lands major investment and national recognition in AI

A Mooncoin man is celebrating a landmark year having earned honours in two of Ireland’s most prestigious business programmes and secured a major international investment that will propel the his company into its next phase of global growth.

Liam Dunne, CEO and Co-Founder of Klearcom, was named a 2025 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist, a highly competitive programme widely regarded as the top honour for Irish business leaders.

The EY programme has a long heritage of identifying Ireland’s most innovative founders, including business leaders like Denis O’Brien Digicel, Anne Heraty CPL, and this year’s overall winner Edward McCloskey. Mr Dunne joined the finalists on the elite EY CEO retreat to Japan, last summer where participants gained exposure to world-class companies, mentors and took part in deep-dive strategy sessions with global leaders.
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In the same year, Klearcom ranked third in Ireland in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, which measures revenue growth over four years. With hundreds of tech companies competing annually, securing a place in the top three places Klearcom among Ireland’s highest-performing and fastest-moving tech innovators.

Liam, Sharon and their four boys who all play hurling with Mooncoin GAA - Liam Og, Conall, Odhran and Rian

However, 2025 brought an even more transformative milestone, when Klearcom completed a strategic investment partnership with Synova, a leading UK private equity firm managing over £1.7 billion in growth capital.
The investment marks the company’s transition from start-up to scale-up. With Synova’s backing, Klearcom is now positioned to accelerate international expansion, deepen its AI capabilities, and grow its team.

“From standing on the EY stage, ranking near the top of the Fast 50, and securing Synova as our investment partner; it’s been extraordinary,” says Mr Dunne.
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“EY, Deloitte, and Synova each test you in different ways, and being recognised by all three in one year is an incredible honour. But the best part is the people. Exceptional people make exceptional companies, and these programmes put you in rooms that challenge, inspire, and push you forward."

Klearcom’s AI-driven technology helps global enterprises ensure their Voicebots, speech IVRs, and phone systems perform for customers across more than 100 countries. As enterprises rapidly adopt AI-driven customer service, Klearcom is emerging as a category leader in assuring the quality, accuracy, and reliability of those systems.

“The shift to AI in voice is happening much faster than anyone expected,” Mr Dunne says. "2026 will be the year we scale; aggressively, globally, and with Synova beside us. We want to build one of the world’s leading AI assurance platforms and show that world-class innovation can come from Mooncoin, Waterford, and the South-East.”

With major international backing, national recognition, and a fast-growing global client base, including Goole, Mastercard, Pfizer, Klearcom is set to take another leap forward in 2026, putting both Waterford and Mooncoin firmly on the map of global AI innovation.