Ninth Level Ireland

“Specialist technology investor Atlantic Bridge has announced a €80 million investment fund for high-potential start-ups emerging from Irish universities. Enterprise Ireland has contributed €20 million to the fund with the aim of supporting the creation of more than 1,000 jobs over the next five years through the commercialisation of third-level research …” (more)

[Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 12 May]

“Professors Luke O’Neill and Matt Cooper will share a windfall of up to €26m following the sale of the healthcare business they co-founded just four years ago …” (more)

[Ellie Donnelly, Independent, 22 September]

“Maggrow, the Dublin-based pioneering agricultural technology company has raised €6m in series A funding to hire new recruits and develop its patented crop spraying equipment for potential use in making irrigation, sanitisation and fruit and vine growing more efficient and environmentally sustainable …” (more)

[John Reynolds, Independent, 6 August]

“An Irish company that can trace food from farm to fork using animal DNA – helping to eliminate fraud and contamination – has been sold for €50m. IdentiGEN was set up in 1996 as a Trinity College campus spin-out by scientists Ciaran Meghen and Ronan Loftus. They still lead the business and are among shareholders set to benefit from the sale. Taxpayers are set to gain too through the Enterprise Ireland-backed MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland …” (more)

[Shawn Pogatchnik, Independent, 6 August]

“Volograms, a start-up that is developing technology which can record footage of real people and then use this to create a dynamic 3D hologram of them for use in a wide range of content, including on social media, has raised €1.5 million in funding …” (more)

[Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 29 July]

“UCD spinout drug company Atxa Therapeutics, which is developing novel therapies that tackle a deadly heart condition, is seeking to raise $30 million to bring its treatment through clinical trials and secure regulatory approval …” (more)

[Ciarán Hancock, Irish Times, 27 July]

“Seqbiome, a new University College Cork (UCC) biotech spinout officially launched today, will provide firms with insight into how food and ingredients interact with the most microscopic organisms in our digestive systems …” (more)

[Shawn Pogatchnik, Independent, 24 July]

“The €80m sale of Cork based PrecisionBiotics is set to benefit shareholders including University College Cork (UCC), Enterprise Ireland and dozens of private investors alongside top executives at the probiotic gut health company …” (more)

[Donal O’Donovan, Independent, 25 June]

“All colleges and universities are to be questioned over their links to spin-off companies involving members of staff amid concerns over financial issues surrounding some firms. The Dáil’s public accounts committee has agreed to take the step after discussions between it, Cork Institute of Technology, the University of Limerick and Waterford Institute of Technology …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 30 May]

“Danalto, a Trinity College Dublin spin-out focused on internet of things (IoT) services and technologies, has raised €750,000 in seed funding. The company specialises in deploying flexible IoT solutions based on the low power wide area network (LPWAN) technology standard, which allows long range communications at a low bit rate among connected objects such as sensors …” (more)

[Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 20 December]

“Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) retained less than €1 million from the €65 million sale of a spin-out company developed on its campus, according to a special report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). The report also raises concerns over the WIT’s governing body’s lack of oversight of the sale, including issues such as changes to the institute’s equity stake and conflicts of interest involving senior staff members …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 13 November]

“More than 160 University College Cork employees earned average payouts of €3,400 for contributions to a campus tech firm that sold to a Facebook subsidiary. The value of the 2016 purchase of spinout company InfiniLED by virtual technology company Oculus has also emerged as being well over €20m. UCC records show it got an initial payment of €1.659m for its 12.6% share in InfiniLED, which developed low-energy LED lighting at the university’s Tyndall National Institute research centre …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 16 March]

“An independent review into the sale of intellectual property by third-level colleges has found weaknesses in the way conflicts of interest among research staff are managed in the sale of lucrative spinout companies. The review was prompted by concerns raised at the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee last year over potential conflicts of interest in this sector, particularly where research staff are also shareholders in companies that end up being sold for large sums of money …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 February]

“The President of Waterford Institute of Techonology has insisted that procedures surrounding conflicts of interest were adhered to when it came to the sale of the IT spin out company FeedHenry …” (more)

[WLR FM, 6 April]

“The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has been urged to investigate whether there are conflicts of interest among senior staff across third-level colleges who are shareholders in spinout companies. It follows concerns raised by Sinn Féin deputy David Cullinane at the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday surrounding the sale of a company co-located at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 29 March]

“A review is being undertaken by Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) into arrangements relating to spin-off research companies based there. The situation was outlined at the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, which heard that the Department of Education expects to hear shortly about the findings …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 24 March]

“A UCD spinout co-founded by two Dublin brothers is forecasting sales of €20m next year. MagGrow was founded by serviced apartment firm entrepreneurs Gary and David Wickham, who have developed a promising crop-spraying technology …” (more)

[John Reynolds, Independent, 18 December]

“Irish Pharmaceutical firm APC Ltd is set to nearly triple its workforce over the next two years after opening a new research facility in Dublin …” (more)

[BusinessETC, 15 February]

“The University of Limerick has outlined its ambitions to increase their number of spin-out companies by 25% over the next five years …” (more)

[Anne Sheridan, Limerick Leader, 12 January]

“Ireland’s campus incubation centres house our brightest and best, who are all working on the Next Big Thing in science, tech and engineering. Simon Rowe investigates what they do and profiles the top 10 spin-outs set to conquer the world …” (more)

[Simon Rowe, Independent, 15 November]