According to Scale Ireland, 82pc of Irish start-ups and scale-ups are deploying or preparing to deploy AI, while 83pc believe it will impact their business positively.
Access to funding continues to be the single biggest challenge for more than half of Irish start-ups and scale-ups according to a recent Scale Ireland report.
After reaching out to 340 founders and CEOs in Ireland, the not-for-profit that represents tech start-ups found in its latest State of Start-ups Survey 2024 that 50.3pc of respondents considered funding to be the biggest challenge, slightly down from 51.6pc last year.
Meanwhile, cost of doing business – identified as the second biggest challenge – is now at 16.2pc, up from 12pc last year. This coincides with a drop in the number of respondents identifying staff recruitment and retention as a problem, at 13.2pc compared to 16.9pc last year.
Scale Ireland chair Brian Caulfield said that the survey demonstrates the “challenging investment landscape” facing start-up and scaling companies and the need to attract more private investment into the sector.
“It also highlights the complexity of many state supports so this year’s consultation by Revenue to simplify such schemes is very welcome,” he said at the organisation’s third Regional Start-up Summit in Limerick today (22 February).
One area of interest that has seen major growth over last year is artificial intelligence. According to the survey, 82pc of Irish start-ups and scale-up are deploying or preparing to deploy AI, while 83pc believe AI will have a positive impact on their business. Nearly one in two respondents also believe that AI will increase productivity and 17pc believe it will increase market growth.
“Our findings are very clear on the potential of AI,” said Scale Ireland CEO Martina Fitzgerald.
“The founders and CEOs of Irish tech start-up and scaling companies are embracing AI in a big way. The vast majority of respondents are overwhelmingly positive about its potential and believe it will have a big impact on their businesses.”
The survey also showed that nearly four in five start-ups and scale-ups believe that the 5pc increase in the R&D tax credit announced in the latest Budget will have a positive impact, while 58pc believe the reduced CGT rate for angel investors will have a reasonably positive or big impact.
According to Scale Ireland, there are currently more than 2,200 indigenous tech start-up and scale-up companies employing more than 52,000 people in Ireland. 943 of these start-ups and scaling companies are based outside Dublin.
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