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Battlefield alum DevAlly secures €2M to support businesses in adapting to Europe’s robust new accessibility regulations

Battlefield alum DevAlly secures €2M to support businesses in adapting to Europe’s robust new accessibility regulations

Bitget-RWA2025/10/09 11:00
By:Bitget-RWA

A significant number of companies serving the EU’s 450 million consumers are now required to adhere to updated accessibility regulations that began in June. Much like the earlier GDPR, these new rules have prompted organizations to quickly update their websites, online stores, and banking applications. However, despite the presence of comparable standards in the United States, many businesses there still lag behind.

“We were surprised to see even very large companies reach out just two weeks before the deadline, saying, ‘We had no idea about this,’” shared Irish entrepreneur Cormac Chisholm.

Chisholm’s company, DevAlly, is among the pioneers using technology to help organizations identify accessibility issues more efficiently. The platform also assists with compliance for regulations like the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which imposes substantial penalties for non-compliant new products and services. (Existing offerings have until 2030 to meet the requirements.)

Founded in 2024, DevAlly reviews digital platforms for accessibility obstacles, such as missing captions on corporate videos. It also monitors user-reported problems, supports companies in planning solutions, and generates detailed accessibility documentation.

Although human consultants can perform similar assessments, DevAlly’s CEO Chisholm argues that manual methods can’t keep pace with the scale or speed required for modern digital product development. While DevAlly employs accessibility specialists, it primarily relies on AI and large language models tailored for accessibility to automate testing and track issues. Chisholm believes this approach better integrates accessibility into the product development process.

This technology-driven strategy is reminiscent of the approach taken by cybersecurity compliance firm Vanta, which now boasts a $2.45 billion valuation.

The combination of regulatory momentum and increasing awareness around accessibility enabled DevAlly to raise €2 million (about $2.3 million) in pre-seed funding, according to information shared exclusively with TechCrunch.

With this investment, the company aims to expand its workforce from 5 to 15 by year’s end, focusing mainly on Dublin, where it participated in the NDRC accelerator program managed by Dogpatch Labs for Enterprise Ireland.

The funding round included participation from NDRC and Enterprise Ireland, but was led by Belgian investor Miles Ahead Capital, with additional support from European angel investors. The founders attribute some of their success to their strong showing at the Slush tech conference, where they placed in the top three of the startup competition and met their future lead investor.

“In Ireland, it’s common to partner with a local VC, but we chose a European route, and we’re eager to see what new opportunities this investor relationship will bring,” Chisholm explained.

With backing from Miles Ahead, DevAlly intends to enter the U.S. market, beginning with sales efforts in San Francisco. The city proved valuable for networking with accessibility leaders at major B2B software firms after DevAlly took part in TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 2024. “Currently, a large portion of our clients are based on the West Coast,” co-founder and chief revenue officer Patrick Guiney told TechCrunch. 

DevAlly has gained momentum in Europe thanks to the EAA’s implementation. Other companies, like Barcelona’s QualiBooth, have also benefited, recently assessing the accessibility of European e-commerce—an area of focus for the EAA. Both startups, however, see significant potential in the U.S., where DevAlly believes procurement will drive demand.

With estimates suggesting that people with disabilities and their families control $8 trillion in annual disposable income, Chisholm insists that “accessible design is simply good design.” He notes that one in five individuals has a disability, and that disabilities can be temporary—such as struggling to read a screen in bright sunlight or being unable to use controls while holding a child. “The goal is to make design as universally accessible as possible,” he said.

Companies can address these needs in various ways, from supporting screen readers to using high-contrast visuals and color schemes suitable for those with color blindness. Yet, a recent study by UX/UI agency Tenscope found that 94% of the top 1,000 U.S. websites do not meet basic accessibility criteria.

Travel websites performed the worst, often preventing users from completing essential tasks like filling out contact forms, registering accounts, or making purchases. Even before the EAA, Spanish airline Vueling faced penalties for not making its website accessible.

Now that the EAA applies across the EU, with each country enforcing its own penalties, large tech firms operating internationally may need additional support. “That’s why we’re positioning ourselves as a gateway to Europe for American companies,” Chisholm said.

If this strategy succeeds, it will benefit DevAlly and its investors—and potentially everyone, according to Chisholm. “Accessibility improvements, like Netflix’s subtitles, end up being major enhancements for all users. It’s simply better design for everyone.”

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Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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