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Rethink Ireland has launched the new €1.5 million Skills for Tomorrow Fund in collaboration with Deloitte Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. The fund will support innovative projects helping marginalised individuals and communities develop the skills they need to succeed in the future world of work. The fund will also support successful applicants to strengthen their impact through the practical and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Skills for Tomorrow will support up to nine organisations over 2.5 years, with cash grants ranging from €137,500 to €200,000. The fund comes at a time of shifting labour markets and rapid technological change, with increasing concern that individuals and communities already experiencing marginalisation risk being left further behind due to barriers to accessing education, training, digital literacy and employment opportunities. Applications are encouraged from projects and organisations focused on improving education and employment outcomes for marginalised groups including young people not in education, employment or training, long-term unemployed individuals, people with disabilities, minority ethnic communities, lone parents and those experiencing educational disadvantage. Launching the Skills for Tomorrow Fund, Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Rethink Ireland, said: "As the world of work continues to evolve, we need to ensure that people and communities already experiencing marginalisation are not further excluded from future opportunities. The Skills for Tomorrow Fund is about creating practical and inclusive pathways into employment, education and lifelong learning. "Through this fund, we want to support organisations that are already doing transformative work in communities across Ireland and help them scale their impact. We are also particularly excited to support successful applicants to explore how artificial intelligence can enhance and streamline the work they do every day." Welcoming the launch of the fund, Lorraine Griffin, Chairperson of Deloitte Ireland, said: "At Deloitte, we are proud to support this multiyear fund with Rethink Ireland. We understand that Ireland's future innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders will need new skills to meet tomorrow. Through the 'Skills for Tomorrow' fund, we are investing in innovative approaches that support education, digital skill development and training opportunities so more people have the opportunity to succeed in the modern economy. "As technology expands opportunity for those with access and skills, it can also reinforce barriers for those without. With the right support, more people can participate in and benefit from the future economy. Organisations serving communities are also facing rising demand and equipped with the right technology, they can do more and reach further." Reflecting on the impact of previous funding, Stuart Buchanan, Head of Advocacy & Impact at YMCA Dublin, an awardee organisation of Rethink Ireland & Deloitte's previous fund, said: "Funding like this can completely change what is possible for organisations working at community level. It allows us to reach people who often feel excluded from education, employment and digital opportunities and provide them with the confidence, skills and support they need to build better futures. "The long-term support from Rethink Ireland helped us grow our impact, strengthen our programmes and create meaningful opportunities for people who are too often left behind." The Skills for Tomorrow Fund is seeking applications from two strands, the first is organisations providing supports for young people; and the second is support for adults. Projects supported through the fund should demonstrate innovative and evidence-based approaches to future skills development, digital inclusion and workforce participation. Applications are now open and will close on 29 June 2026. Further information is available at https://rethinkireland.ie/current_fu...

Unit4, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for people-centric organisations, has launched international research commissioned from Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) examining the transformation challenges facing professional services firms. With 60% saying their work volumes will escalate and/or become more complex in the next 12 months, there is an urgent need to modernise business processes. However, firms face significant challenges to retrieve time lost to fixing operational inefficiencies and errors, which are leading to project delivery delays and teams having to work overtime. One group of global respondents indicates a possible way forward, as 33% say they are running their businesses on modern, integrated, cloud-based platforms, and therefore spend less time correcting errors. Compared to global averages these leaders in adopting cloud-native technologies experience less errors in finance reporting (leading firms: 29%; global average: 37%), and budgeting and forecasting (leading firms: 28%; global average: 36%). Firms in the US are the most advanced (36%) in adopting cloud-based systems, compared to Germany (22%) which has the lowest adoption. Business and Professional Services firms are the most advanced (43%) in embracing the cloud ahead of IT Services (36%). "Professional services firms are facing possibly the biggest inflection point in a lifetime as technology disruption and volatile economic conditions encourage clients to reevaluate their use of consulting expertise," said Donna Dobson, Director Professional Services, Unit4. "PAC's research shows why modernisation of core processes is giving leading firms an advantage in terms of productivity and reduction of time lost on manual processes and error correction. As competition heats up, firms understand that limiting the impact on their workforce is crucial to retaining talent and delivering projects more efficiently." 30% of respondents internationally admit to frequent or regular delays in project delivery due to operational inefficiencies, which rises to 34% among IT Services companies compared to only 25% of Business and Professional Services firms. The Nordics has the highest percentage (34%) admitting regular interruptions to project delivery, compared to 26% in Canada. The state of IT infrastructures could indicate a possible cause, as 66% admit relying on fragmented application environments and 19% even rely on multiple systems requiring manual work and spreadsheets – a figure that rises to 30% in Germany. As a result, it is no surprise that many teams complain of having to work additional hours citing a number of reasons including: 68% – monthly or quarter-close bottlenecks 59% – inconsistent data models 55% – outdated technology 47% are being forced to spend time correcting timesheets while teams must work overtime in areas like accounts reconciliation (37%), project cost & profitability management (37%), and project timeline management (36%). More than a quarter (28%) of client-facing specialists spend more than 30% of the working week completing administrative tasks rather than focusing on their core work. IT Services firms struggle most with overtime with 40% regularly needing to work beyond core hours to complete tasks such as timesheet management, budgeting & forecasting and accounts reconciliation. This is concerning, given that IT Services respondents are also the most likely to say their workloads are going to increase and/or become more complex in the next 12 months. "Many professional services firms are being pushed by clients to transform commercial models to better serve their needs, but this is only possible if firms embrace modern cloud-based systems," said Nick Mayes, senior consultant, PAC. "This will give them the agile, scalable foundations to deliver process automation and adopt AI tools, but it will require investment to optimise and integrate existing workflows so that companies have a single view of company-wide information....

