knowledge 15 October 2026 |

Startup Ireland: What the New Roadmap Means for Founders

Enterprise Ireland recently announced the official launch of Startup Ireland, a new and ambitious initiative seeking to promote Irish startups and scaleups.

This cross-government initiative, which focuses on empowering the next generation of Irish startups to start, scale and succeed from Ireland, will bring together agencies, investors, universities and the broader startup network to create a high-performance and founder-focused landscape for startups.

Enterprise Ireland’s launch of this initiative included the publication of a Startup Ireland Roadmap, setting out the initiative’s goals and means of delivery.

The Roadmap in Brief: Key Targets and Measures

Key elements of the Startup Ireland Roadmap are summarised below.

Startup Ireland Targets	Support the creation of 1,000 new startups in Ireland through equity investment Increase by 20% the number of startups reaching €1 million in turnover Increase the proportion of women-led startups supported by Enterprise Ireland in Ireland to 35% Support more than 10,000 entrepreneurs nationwide by 2030 Invest €150 million in direct early-stage funding Achieve 40% participation in Startup Ireland programmes by under-represented groups Overall, aim to strengthen Ireland’s position as a global innovation hub
National Startup Hub	Establishment of a National Startup Hub in Dublin, which will act as a meeting point for founders, investors and multinational companies and provide a venue for innovation summits. It will also provide access to innovation supports for startups, as well as networking and peer learning opportunities.
AI Accelerator programme	A specialist programme to be delivered by Dogpatch Labs, with the participation of investors and technology partners including Analog Devices, Anthropic, Amazon, Crusoe, ElevenLabs, Fin, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Stripe and Vanta. Participating startups to receive 12 weeks’ access to global technical expertise, helping them to develop and scale internationally.
National Accelerator Programme	Providing €100,000 pre-seed investment to accelerate growth and international expansion. Support of a dedicated Talent accelerator, who can provide support and guidance to individuals as they move from pre-company and pre-idea stage to pre-seed investment.
Digital platform and support services	Additional initiatives include: Startup Ireland AI-enabled digital platform to simplify the application process for founders. An online support service for founders through a dedicated website providing information and access to upcoming events and other relevant supports.

What This Means for Founders

As an ambitious step towards helping founders to access support, funding and international markets, the Startup Ireland initiative will be welcomed by founders and companies at all stages of their growth journey.

Our Emerging Companies / Venture Capital team has extensive experience helping founders navigate legal, regulatory and strategic challenges as they start and scale innovative new businesses, including the funding routes operated by Enterprise Ireland. We will continue to monitor the progress of the Startup Ireland initiative as it unfolds. Additional publications and briefings on topics of relevance to founders and startups can be found on our website.

Also contributed to by Erin Geoghegan.

This document has been prepared by McCann FitzGerald LLP for general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice. Such advice should always be taken before acting on any of the matters discussed.