
đ CĂŠad mĂle fĂĄilte!
Last weekâs poll asked: Would you move back to Ireland in the next 5 years? Here are the results:
đ Yes, sign me up for Tayto and turf fires (24%)
đ No chance, sunshine and dollars suit me fine (38%)
𤡠Maybe, depends on jobs (and housing) (38%)
Your two cents:
đ D.J: âMy head tells me Sydney is safer, more prosperous, more stable. My heart tells me Ireland, with all its flaws, is where I belong.â
đ Ch: âWe already did, after 10 years in Australia with 3 children born in Sydney we moved back. It was a struggle in the first year back, but we did it and are glad we didâ
đ D.N: âWeather is a big part of my decision, I wake up in paradise everyday and that has a massive positive contribution to oneâs life and mindset.â
𤡠C.M.L: âThe frustrating thing for an emigrant is that it seems relatively straight forward to make Ireland a world class place to live - sort the housing crisis and work on infrastructureâ
đłď¸ This weekâs poll is live down below. Have your say. đđ
âł Todayâs read 3 minutes 30 seconds. ⊠In a rush? Here's your cheat sheet:
$180m AI play: F5 buys Irish-lead CalypsoAI.
Dubai Edge: UAE AI Minister headlines Irish biz event.
Hospitality OS: Nory lands âŹ31.5m to ease hospitality chaos.
Station F dreams: Taoiseach seeks Paris-style incubator.
Gamified growth: Sligo-born, Melbourne-based Dr. GrĂĄinne Oates' Quitch app hits millions.
Enjoy â

LATEST UPDATES
News From Abroad âď¸

L-to-R: Donnchadh Casey, CEO, CalypsoAI, and Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
đşđ¸ AI security shake-up: Nasdaq-listed F5 is shelling out $180m for CalypsoAI, the DublinâNew York firm led by Donnchadh Casey and James White. CalypsoAIâs bread and butter? Stress-testing large language models so they donât spit out unsafe nonsense, leak your data, or get you sued. âEnterprises want to move fast with AI while reducing risk,â said Casey. For F5, itâs less about fattening revenue and more about strategic value and strapping on AI street cred.
đŚđŞ The Edge in Dubai: The Irish Business Networkâs annual seminar packed the room Sunday, with UAE AI minister Omar Sultan AlOlama reminding everyone that artificial intelligence is moving from buzzword to backbone. Irish Ambassador Alison Milton reinforced the ties between Ireland and the Gulf, while a heavyweight line-up swapped insights on tech, business, and strategy.
đşđ¸ Supply chain power move: Irish-founded Overhaul is snapping up U.S. visibility player FreightVerify, marrying risk-based shipment monitoring with item-level tracking across 280k+ shipping sites. Translation: manufacturers can now know which exact widget is stuck in traffic and fix it before factories grind to a halt. CEO Barry Conlon called the deal a ârare find.â We call it every supply chain managerâs dream⌠or nightmare, depending how late those parts still are.
Back Home đ
Nory has raised âŹ31.5m to build its AI-powered âOS for hospitality.â Founded by Conor Sheridan, the Dublin start-up wants to turn restaurant headaches into data-driven decisions.
VC investment in Ireland has slumped to a 10-year low. Without action, Irelandâs brightest sparks could be scaling in Silicon Valley while our start-ups stay side hustles.
Ireland wants its own Station F? Taoiseach MicheĂĄl Martin has tapped Xavier Niel (the billionare behind Parisâs mega-incubator) for advice.

EXTRA INSIGHTS
Sligo-born lecturer turned Melbourne entrepreneur builds gamified learning app âQuitchâ
Living abroad: âI grew up on a small farm in Sligo with six siblings. I came to Australia backpacking, met my husband, and stayed.â
The spark: âMy students were glued to their phones before and after lectures. With their help, Quitch was born.â
The leap: âAs an academic everything is structured. In business, youâre suddenly fundraising, hiring, designing - itâs a wild ride.â
Bootstrapping: âI started with a small teaching and learning grant of about $20,000 from Swinburne. That got me started.â
Abroad advantage: âYou don't tend to have that network⌠but you can almost reinvent yourself if you like.â
Growth: âQuitch has been used by millions worldwide. At Australian Catholic University, it improved student retention by 13%.â
Advice: âJust get over that fear. What's the worst thing that can happen?â
đ FULL INTERVIEW: From Sligo farm to global edtech â how Grainne Oates built Quitch.
[We first featured GrĂĄinneâs story last year but itâs one we still think about. If you missed it then, itâs worth your time now.]

đ§ BRAIN FOOD
âGet good at being shitâ, cry at a marathon, decode Irish talk
đŹ Quote: âThe alternative is they get good at being shit.â Des Traynor, Co-Founder of Intercom on what happens when talented people arenât pushed to high standards.
đź Job: Web Marketing Manager @ Tines (Remote đ). Own and elevate Tines web presence end to end.
âď¸ Tool: Outmin is a Irish-founded AI bookkeeping platform made for growing businesses.
đ§ Pod: Digital Irish Podcast: The Morrison Legacy - A moving celebration of the Morrison Visa and the stories shaping the Irish-American experience.
đŽ Thatâs Interesting: âNothing says âinnovationâ like asking someone else to solve your problems.â Eamon Leonard on the governmentâs proposed Station F-style national incubator.
đ Good news: Irish women have the internet in floods with emotional Sydney Marathon moment.
đ Meme: The Rosetta Stone of Irish conversation:

đ Insights Poll
Whatâs the biggest obstacle facing Irelandâs start-up scene?


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