There has been a recent surge in AI-generated online adverts promoting bogus state-backed investment schemes, according to FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), as consumers are warned to be on alert. The ads feature fake images or videos of high-profile politicians and businesspeople encouraging consumers to click a link to register for the scheme. This is the latest trend in an ongoing wave of investment fraud in recent years, particularly targeting people in their 50s who may be looking for investment opportunities ahead of retirement. New figures from An Garda Síochána show an increase of over 20% in reports of investment fraud in 2025 compared to 2024, with more than €20 million in losses. This upwards trend is continuing into 2026. Niamh Davenport, Head of Financial Crime with BPFI, said: "We are seeing a worrying rise in AI-generated online adverts featuring fake images and videos of well-known and trusted politicians and businesspeople. Fraudsters are exploiting recent news coverage of a planned state-backed savings and investment scheme to make their adverts appear legitimate. They often claim the scheme is open to everyone, but that places are limited and being 'snapped up' fast, in order to pressure people to act quickly. They typically promise guaranteed returns or a guaranteed monthly income. While these scams are targeted at people of all ages, recent trends show that many victims of investment scams like these are in their early 50s, often at a stage in their life where they are actively managing savings or making longer?term financial decisions for retirement." Describing how the scam works, Ms Davenport continued: "Most investment scams tend to follow a similar pattern. Consumers are encouraged to click on a registration link and asked to fill in a short form with their contact details to receive more information. They may then receive a call from a so-called 'financial advisor' urging them to make an immediate 'security deposit' to secure their place on the scheme. Once the victim is convinced and has authorised the payment, the criminal will quickly transfer the money through multiple accounts, often overseas, where it is then cashed out." Reports of investment scams to Gardaí rose by over 20% of in 2025 with over €20 million in losses Commenting on wider investment scam trends, Michael Cryan, Detective Superintendent at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau stated: "Reports of investment fraud in Ireland rose by over 20% in 2025 compared to 2024, with over €20 million in losses. This upwards trend is continuing into 2026. Individual losses can start anywhere from €250 on a crypto scam, but for bigger investment scams involving bonds and shares, it can start anywhere from €10,000 and can increase significantly beyond this. While the amounts may seem high, victims are not necessarily wealthy individuals. They are often ordinary people who have worked hard to build up a pension or savings and are looking for an opportunity to strengthen their finances ahead of, or during, retirement. We would urge everyone, particularly those aged over 50, to be alert to these scams and, if they believe they may have fallen victim to investment fraud, to contact their bank and An Garda Síochána immediately." FraudSMART partners with Age Friendly Ireland to raise awareness at community events Catherine McGuigan, Chief Officer, Age Friendly Ireland added: "These are very serious scams that can have a life-changing impact on victims. The best defence against these fraudsters is knowledge and Age Friendly Ireland is pleased to partner with FraudSMART to raise awareness at community events across the country in the coming weeks and months and help people recognise the warning signs. It is so important to pause, take time to check, and speak to someone you trust before responding to any unexpected offer. Importantly, people should not feel embarrassed if they are caught...

Increased R&D Tax Credit shows clear impact as companies prioritise research and innovation amid global uncertainty – IRDG & KPMG Report. Specific Innovation Tax Credit urgently needed to bridge structural gaps in Ireland's R&D competitiveness framework The 2026 Ireland Innovation Index report from IRDG and KPMG shows that Irish businesses are strongly committed to research, development and innovation (RDI), with fresh evidence that the Government's R&D tax credit is directly driving new investment, even as companies contend with geopolitical uncertainty, international tax changes and competitive pressures. The 2026 Ireland Innovation Index is the annual nationwide survey by the Industry Research & Development Group (IRDG) and KPMG. This fourth annual report gathered detailed responses from a record 587 companies who are actively engaged in innovation across Ireland. The findings show a significant boost in R&D activity arising from the R&D Tax Credit, which was increased from 30% to 35% in last year's budget. 69% of businesses say they have increased R&D spend over the past three years, while 77% expect to increase investment over the next three years. In relation specifically to the recent 5% uplift in the tax credit, 58% of companies surveyed said they are directing this additional incentive into existing R&D projects, while 57% say it will support entirely new R&D activity. A further 39% say the enhanced incentive will support them hiring or retaining dedicated R&D staff. The findings also show the importance of the R&D tax credit in attracting and maintaining R&D activity and jobs in Ireland, with over half (54%) of MNCs saying that, without the credit, 10% or less of their R&D would take place in Ireland. For context, in terms of actual numbers of companies availing of the incentive, the latest available Revenue figures (2023) showed 1,804 claimants – the highest figure since the credit was introduced in 2004. In 2023, 225 large companies received over €764 million in R&D tax credits, while a further €213 million in R&D tax credits was claimed by 1,579 SMEs. Companies claiming the R&D tax credit are also significant contributors to the Exchequer through corporation tax. In 2023, total corporation tax liabilities for all claimant companies were €10.53 billion, with €8.81 billion of that amount attributable to companies claiming in excess of €1 million of R&D tax credits. The report also highlights the increasing strategic importance of advanced technology in Ireland's innovation economy. AI and disruptive technology is now a priority for 67% of respondents over the next one to three years, up sharply from 45% in 2024. This is the largest movement recorded in any innovation priority category over the four-year life of the Index. 'Disruptive technology' is innovation that significantly alters established industries and markets. The trends in this area reflect a profound shift in how Irish businesses are approaching innovation, with artificial intelligence moving rapidly from experimentation to operational deployment, productivity enhancement and product development. Necessity for Specific Innovation Tax Credit The R&D Tax Credit remains a critical pillar of Ireland's competitiveness offering and continues to underpin significant investment decisions. However, many forms of modern commercially valuable innovation sit outside the traditional fields of science and technology, within which activity must fall in order to qualify. This tends to exclude innovation such as digital transformation, design-led innovation, advanced process innovation and business-model innovation, the report says. As a result, 71% of companies surveyed said a specific new Innovation Tax Credit would enable more innovative work to take place in Ireland, while a corresponding 67% believe it would support new product and service development. Almost half (45%) of respondents said an innovation tax credit would directly support increased IP creation and ...

