Autocoupler wins 2025 AgTechUCD’s One to Watch Award

17 January 2025

_{Pictured at the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm, Seamus Kenny, Autocoupler founder, and winner of the 2025 AgTechUCD One to Watch Award Credit: Gareth Chaney/Photocall Ireland}

Kilkenny start-up Autocoupler is the winner of this year’s AgTechUCD One to Watch Award after completing the fourth AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme.

The company took the prize after a final pitching session at the Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm following 12 weeks of tailored business development workshops and investor readiness training, mentoring from industry experts and business advisors, and facilitated introductions to AgTechUCD’s venture capital and business angel networks.

Their patented Autocoupler system allows a loader to attach to any agricultural implement, automatically coupling the loader’s hydraulic circuit to the implement and then locking the implement in place with the loader’s locking system.

The novel system makes changing implements quick and easy, with no delays or time loss in comparison to existing manual and time consuming systems, and includes an additional safety advantage over conventional systems as the operator does not have to leave the cab of the machine when attaching or disconnecting any attachment or implement.

_{Pictured (l-r) at the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm, David Bowles, The Yield Lab, Faye Walsh Drouillard, WakeUp Capital, Seamus Kenny, Autocoupler founder and winner of the 2025 AgTechUCD One to Watch Award, James Maloney, Enterprise Ireland and Gary Ryan, Director at AgTechUCD Credit: Gareth Chaney/Photocall Ireland}

“It is a great honour for me to accept the 2025 AgTechUCD One to Watch Award following the completion of the latest AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme,” said Seamus Kenny, Autocoupler founder.

“Our next step is to target the agricultural and construction implement manufacture market with our novel system which allows loader operators to change an implement without leaving their seat, in 4 seconds, at the touch of a button.

“I would like to thank AgTechUCD and Enterprise Ireland for their ongoing support and also to thank Noreside Engineering Group, who have supported the physical engineering and prototype phase of developing the Autocoupler system, and acknowledge the financial support and advice received from the Kilkenny Local Enterprise Office.”

The other start-ups to completed this year’s ‘agccelerator’ programme in addition to Auto Coupler were Aerial Ag Ireland, Evogen, Iona Minerals, Lurra Bio, RoboCrop and Weighless Wonders. 

Programme partners for 2025 included AIB, Enterprise Ireland, Herdwatch, IFAC, The Yield Lab and Thrive/SVG Ventures.

Gary Ryan, Director, AgTechUCD, congratulated Autocoupler on being named the overall winner of the fourth AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programme, adding the programme “supports the commercial development of the participating start-ups by helping them to further develop their innovative solutions, enhance their marketplace visibility, attract new customers and investors and build new partnerships at home and further afield”.

Thirty-four start-ups have now completed the four AgTechUCD Agccelerator Programmes delivered to date, including Cotter AgriTech, Moonsyst, MyGug, OptaHaul, Pitseal, Proveye, Silicate, and TrojanTrack.
Designed to address the needs and challenges facing AgTech and Agrifood start-ups, the annual programme is focused on fast tracking the business development and leadership skills of its participants and on providing them with the support and guidance needed to accelerate the growth and development of their start-ups.

AgTechUCD, which is part of NovaUCD, promotes and accelerates the launch and scaling of start-ups and SMEs in Ireland and internationally, and is funded through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations (with materials from Micéal Whelan, UCD Research and Innovation)

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie