The Midlands is a growing centre for innovation and research, that’s according to Brian Caulfield, Chair of Scale Ireland, in his opening address to the Scale Ireland Regional Start-Up Summit in Athlone. Citing the recent announcement of a €200m investment at Ericsson in Athlone, Ireland’s largest Software Campus, and highlighting the many Midlands tech companies which are scaling globally, with a number of these speaking at the Summit, including Zinkworks, Mersus Technologies, IDASO, Scopey and Grey Scout, as well as the wealth of research and innovation emerging from event partner, Technological University of the Shannon.
The Midlands was chosen as the location for the 4th Annual Start-Up Summit, and coincided with the release of the Scale Ireland State of Start Up Survey which shows that access to funding continues to be the most important factor for scaling business in Ireland. Adoption of AI is strong and seen as a positive by the majority of respondents in the annual survey. Scale Ireland are Ireland’s largest support network for start-up companies and founders, working to support scaling companies through a regional approach and with a goal to keep them in Ireland and in the EU.
Start-Ups lighting the way in Ireland’s AI transformation
In a keynote address, Minister Peter Burke highlighted the need for certainty above all else in today’s world, with the Government Action Plan for Competitiveness working to support Ireland’s value proposition.
Head of Google Ireland, Vanessa Hartley, outlined the importance of start-ups to the tech eco-system in Ireland. Indigenous start-ups employ 50,000 people across the country, with the potential to grow this figure significantly given the right supports. The advent of AI is the next transformative shift in technology, however, when compared to the Internet or Mobile, these technologies pale into insignificance when it comes to the transformative power of AI. Start-ups are lighting the path in the field of AI and Ireland has the potential to become the preeminent AI nation in Europe, with start-up technology companies set to be the architects of our success.
Enterprise Ireland Head of Entrepreneurship, Regions & Local Enterprise, Carol Gibbons, welcomed the decision to locate this year’s Scale Ireland Summit in the Midlands, highlighting the importance of the region to Enterprise Ireland as a region which is in transition. Employment at Enterprise Ireland client companies in the region grow by 3% last year, with a strong focus on regional clusters which include Advanced Manufacturing, ICT, Engineering, Life Science and Food & Drink, and supported by the region’s 4 Local Enterprises Offices.
Midlands Start-ups take centre stage
The summit line-up of speakers and panellists was a perfect snapshot of the many scaling technology firms operating across the Midlands region.
Paul Madden, CEO of Athlone-based Zinkworks, and member of the Midlands ICT Network Steering Committee, highlighted how everything the company needs to scale is located here in the Midlands. Since being established in 2018, the company has grown to employ over 200 engineers and operates in markets across Ireland, Europe, the US, Australia and Japan. Their software development solutions are aimed primarily at the Financial Services and Telecoms sectors.
Geoffrey Allen of Mersus Technologies, highlighted the growth potential of virtual technologies, as the next frontier to the physical and digital worlds. Mersus Technologies Avatar Academy technology platform is having a transformative impact on areas such as training by using immersive VR/AR technologies for multinational clients. The company are demonstrating that developing technologies such as these in Ireland’s regions is possible, with the talent and supports available to develop technologies capable of global reach.
John Killian of GreyScout developed their business and technology platform at Athlone’s MIRC facility. Through the support of the Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers and HPSU programmes, the company has developed their business to employ 24 people with many global clients for their B2B SaaS brand protection technology which monitors eCommerce platforms for grey market and counterfeit goods.
Ian Kerr of Mullingar-based IDASO spoke of their technology which monitors and analyses traffic data to be used in the development of infrastructure projects for everything from bridges, to motorways, public realm and football stadiums. The company has grown to now employ 25 people in the Midlands, as well as a team of 5 in London and 2 in Antwerp.
Jenna Farrell of Longford-based Scopey offers project management solutions for businesses to speed up quoting and scoping, helping businesses turn work into structured, scalable services. The business operates from the Co:Worx hub in Edgeworthstown and is expanding their business from an initial focus on creative and design companies, aiming for growth through targeting engineering and construction industries.
Research-based innovation at regional universities
The final panel for the day was facilitated by Dr Gillian Barry, Head of Innovation & Enterprise Research, Development and Innovation and the region’s university, TUS. The panel highlighted the great potential of research-based HPSU’s, as being the type of start-ups which have the greatest potential. Ireland performs well in this field, however there is significant potential for growth to attract global talent to universities here. TUS has placed a strong emphasis on innovation, with their PhD entrepreneurship and start-up programmes attracting significant interest, with high potential start-up’s grounded in research offering the problem solving and future focused direction that is important when creating an ecosystem which nurtures and develops innovation and entrepreneurship.