By David Stephen There is a recent report on The Verge, The Pope isn't AGI-pilled, stating that, "On Monday, Pope Leo XIV unveiled an encyclical letter addressing the societal implications of artificial intelligence. The letter, titled Magnifica Humanitas, warned that the "use of AI is never a purely technical matter: when it enters processes that affect people's lives, it touches on rights, opportunities, status and freedom." Alongside him was Anthropic cofounder and interpretability team lead Christopher Olah, representing a partnership between the Catholic Church and one of the biggest players in AI." "The decision to partner with the Vatican was a strategic move by Anthropic, a company that's built its business on a carefully curated reputation of being a more trustworthy alternative than its competitors. Anthropic famously spent the last few months embroiled in a battle with the Pentagon over limits to military AI use, and a connection with another powerful institution could help bolster its status — and let it help shape future Vatican recommendations." "In the encyclical, the pope compared AI to the Tower of Babel, a structure he describes as "supported by a uniformity that eliminated diversity and that chose homogenization over communion.". The world must "avoid the 'Babel syndrome,'" he wrote: "the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language — even a digital one — can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance." In his reckoning, AI became not just a new technology, but a Biblical struggle. "The risk of dehumanization," he wrote, "is an ancient and ever-new temptation that today takes on a technical guise." The weight of those statements, not the technical specifics, is likely to be its lasting impact." Human Intelligence The first thing to care about, for humanity, in the era of artificial intelligence is human intelligence. Nothing is more important, even if artificial intelligence is 100% safe. Humanity is at a stage in civilization where the needs for productivity are the needs [mostly] for intelligence. If intelligence is supplied, productive tasks can be completed. This means that as much as artificial intelligence can do, in any given task, if it is good enough, consistent enough and affordable enough, it can stand-in for human intelligence. As artificial intelligence gets better, and human intelligence stays [say] static, there could be more displacement, or at minimum more competition — with machines. Already, among humans, with rising population and possibilities with learning, competition for opportunities are ferocious. It takes much more to get less than what was possible, for the same amount of knowledge, in the past. Now, machines have joined the race. The immediate enemies may appear to be corporations, profit, capitalism or whatever, but the ultimate enemy is actually the opacity of what human intelligence is, in the brain? What exactly is human intelligence? What are the types? How does it work? How can it be improved for problem-solving? What are the clear advantages over artificial intelligence, to map possibilities for competitiveness? What are the prospects of advancement for artificial intelligence and how can human intelligence be prepared against that? These questions are important because the vacuum with human intelligence is a risk in the AI era, where it is not just useful to blame AI as a blanket, but to ask the real question, and focus on the mind. For example, there were several eras of illegal drug trends across the world, opium, quaalude and so forth. Some of those were phased out or reduced, yet, addictions persisted. Till date, there is still no major model in neuroscience on addiction, how it works, what it is and so forth, that can be displayed to drive willpower. This should not be the case with human intelligence. Even with all that was complained about...

