Image by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
If you’ve ever squinted at small text on a website or tried to use an app one-handed while juggling a coffee, you know that digital accessibility isn’t just for people with disabilities — it’s for everyone. And now, businesses across Europe are about to learn that lesson the hard way.
In June, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) officially kicked in. It’s a sweeping new law designed to make digital services — like websites, banking apps, and e-commerce platforms — more accessible to the EU’s 450 million consumers. Think of it as the GDPR of design: comply or brace for fines.
Some companies saw it coming. Most… didn’t.
“We had massive companies call us two weeks before the deadline saying, ‘We didn’t know anything about this,’” said Cormac Chisholm, founder and CEO of DevAlly, an Irish startup tackling this accessibility crunch with tech-first solutions.
So what is DevAlly?
Launched in early 2024, DevAlly doesn’t just offer accessibility audits. It blends human expertise with smart tools to:
- Automatically flag issues, like videos missing captions
- Track user-reported accessibility bugs
- Build roadmaps for fixes
- Generate compliance reports
Instead of relying solely on human consultants, the platform uses AI and large language models (LLMs) trained in accessibility standards to automate testing and monitoring. That way, accessibility isn’t some afterthought — it’s baked into the product development cycle itself.
Chisholm compares DevAlly’s role in accessibility to what cybersecurity compliance startup Vanta did for security audits. Big shoes to fill, but the demand is clearly there.
Fresh funding and a bigger team
DevAlly just closed a €2 million (about $2.3 million) pre-seed round, led by Belgian fund Miles Ahead Capital. Ireland’s own Enterprise Ireland and NDRC also backed the round, with additional support from European angel investors.
The startup, fresh off a top-3 finish at tech conference Slush 2024 and a spotlight gig at TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield, plans to triple its team by the end of the year — growing from five to fifteen employees, primarily in Dublin.
And with momentum building in Europe, they’re already setting their sights on the U.S., starting with a sales push in San Francisco. Turns out many of their current customers are already based on the West Coast — large B2B software firms looking to up their accessibility game.
Why this matters more than you think
Accessibility isn’t just a regulation box to tick. It’s part of a broader push toward inclusive design — and it affects a lot more people than most realize.
“One in five people live with some form of disability,” Chisholm said. But “disability can also be situational.” He’s talking about real-world stuff: glare on your screen in sunlight, trying to interact with a site while holding a baby, or using navigation tools with limited vision.
In short, accessible design is just good design.
We’re already seeing the cracks in the current system. A recent Tenscope audit revealed that 94% of the top 1,000 U.S. websites fail basic accessibility standards. Travel sites performed the worst, often preventing users from doing the most basic things — like submitting contact forms or making purchases.
And regulators are paying attention. Earlier this year, Spanish airline Vueling was fined for failing to make its site accessible.
The EAA doesn’t mess around either. New products must already comply, while existing ones have until 2030 — plenty of time on paper, but not if you’re starting from scratch.
What’s next for DevAlly?
With the EU’s law in full swing and U.S. awareness picking up, DevAlly wants to position itself as the guide for companies navigating this patchwork of rules and expectations.
“Our goal is to act as a bridge to Europe for these U.S. companies,” said Chisholm. And with an estimated $8 trillion in disposable income tied to disabled consumers and their households, the business case is there.
Ultimately though, Chisholm believes accessibility upgrades benefit everyone. “Subtitles on Netflix? That’s a massive advancement for all kinds of users,” he said. “Good design is accessible design. That’s where we’re heading.”
And thanks to DevAlly’s fresh funding and growing footprint, that future might just arrive a little faster.
Keywords: accessibility law, European Accessibility Act, DevAlly, inclusive design, digital accessibility, EAA compliance, accessible websites, AI accessibility tools, startup funding, San Francisco tech, Dublin startups, usability standards, disability inclusion, website audits
