Digital asset management software company Canto is to expand its operations in Ireland, creating 50 jobs and growing its office in Cork as part of its global product development strategy.
Canto, which currently has an innovation centre in Cork, plans for the Irish operation to take a more pivotal role in the business. The expansion will see the Cork centre become a strategic European hub for core initiatives such as advanced AI research, cloud infrastructure optimisation, front-end modernisation, and the continued development of Canto’s unified DAM and product information management (PIM) platform.
“As we continue to expand our global engineering efforts, Ireland is proving to be an essential part of our success story. Our continued expansion underscores our confidence in the exceptional technical talent and innovation ecosystem here,” said Wain Kellum, chief executive of Canto.
“Our Cork operations will play a pivotal role in driving next-generation product development and supporting customers across the entire content ecosystem — fro– creation to delivery.”
Canto currently has around 4,000 customers globally across industries including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, education and technology, and has seen significant growth in recent years.
It has made a number of acquisitions in recent years, including MerlinOne in 2023 and Image Relay in 2024, which strengthened key technologies such as visual search across the company. The Cork operation will help integrate and enhance these technologies further across Canto’s product portfolio.
Among the research and development activities planned for the Cork centre are advancing AI models for intelligent asset discovery and management and optimising cloud infrastructure.
The latest expansion project is being supported by the Government through IDA Ireland.
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism & Employment Peter Burke said the investment reinforced Ireland’s position as a leader in AI and software development.
“The Cork region, with its strong educational institutions like University College Cork and Munster Technological University, provides an excellent environment for fostering innovation and developing specialised talent, and IDA Ireland provides invaluable support to companies seeking to utilise this ecosystem,” he said. “We look forward to Canto’s continued growth and positive impact.”