SD Worx Ireland, a leading payroll and HR solutions provider, has announced the results of new research which found that almost a quarter (22%) of employees in Ireland believe that their pay does not fairly reflect the work that they do. However, a far lower proportion (11%) of employers admit that they do not adequately compensate employees. Independent research from SD Worx, carried out by iVOX, surveyed 1,000 employees and 301 employers in Ireland as the deadline to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive into Irish law approaches on 7th June 2026. Under the new rules, employers will be required to adopt much stricter pay transparency, equal pay, and reporting practices. However, the Government has confirmed that Ireland will not meet this deadline to pass the Directive into national law. SD Worx's research shows that as the Directive approaches, some employers still have work to do; 24% of employees say they received a promotion without a pay increase last year. Meanwhile, employees admit that they can struggle to speak up about their entitlements. Less than half (45%) of workers feel comfortable discussing, or asking for, a pay increase. Of these, women (37%) are less likely thanmen (52%) to feel comfortable requesting a pay rise. The study found that, in many cases, employees do not know what their payment rights are and nearly a third (30%) are unaware of the EU Pay Transparency Directive or what it means for their rights. However, the majority of organisations in Ireland report that they are ready for its introduction. Some 68% say they have everything in place to comply with the new Directive, suggesting a lack of communication with their employees. As they prepare for the Directive, 69% of employers in Ireland – the highest proportion in Europe – say they are investing in greater pay transparency and 58% regularly review pay data to identify and address potential pay gaps. Nearly a quarter (23%) rank pay transparency initiatives such as pay gap analysis, clear payslips, and gaining employee insights among their top priorities for 2026. Many organisations are already making headway, with 24% of employers saying they currently offer pay transparency information such as pay ranges and salary bands to employees. Even so, one-in-10 Irish employees do not expect their organisation's pay transparency to improve in the coming years and 28% believe that there is a gender pay gap in their organisation. Eimear Byrne, Managing Director, SD Worx Ireland, said: "It's clear from our research that many employees in Ireland feel undervalued for the work that they put in, but are afraid to ask for what they are entitled to. The rollout of the EU Pay Transparency Directive should support employees in this regard by making conversations about pay increases easier, due to more transparent pay ranges. It's vital that workers feel encouraged and adequately recognised and rewarded in order to build a workforce that's motivated, productive, and engaged. "Not only this, but it will enable businesses to remain competitive in a crowded jobs market. Pay equity and transparency are playing an increasingly important role in attracting and retaining talent and, indeed, 73% of employees cited pay transparency as an important part of their decision to stay with or join an organisation. "Meanwhile, pay appears high on the agenda for employers too. Though Ireland will not meet the deadline to transpose the upcoming Directive into law, encouragingly, that hasn't stopped businesses from putting measures and processes in place to adhere to the new rules. However, it's concerning that a large proportion of employees do not know how the Directive will affect them, and communication from employers will be key to ensuring clarity and openness when it comes to payment rights." See more stories here. Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes ...

Irish procurement support company BidReview.ai has launched a new self-service AI platform designed to help businesses assess and improve tender submissions before they are submitted to buyers. The new online tool allows users to upload draft tender responses alongside Request for Proposal (RFP) or tender documentation and receive an AI-generated assessment of the submission, including indicative scoring and practical recommendations for improvement. The launch comes amid growing use of generative AI in tender writing and increasing concern among procurement professionals about the quality, accuracy and competitiveness of AI-generated submissions. Speaking following the launch, Tony Corrigan, Founder of BidReview.ai, said: "AI has made it dramatically easier for businesses to generate tender responses, but faster does not necessarily mean better. Buyers are now seeing higher volumes of submissions, many of which sound convincing but fail to properly address scoring criteria. Our platform is designed to give businesses an independent assessment of how competitive their submission actually is before it goes into the market." The platform provides users with feedback designed to help businesses identify weaknesses, improve scoring alignment, reduce internal review cycles and strengthen overall submission quality ahead of deadlines. The new self-service offering has been developed to complement BidReview.ai's existing procurement advisory services and respond to increasing demand from SMEs. Founded by procurement specialist Tony Corrigan, BidReview.ai was developed using analysis from more than 750 winning tenders and over 3,500 public sector competitions. Ireland's public procurement market is worth more than €21 billion annually, yet one in four competitions still receives one or zero bids. See more stories here. Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Microsoft has announced a series of updates at its Build 2026 conference, introducing a new platform for AI agents, seven new in-house AI models and a range of developer platform capabilities designed to support a new era of "ubiquitous intelligence". The company said the announcements are focused on enabling developers to build, deploy and manage intelligent systems with greater flexibility, control and security, while meeting enterprise requirements for governance and trust. Central to the updates is the new Microsoft Agent Platform, which allows developers to build agents using organisational context through Microsoft IQ, deploy them via Microsoft Foundry and access them across Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365. Microsoft said the platform is designed to reduce trade-offs between context and governance, security and speed, and between models and tools. Microsoft also announced that Microsoft IQ is now generally available across GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio, providing a unified context layer across enterprise and external data. New capabilities include Work IQ, which captures how work happens across Microsoft 365, organisational systems and external sources, and Web IQ, an AI-first web search stack announced at Build that delivers real-time grounding for agents. Alongside the platform, Microsoft unveiled a new family of seven in-house AI models, including MAI-Thinking-1, its first reasoning model optimised for complex, multi-step tasks. Additional models span image generation, transcription, voice and coding, reinforcing what Microsoft described as a multi-model ecosystem. The company also introduced new tools across the stack, including Microsoft Execution Containers, now in preview, which provide secure, operating-system-enforced sandboxes for agents. The Foundry Agent Service, also in preview, for cloud-scale managed agent deployment; and the GitHub Copilot app, in preview, which brings agent-driven development workflows to a native desktop experience. Beyond software development, Microsoft highlighted applications in scientific research through its Microsoft Discovery platform, which is now generally available as an enterprise AI solution for the full scientific workflow. The company also outlined progress in quantum computing with its next-generation Majorana 2 chip, citing significant improvements in qubit reliability and a path towards a scalable quantum system later this decade. Microsoft said these advancements aim to position developers at the centre of innovation in the AI era, giving them greater agency to build intelligent systems with enterprise-grade controls and trust. See more stories here.

