Estonian casting startup IRIS lands €150,000 grant to build film industry platform
What's the deal? IRIS Casting EcosystemDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Estonian startup, has received a €150,000 grant (about $173,226) from Enterprise Estonia to develop its automated casting workflow platform. The company is building a digital ecosystem that brings directors, producers, casting directors, actors, and their agents onto a single platform.
Why now? Founder Ronja Kissa, who has worked in casting for nearly 20 years, said the pandemic pushed much of the process online. Actors now record auditions at home or in studios, but briefs, video files, comments, availability, and feedback scatter across email, WhatsApp, file-sharing links, and Excel sheets.
What's the endgame? IRIS aims to consolidate the entire casting workflow onto one secure platform, cutting administrative time so teams can focus on creative work. Kissa said her two casting firms logged nearly 200 working days on administrative tasks last year before creative work could even begin.
The grant sits in the middle of the pack for deals of its size, ranking around the 53rd percentile by amount.
What's next? The first usable version was set to be ready in mid-September, followed by testing with early users. Kissa said this year's goals are attracting new investors and reaching first paying customers.
The platform also addresses data protection and GDPR concerns, letting actors and agents track when files are opened or downloaded and later delete them. Longer term, IRIS plans to become a unified talent database that casting firms can search worldwide.
The signal: IRIS is part of TehnopolDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s film and multimedia accelerator, itself part of the IDA HubDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → innovation centre founded by IVEKDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, IVIA, and Tehnopol. The startup pitched at the Cannes Next programme during this year's Cannes Film Festival, where, as Kissa put it, "creative-sector technologies are developing very fast" — a reminder that speed matters as much as a strong product.
Read more: tehnopol.ee
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
