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Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Celebrating the ambition, drive and resilience of Enterprise Ireland's ‘Class of 2024' start-ups
The strong pipeline of innovative start-ups that have been emerging from our vibrant ecosystem are critical to Ireland's economic future, and last week Enterprise Ireland was proud to celebrate the 'Class of 2024' at our annual 'Start-Up Day Conference'. Enterprise Ireland invested €27.6m in Irish start-ups and supported a total of 157 start-up companies in Ireland last year, through its High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) and Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) programmes. The conference, held on Wednesday in Dublin's Aviva Stadium celebrated the ambition, drive and resilience of Enterprise Ireland's start-up 'Class of 2024'. The event welcomed over 600 delegates, which included investors and representatives from government departments, start-up accelerators and the 157 start-ups who received funding from Enterprise Ireland in 2024. These included 90 high-potential start-ups (HPSUs) – start-ups with the potential to create 10 jobs and turnover of at least €1m within three years of being founded. And 13 of these HPSUs emerged from academic research. Also among the start-ups receiving investment from Enterprise Ireland in 2024 were 69 start-ups which received investment from the Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF). Sixty-three of the start-ups supported in 2024 are outside Dublin, while close to a third are led by female founders. Of the 'Class of 2024', 25 were spun out of third-level institutions and 34 were supported through the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund Programme. And at the 2025 Start-up Day Conference, many of these (pre) spin-out ventures got to pitch their concepts and compete to win the Big Ideas Award, and to get the opportunity to participate in the prestigious Venture Connectivity Program at UC Berkeley in California. Patrick Cronin, of University of Limerick, was presented with the Big Idea's Award for the spin-out Oscil, an Enterprise Ireland commercialisation funded project, an innovative deep-tech technology operating at the intersection of Edge-AI and powder processing. It will initially target the pharma and dairy sectors. Oscil has developed a proprietary, ATEX-compliant sensor and edge-AI solution that enables real-time, in-line analysis of powder flow – addressing critical issues like sensor-fouling, yield-loss, and process downtime. A key objective in our new strategy 'Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally (2025-2029)' is to Accelerate Sustainable Irish Business, so that in time, exporting Irish companies will become the main driver of the economy. ADVERTISEMENT During this five-year strategy, we aim to support 1,000 new start-ups, and Enterprise Ireland is also undertaking a dedicated consultation process, engaging with the start-up ecosystem to understand their views on the supports available for early-stage companies in Ireland. Partnership and collaboration is pivotal for supporting early-stage businesses and founders, and Enterprise Ireland is committed to working with the entire enterprise ecosystem as strong collaboration will support Ireland's start-up community and future economy by building a world-class start-up nation. By supporting and strengthening our pipeline of early-stage companies with the potential to scale internationally, it will help to further Ireland's position as a global leader in entrepreneurship and innovation. To learn more about how Enterprise Ireland supports emerging entrepreneurs,see
Irish Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
Enterprise Ireland reveals it invested more than €27m in start-ups in 2024
ENTERPRISE IRELAND, the government agency responsible for the development and growth of Irish companies in global markets, has revealed it invested €27.6m in Irish start-ups in 2024. The body supported 157 start-up companies last year, with investment provided through its High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) and Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) programmes. The figures were announced today at Enterprise Ireland's annual Start-Up Day Conference at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with more than 600 delegates in attendance. Opening the conference, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, said: "Today is about celebrating the spirit of Irish entrepreneurship. "The strong pipeline of innovative start-ups emerging over the last three years demonstrates the extraordinary resilience and business ambition of Irish-founded start-up teams, particularly against the backdrop of a challenging global economic period." Last year marked the final year of Enterprise Ireland's three-year strategy, entitled 'Leading in a Changing World 2022-2024'. In that time, there were 266 HPSU and 213 Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) approvals, with more than €78m invested in the companies, half of which were based outside of Dublin. Start-ups supported by Enterprise Ireland in 2024 included 90 HPSUs with the potential to create 10 jobs and €1m in sales within three years of starting up and 13 HPSUs from academic research. Meanwhile, 45 start-up companies that were approved investment in 2024 were women-led, while 63 were based outside the capital. Exporting companies tipped to drive economy Today's Start-Up Day — the largest annual event on Ireland's start-up calendar — comprised hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders, bringing together companies from sectors including ICT, life sciences, fintech, food and sustainability. This year's conference included a pitching element, featuring top university (pre) spin-out ventures emerging from Enterprise Ireland's Commercialisation Fund. These teams will pitch their visionary concepts, competing for an award and the prestigious opportunity to participate in UC Berkeley's Venture Connectivity Program. Looking forward, enhancing the pipeline of innovative and scalable start-ups is a key objective of Enterprise Ireland's new strategy, 'Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally'. It has set a target to support 1,000 new start-ups over the five-year period from 2025 to 2029. "Start-up Day 2025 is a celebration of Ireland's strong and dynamic start-up community and the Start-Up class of 2024 have and will continue to play a significant role in contributing to the vibrancy of Ireland's start-up ecosystem," said Kevin Sherry, Interim CEO of Enterprise Ireland. "A key objective in our new strategy is to accelerate sustainable Irish business so that in time, exporting Irish companies will become the primary driver of the Irish economy. "As part of our plan, Enterprise Ireland is undertaking a dedicated consultation process by engaging with the start-up ecosystem on the supports available for early-stage companies in Ireland. "This aims to strengthen our pipeline of early-stage companies with the potential to scale internationally, furthering Ireland's position as a global leader in entrepreneurship and innovation." See More: Enterprise Ireland