By Phoebe Nieves & Simon Cocking. We look at The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, see more about this book here. This book comes at an interesting time, with a push back from some employers, HR departments and companies who feel that meeting the demands of employees have become too high. Initially when reading this book, we were wondering if there was an anti-woke agenda even being laid down here. Naturally in a period of flux and discourse between different generational needs, perspectives, and goals, it is a tricky path to navigate. Do new entrants have unrealistic expectations from what work should be offering them. At the same time, for employers, it can feel like the amount of time necessary to be expended, to get people up to speed, and delivering a suitable level of work done in return for renumeration offered, is seriously challenging. Jacob Morgan does a good job of finding a wide range of opinions and perspectives to help the reader navigate this challenging subject. The story of his own grandfather, newly arrived in the US, Georgian, barely speaking English, but clearly determined to work hard and return the faith in the first person who would hire him, is a smart, logical, and relevant anecdote. Immigrants are often some of the best hires, they want to work, have moved heaven and earth to even be in their new country, therefore they could be some of your best hires. It is unfortunate we live in a time where it is an easy, lazy, cheap trick to demonize those that look or sound different to us, when they may be a fantastic future asset to your company. Morgan aims to take through the nuances of how to find the best people people for your business, and to then continue to ensure there is value for all parties. Companies with the best retention rates are always to be looked at, and to also have an open door for returning ex-employees too, as they can then bring even more value. Therefore holistic attitudes and approaches can often bring more, and better value for the company and those who work for you, both now, in the past, and in the future. This was a thought provoking read, and one that will reward return visits too. More about the book here Organizations around the world have lost their way. It's time to get back to basics and focus on what really drives people and performance. In chasing talent, organizations have turned employee experience into an entitlement culture – lavishing perks without accountability, lowering standards in the name of empathy, and confusing short-term fixes with long-term solutions. The result? Performance suffers, leaders are scared to lead, and culture drifts. The 8 Laws of Employee Experience is a reset, a new framework to build a future-ready organization in an AI driven world. Best-selling author and professionally trained futurist Jacob Morgan shows that employee experience must return to its core: a value exchange where employees contribute, grow, and lead, and where organizations enable them to thrive. Based on over 100 CHRO interviews at companies like Verizon, Delta, Hilton, IBM,and LVMH, Morgan lays out eight unshakeable laws that form the new operating system for the future of work. This book isn't just about where we are today – it's about where employee experience is going over the next decade, and how leaders can design the future instead of being dragged into it. After reading this book you'll learn how to: Separate signal from noise in an era of trend-chasing with the STEEPLE methodology Discover the eight laws required to build a future-ready organization and how to implement them Use futurist frameworks like the Cone of Possibilities to map out multiple employee experience scenarios Conduct a future-ready audit to see where your company stands today and where it must go next Explore the five potential futures of employee experience and how to steer your organization towards the right one Challenge the myth that employee experience is about making people happy Combining...

TechIreland has released its Irish Startup Funding Review 2026 Edition, a report of startup fundraising activity in 2025. The report shows that 319 Irish startups raised a total of €992 million last year. Since the highs of 2021, annual fundraising now appears to have settled at around the €900m–€1 billion mark, with the 2025 total up just €14m compared to 2024. In terms of the number of companies raising funding, there was also a slight uptick from 2024, when 307 companies raised funding. Early-stage activity remained notably strong – primarily attributed to Enterprise Ireland's PSSF and HPSU supports. A record 211 companies raised up to €1 million while data also reveals that there is an ongoing challenge in scaling into Series A and beyond, where momentum continues to lag. As in previous years, a small number of large outliers skewed the total figure. The top four companies: Lets Get Checked (€150m), XOCEAN (€115m), Tines (€114m), and ProVerum (€73m), accounted for nearly half of all funding raised. Furthermore, the majority of large rounds were concentrated in Q1, which alone accounted for €616m raised – a record high for any quarter over the last ten years. This, however, reveals a more concerning picture for the following three quarters, in which fundraising activity sharply cooled, with just €376m raised over the remainder of the year. Deep Dive into 2025 A standout first quarter saw 69 Irish companies raise €616m, making Q1 2025 one of the strongest quarters on record for Irish startup funding. However, funding levels flattened significantly during the remaining quarters, with a combined funding total of only €376m, across 250 startups, underlying a weakened momentum after Q1. The findings align with new figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey, published in association with William Fry, which show that Irish technology SMEs raised €221.7m in venture capital in Q1 2026, a fall of 58% compared with the same period last year. IVCA noted that the decline should be viewed in the context of an exceptionally strong Q1 2025, when Irish firms raised more than half a billion euro – a record for a first quarter. Early Stages Early-stage funding activity reached an all-time high in 2025, with 211 companies raising rounds below €1m. This was largely driven by Enterprise Ireland, including the 198 startups announced at the StartUp Day 2026. Despite the strength of early-stage activity, the report identifies ongoing weakness in follow-on and scale-up funding. The number of €1-5m rounds increased to 58 However, €5-30m rounds declined to pre-2019 levels Large growth rounds above €30m remained relatively stable, though most were concentrated in Q1 Findings suggest that while Ireland continues to generate new startups at scale, access to follow-on capital is becoming increasingly competitive. The IVCA's Q1 2026 data suggests that these pressures are continuing into the new year. IVCA reported that funding declined across all deal-size bands except transactions of less than €1 million. The report also notes that just four outlier deals accounted for 46% of all funding, showing the extent to which headline totals remain dependent on a small number of large rounds. Sectoral Focus Life Sciences retained its position as the strongest-funded sector in Ireland during 2025, accounting for more than half of total funding. Major rounds included LetsGetChecked, ProVerum, Deciphex and Perfuze. Enterprise Software and FinTech followed as the second and third strongest sectors, both performing better than in the previous two years. Several of the year's largest rounds reflected Ireland's growing reputation in deep tech, AI, medtech, and robotics. Enterprise Ireland also notes growing momentum in AI-enabled solutions, with 99 of its supported startups in 2025 incorporating AI as a central part of their product or service. The report also notes a sharp decline in Energy/CleanTech funding, falling from €328m in 2024 to €...

