Social athletic platform Strava is to open a new office in Dublin as it plans rapid growth in Europe.
The company has already hired 10 full-time employees in product, design, engineering and community management, and plans to double that number. Recruitment is already underway for the new roles.
Strava allows runners and cyclists to track their activity and performance statistics, using smartphones, GPS watches and cycling computers. Its platform has more than 88 million athletes in 195 countries, and it is adding users at a rate of about 2 million a month.
The new Dublin office is a result of that growth rate. Once operational, the hub will join Strava's offices in San Francisco and Denver in the US, and Bristol in the UK. The team will serve users in Europe and across the world, with the diverse talent pool in technology cited as a factor in choosing to locate here.
"Expanding in Dublin is a great opportunity for our growing company to become a technology leader in Ireland and the EU, and our team will do this by remaining steadfastly committed to our athlete community," said chief executive Michael Horvath. "Proximity to our UK office and our large and highly active European athlete community ensures our Ireland-based team will make huge contributions toward fulfilling our mission and sustaining our company culture."
The first employee hired in Ireland was Andrés Roughan, trust and safety support manager at Strava.
“Ireland may be a small country but it has a powerful international sporting presence in a multitude of activities, not to mention the beautiful and dramatic scenery that invites you to get out and be active every day. The Dublin office will bring more of the European and international athletic perspective into our product as we grow locally and continue building a brilliant experience for our athletes globally.”
Strava employs more than 275 people worldwide.
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English, welcomed the jobs news.
“The last year has demonstrated the importance of staying active and healthy and Strava has played a significant role in helping us do this while also keeping us connected with friends and family,” he said. “Their decision to open their new office here will allow Strava to benefit from our highly-skilled workforce, just like many other leading tech companies.”
The Government is supporting Strava through IDA Ireland. Dónal Travers, head of technology, consumer and business services at the organisation said Strava would add to the cluster of sportstech companies operating here. "Ireland remains a stable and highly predictable investment location for high growth companies due to our deep talent base and access to the EU market," he said.
