AN IRISH Technology Innovation Centre is to be established in Silicon Valley to promote high-potential firms from the North and South who could one day be future Nasdaq stars.
The new centre is one of a number of ambitious initiatives which the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) intends to roll out next year to create new global opportunities for technology companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The group also confirmed plans to set up a new venture capital fund, Irish Technology Capital (ITC), with a target value of $100 million (€66 million) to support emerging technology firms on both sides of the Border.
It intends that the ITC will have offices in Dublin and California. The group hopes to attract investors and funds from the US and Ireland and is also hoping to gain support for it from the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The ITLG was formed by an influential group of Irish-American and American business leaders who this week have staged a “Silicon Valley Comes to Ireland” event in Belfast.
During the two-day event, which was co-sponsored by The Irish Times, senior members of the ITLG have met with staff from technology businesses and government and political leaders.
The group has also held a series of intensive workshops with 12 selected firms from Northern Ireland and the Republic.
John Hartnett, chairman of the ITLG, said the event has showcased the best of emerging technology talent and has given these companies exposure to experienced Silicon Valley chief executives and potential venture capital investors.
“We are going to provide mentorship to these companies and help them access value-added funding. What we want to do is help these companies achieve scale, we want them to grow and become big players who could potentially be quoted on the Nasdaq one day,” Mr Hartnett said.
The ITLG yesterday unveiled the results of a survey of 140 start-up firms which suggests there are three key challenges facing Irish businesses today.
These are: “Finding funding, managing cash to extend runway and access to strategic customers.”
It also found that companies need to raise finance to access new customers and build scale. But they also wanted to raise money to invest in research and development.