Running a business in Ireland is expensive. Energy bills are one of the biggest overheads for businesses across the country, and the building you operate from has more impact on those bills than most business owners realise. New research from Procure.ie analysed at 80,526 non-domestic building energy ratings (BER) published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which measures the energy performance of commercial and public buildings such as offices and warehouses across Ireland between 2009 and 2025, to find out which counties are leading the way. Counties were then ranked by how many of their buildings achieved an A rating, the highest score a building can get. Kildare came out on top by a landslide, with 7% of its buildings (235 out of 3,355) rated A. That's almost double the national average of 3.6%. The county has become a hub for modern, energy-efficient commercial development, with planners recently approving a €3 billion data-centre campus by Herbata at Naas, and Kildare's pharma and semiconductor sites being built to high standards. Three counties share second place, each with 5% of their commercial buildings A-rated. County Dublin leads the trio with 296 out of 5,915 buildings achieving an A rating. Meath follows with 134 out of 2,672 buildings A-rated. The new 21,000 sq ft Thrive Centre of Business Excellence opened in September 2025, offering dedicated climate action services and adding to the county's growing reputation for energy-smart business. Westmeath completes the joint second-place trio, also at 5% (84 out of 1,684 buildings). In September 2025, Westmeath County Council signed contracts to upgrade its three biggest buildings (Áras an Chontae in Mullingar, the Civic Centre in Athlone, and Athlone Regional Sports Centre) to high energy-efficiency standards. Ballymore Group has also announced plans for a new sustainable town in Athlone, designed for 100,000 residents by 2040, with 90% of its energy coming from renewables. Longford (4.1%) and Laois (4%) rank in third and fourth place respectively, showing that even smaller counties can make a massive impact. Longford County Council received €793,822 from the EU Just Transition Fund to develop the Longford Enterprise and Energy Centre, and Laois County Council recently signed a multi-million-euro funding agreement with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to retrofit buildings across the Midlands. The Rebel County rounds out the top five, with 291 out of 7,263 commercial buildings achieving an A rating. Cork has more commercial buildings in this dataset than any county outside Dublin, and it is one of Ireland's biggest business counties for a reason. Pharma, tech, and manufacturing companies have all planted roots there. At the other end of the list, Limerick City has the highest proportion of G-rated commercial buildings in the country at 17%, making it the worst-performing county in Ireland. Kilkenny and Sligo are not far behind at 16%, with Louth and Monaghan following at 14%. A lot of this comes down to older heritage buildings and ageing warehouses along the Dublin-Belfast route. For more information and to view the full research, please visit: https://www.procure.ie/irelands-most-energy-efficient-counties/ Procure.ie analysed 80,526 non-domestic BER audits by county, published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), covering everything from offices and warehouses to hotels, schools, hospitals and shops across Ireland between 2009 and 2025, to find out which counties are the most energy efficient. About Procure.ie Procure.ie are Ireland's largest business utility consultants, specialising in providing strategic guidance and solutions to businesses across the country. Procure.ie offers comprehensive services ensuring you get the best deal across energy and merchant services. See more breaking stories here. Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantasti...

