Exploring the Irish Innovation- and Startup-Ecosystem

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Ireland’s Innovation- and Startup-Ecosystem

Last week I reported on the Dublin Tech Summit. When I was in Dublin, I took a closer look at the Irish startup and innovation ecosystem…

Ireland, including the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is (according to DealRoom) home to around 4,500 tech startups and scaleups ???? Irish startups have consistently raised an average of €1.3 billion in annual funding. The centre of the Irish startup and innovation ecosystem is clearly Dublin. In the recently published ‘Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024’ by Eli David Rokah and his team at StartupBlink , Dublin ranks 54th globally and 12th in Europe (the next city in the global ranking is Cork at position 314).

During the Dublin Tech Summit , TechIreland announced a collaboration with DealRoom to create a dedicated Irish startup ecosystem space. It's interesting and inspiring to surf through this space and see the different Irish startups (check it out yourself). Dealroom has interesting data in general. However, much of the data and searches are behind a paywall. Unfortunately, the prices for the subscriptions are extremely expensive. I once asked whether there was free access for students, startups or educators, but unfortunately not.

According to Dealroom Ireland hosts over 350 specialized research centers, innovation/ startup hubs, and startup coworking spaces that contribute to cluster development and the creation of innovative startups. I had two innovation hubs on my list that I wanted to visit in Dublin: The ‘Guiness Enterprise Centre’ and ‘Dogpatch Labs’, but only made it to Dogpatch Labs.

Dogpatch Labs , located in the historic CHQ Building in Dublin, is home to over 250 startups. The space has expanded to almost 40,000 square feet (about 3700 square meters) across three levels, enhancing its ability to serve the tech community. The CHQ building was built in 1820 as a wine and tobacco warehouse and has vaults where wine was stored. These historic vaults in the basement are now a great venue, equipped with its own bar and ideal for networking and events. By the way, the startup inspeq ai , which won the startup pitch at the Dublin Tech Summit (read more here), is also located in the Dogpatch Lab. Thanks for the opportunity to visit Dogpatch Labs Conor Burke & Heather Morris ??????

Many global tech giants, such as Google, Microsoft, Meta (formerly Facebook), Amazon, and Apple, have established their European Headquarters in Ireland, reinforcing its status as a tech hub. In conversations with people in the startup scene, I've heard that this is also a challenge, as a lot of tech talent is being absorbed by these large corporations. On the other hand, the local tech community is connected to the world's leading tech players. This can also be fruitful, as the case of Fonoa shows. Fonoa was founded by former Uber employees who encountered challenges with global tax compliance. With Fonoa they are solving this problems… heck, when I think about it, this is a really good problem to work on… even I experienced it myself at one of my startups and with a small team and limited budget it is very hard to solve. Global taxes are a tough nut to crack, and it is a “problem” that is here to stay, or as the one of the Fonoa founders puts it:

“Death and taxes: they never go away” - Founder Davor Tremac from Fonoa.

Fonoa, founded in 2019 in Dublin, now has a valuation between $240 million and $360 million according to Dealroom. In 2022, they raised $60 million to support their global expansion.

A Personal update…

Exploring Dublin

While being in Dublin I had the chance to visit the “Kilmainham” Prison and I learned about the Great Famine. Not so much a fun fact, but rather an unbelievable one: The youngest prisoner at Kilmainham Gaol was a five-year-old boy who was imprisoned for stealing food during the famine. The Great Famine, also known as the Potato Famine (1845-1852), led to a massive food shortage and a drastic population decline in Ireland. Before the famine, Ireland's population was about 8.5 million. Due to the potato crop failure, around one million people died from hunger and disease, and another two million emigrated, mainly to North America and Britain, to escape the hardship. These events caused a significant demographic shift and permanently reduced Ireland's population. Today, Ireland's population is about 5 million ???? Without the Great Famine, it is estimated that Ireland would have around 30-40 million inhabitants (according to my tour guide and it seems plausible to me, as England had about 16 million inhabitants in 1845 and has grown to 56 million today). The impact of the great famine is therefore not to be underestimated and can still be clearly observed today, #MadeMeThink ??

Below you will find a few more pictures from my exploration tour through Dublin. By the way, you can find all the high quality images and more on my own website MadeMeThink.xyz ???? Subscribe there and don't miss a thing.

Startup Vorarlberg

Last week was significant for the startup ecosystem in my region Vorarlberg. Embracing the idea that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts", various support organisations in the regional startup ecosystem joined forces to form "Startup Vorarlberg" ?? ??

Our universities startup-centre, the "startupstube", which I co-founded with Dr. Dr. Magdalena Meusburger 7 years ago, is now part of Startup Vorarlberg. We are convinced that we can achieve more together and look forward to working more closely as a team ?? ?? (see picture below with Marco Tittler , Bernhard ?lz , Wilfried Hopfner , Thomas Gabriel , Lara Bechter and me; if you are from the region, subscribe to the Startup Vorarlberg Newsletter to stay up to date).

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Disclaimer: The thoughts published in this publication are my personal opinion and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation for any type of action. I am not a financial expert. The startups, organizations or corporates highlighted in this publication have caught my interest. This mention is not an endorsement or recommendation to engage with them. Readers should always do their own research.