Cylance Inc, a company which is using artificial intelligence to proactively prevent, rather than just re-actively detect advanced persistent threats and malware, has announced today that it will create 150 jobs in Cork.

The Irish operation will help it to meet global demand for its services and to provide an in-region presence to support customers across EMEA.

The US firm will be hiring sales, sales engineering, and customer support  staff and it hopes to add malware analysis and software development roles in the future.

It will open a new office on the South Mall in Cork.

Commenting on the announcement Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said, "Cylance is one of the fastest growing companies in the history of cybersecurity. The choice of Ireland for the new EMEA Operations centre for Cylance is an endorsement of the emerging cybersecurity cluster in Cork.

"The city’s tech infrastructure, talent pool and supportive academic network have created a compelling business environment which will continue to attract investment from companies operating in this space."

Speaking at the announcement, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O'Connor said, "I am delighted to be here today for the launch of Cylance's operation in Cork. We already have a strong footprint of ICT companies in Cork city and we are very keen to expand that by attracting a wider range of specialist IT companies.

"We are all aware of the crucial importance of being able to deal with cybersecurity threats and it is terrific news that a company of the stature of Cylance has decided to locate here."