Iaros Belkin and Philip Cripe reporting on Istanbul Blockchain Week 2026. Istanbul has never been just a city. Straddling two continents, it has always been a place where civilisations collide and deals get made. This week, that same energy filled the Hilton Bomonti Hotel as Istanbul Blockchain Week returned for its fifth edition from June 2-3, 2026. And the city was still buzzing from something else entirely. Just three days before the first panel kicked off, Kanye West drew an estimated 118,000 fans to Atatürk Olympic Stadium in one of Europe's biggest concerts in years. It was a record breaking spectacle organised by Access Opera, ILS Vision, and Backstage Global. With concerts cancelled or blocked across the UK, France, Poland, and Switzerland, Istanbul emerged as the tour's 2026unlikely but triumphant launchpad. The city had just made global headlines, and the Web3 crowd arrived into that afterglow. Istanbul was not just hosting a blockchain conference. It was having a moment. IBW 2026 arrived at a point when the crypto industry is moving away from speculative narratives and returning to infrastructure, liquidity, interoperability, and sustainable business models. That shift was clear on the conference floor. Gone were the moonshot promises of earlier bull cycles. In their place were serious conversations about financial architecture, compliance frameworks, and what actually scales. A breath of fresh air for those of us that have been in web 3 through ups and downs. The backdrop matters enormously here. According to Chainalysis, Türkiye leads the Middle East and North Africa's largest cryptocurrency market, recording nearly $200 billion in annual on-chain transactions, almost four times that of the UAE. This is not a country just discovering crypto. It is one where digital assets have become an economic necessity for millions navigating currency volatility and inflation. IBW 2026 was positioned to foster meaningful connections between startups, incumbents, and policymakers seeking pragmatic insights and collaborations. The program reflected that ambition. Attendees moved through fireside chats, panels, roundtables, workshops, and hands-on sessions covering real-world asset tokenisation, AI agents, privacy, stablecoins, DeFi security, layer-2 scaling, cross-chain liquidity, and regulatory compliance. Running alongside the main summit were BlockDown Festival, DeFAICon Istanbul, the RWA Builders Summit, DealFlow Den, and IstanHack, each serving a distinct corner of the ecosystem, from experienced investors to hackathon developers building late into the night. IBW 2026 brought together 5,000+ projects, 1,700+ influencers, 200+ media outlets, and 300+ international speakers, with past editions welcoming over 20,000 total attendees. Not a niche gathering. But a top tier event that any serious Web3 operator, whether based in Dublin, Dubai, or Denver, needs on their radar. What sets IBW apart from the Brussels or Singapore circuit is the regulatory dimension. Turkey's government has been actively shaping crypto legislation, and having policymakers in the same rooms as founders and VCs accelerates the kind of alignment the industry needs. The institutional track, run as a closed-door forum, brought together asset managers, exchanges, and infrastructure providers to work through the hard questions around custody, capital formation, and compliance: the unglamorous plumbing that determines whether Web3 actually crosses into the mainstream. For European builders and investors, Istanbul represents something increasingly rare: a high-growth market with genuine retail adoption, government engagement, and a young, technically literate population. IBW founder Erhan Korhaliller said in his welcome speech that the goal was to make this edition "bigger, bolder and more impactful than ever." By all accounts, the city delivered. With a little help from 118,000 Kanye fans who reminded the world, just days earlier, that Istanbul knows how to p...

Greenvolt Next, part of Greenvolt Group, a leading specialist in renewable energy solutions for the commercial and industrial sector, has announced the creation of 90 new jobs – 50 of which will be based at its Waterford headquarters. Over the next 12 months, the company will be recruiting mid-level to senior managers to support its operations in Ireland and the UK. Roles will include project engineers, senior project engineers, project managers and site managers. These new positions are part of a significant investment into the company's expansion, talent acquisition strategy and future growth plans. This funding will also go towards the further development of Greenvolt Next's existing Waterford HQ, which is being increased by 2176 sq ft and will be equipped with the latest technologies. In turn, the expanded team will enable Greenvolt Next to deliver more large-scale projects, supporting developers and landowners in advancing renewable assets, while meeting the increasing demand for green energy solutions in the Irish and UK markets. As an organisation, Greenvolt Next supports businesses with their renewable energy transformations. It is responsible for some of Ireland's largest and most innovative renewable energy projects, including Sanofi Waterford solar farm. It also works with leading retailers including Lidl, Aldi and Tesco. Over the next three years, Greenvolt Next forecasts significant increase in revenue following accelerated market growth. This will be driven by the rising demand for sustainable and renewable energy, as well as requirements around CSRD reporting. Specifically, the organisation anticipates growing demand for solar panel installations and battery storage projects over the next 12 months. In 2025, Greenvolt Next reduced customer CO2 emissions by 30,000 tonnes, with a further reduction of 150,000 tonnes of CO2 projected over the next three years as demand for renewable energy soars. Owen Power, CEO of Greenvolt Next Ireland & UK, commented: "Our success to date has been driven by our ability to deliver the most reliable and cost-effective energy solutions to customers, underpinned by unmatched resources and expertise. Looking to the future, which will only see greater demand for such projects, we want to continue making a tangible impact for businesses and the environment. "That means investing in operations, growing the team and innovating for customers. As well as marking the next stage in our own journey, this will allow us to make renewable energy easy for more organisations across Ireland and the UK. In turn, they will not only be more sustainable but also more successful." Greenvolt Next operates within a dynamic and agile environment. As a growing international Group also focused on Utility-Scale and Sustainable Biomass projects, Greenvolt Next offers opportunities for professional development, enabling people to contribute to projects with tangible impact, supporting the advancement of the energy transition. To apply for available roles at Greenvolt Next – https://next.greenvolt.com/ie/careers/ See more stories here.

A visit to TeraWulf's Lake Mariner campus reveals how AI infrastructure is evolving far beyond the traditional data centre Standing beside the former Somerset coal-fired power station on the shores of Lake Ontario, it was difficult to miss the scale of what is now taking shape. (See photo above of the Lake Mariner facility under construction). Construction crews were working across the Lake Mariner campus, where TeraWulf is transforming a site once associated with coal-fired electricity generation, and later bitcoin mining, into a major AI and high-performance computing facility. One of the largest buildings currently under development, known as CB-4, spans approximately 330,000 square feet, equivalent to more than four full-sized football pitches under one roof. The site was one of several stops during a Schneider Electric-hosted visit to Buffalo, New York examining the infrastructure emerging around large-scale AI computing. While much public discussion focuses on AI software and increasingly powerful processors, the visit highlighted something less visible: the industrial infrastructure now being built to support the next generation of AI systems. Lake Mariner's story is also one of industrial regeneration. Rather than developing a completely new location, TeraWulf is repurposing an established industrial site, reusing land, transmission infrastructure and grid connections already associated with power generation. The company has stated that its operations are powered predominantly by zero-carbon electricity, drawing on hydroelectric and nuclear generation available through New York State's electricity system, alongside solar generation currently under development on site. During a tour of the campus, Sean Farrell, COO of TeraWulf, described a project being delivered at remarkable speed. Around 1,600 people are involved across engineering, construction and specialist trades. "We work around the clock," Farrell said. According to Farrell, facilities that once took years to deliver are now being brought online in less than 12 months. The speed of development was one of the most striking aspects of the visit. Walking around the site, it became clear that this was no longer simply a story about data centres. Alongside the buildings themselves were substations, transformers, cooling systems, power distribution equipment and extensive electrical infrastructure. Having toured Lake Mariner, I asked Robert Bunger, Global Director of Data Centre Solution Architecture at Schneider Electric, whether the industry had reached a point where access to power, cooling and grid capacity now matters as much as constructing new facilities. Bunger's answer was immediate. "Scale, capacity and grid capacity," he said. "Absolutely." The response reflected much of what visitors had seen throughout the day. The challenge facing operators is no longer simply creating more data centre space. It is securing enough power, cooling and supporting infrastructure to keep pace with rapidly growing AI workloads. Speed is also becoming a critical factor. Throughout the visit, Farrell, and later Bunger, returned to the challenge of delivering infrastructure quickly enough to meet demand. The issue is no longer limited to buildings. Power equipment, cooling systems, specialist engineering expertise and supply chain capacity all have to be available at the right time. Facilities that once took years to deliver are now expected in months. For operators competing to support AI customers, the ability to deploy infrastructure rapidly is becoming a competitive advantage in its own right. One of the questions I put to Bunger concerned the growing industry discussion around 800 VDC and new high-density power architectures. Was this simply another technical trend, or evidence that traditional data centre electrical architectures were no longer sufficient for AI-scale workloads? Bunger's answer suggested the latter. "The need to change the way we're doing things from a ...

Pictured at the launch of the report, "Digital Infrastructure for the Future We Want", were Darren Maher, Managing Partner, Matheson LLP, Jim Power, Amárach Research, Minister of State Timmy Dooley, Michelle Wallace, Interim CEO, Digital Infrastructure Ireland and Maurice Mortell, Chairperson, Digital Infrastructure Ireland. An economic study on the data centre industry has revealed the critical role the centres play in Irish corporate tax windfalls and in the €107.5 billion in taxes paid here by the ICT industry. The study by economist Jim Power and statistician Gerard O Neill from Amárach Research has also sounded a warning bell that the ongoing limitations on the development of datacentres are now posing a considerable risk to Ireland's attractiveness as a location for foreign direct investment. Speaking at the launch of the report, Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, Timmy Dooley, said: "Ireland's data centre ecosystem is and will continue to be a critical driver of national economic performance, underpinning high?value sectors, foreign direct investment, digital competitiveness, operational resilience, and export growth, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs." Maurice Mortell, Chairperson of Digital Infrastructure Ireland added: "Ireland has a long history of attracting investment and has positioned itself as one of Europe's leading locations for digital infrastructure. Sustaining Ireland's taxes and its role as a leading investment hub requires a National Digital Strategy that integrates digital infrastructure, energy, planning and industrial policy to support long term competitiveness. The Government's announcements must now translate into tangible actions. With a renewed approach, Ireland can lead the next generation in developing sustainable, high performance digital infrastructure – but delivery is essential. The reality is that considerable taxation is paid where IP assets are located and this has been instrumental to the strong growth in corporation tax revenues since 2015. The risk is that if data centres are going to be built in other locations, because they cannot be built in Ireland, the IP assets could follow the data centres, with very negative implications for Irish corporation tax revenues. Ireland is losing business and global companies are moving their investment pipelines elsewhere." The study, "Digital Infrastructure for the Future We Want", says there has been €18 billion in investment from Ireland's data centre ecosystem, spanning across 105 facilities and 35 operators. It finds that the economic significance of data centres is greater than the direct employment they create and the vital element of critical infrastructure that they provide. "Data centres are essential for the Government's AI and digital strategy, the modernisation of the public sector and the indigenous business economy," the report notes. "Ireland has a high dependence on foreign-owned companies in terms of employment, corporation and income tax receipts, and general economic activity. Given this high level of 'concentration risk' there is considerable pressure on Ireland to preserve its status as a good country in which to do business. That is now under considerable pressure," the authors say. The report highlights that a lot of global intellectual property is stored in Ireland and is a major contributor to tax revenues. "Many of the largest corporations in Ireland are in high-tech industries like pharmaceuticals or information technology that rely heavily on IP. Unlike a building or a machine, it is very easy to move Intellectual Property into or out of a country. There is a lot of Intellectual Property held in Ireland. Some of it has been produced here, while much is imported between different arms of the same multinational corporation." "The location of IP in Ireland makes a significant contribution to exports of goods and services from Ireland. In 2024, exports of computer services...