💡 Jim Gavin's Sunday blues and the government's new look R&D tax scheme

👋 Céad míle fáilte!

Jim Gavin must have only had good memories of Sunday nights before this week. Winning All Ireland’s with his great Dublin team and basking in the glory with a few pints in the capital’s finest boozers for the proceeding days.

But last Sunday was probably one of his tougher days. The Fianna Fáil presidential candidate withdrew from the race after a story emerged that he failed to repay a former tenant €3,300 in overpaid rent, dating back to 2009.

Micheal Martin and Jack Chambers then had to announce their budget just days later, after looking pretty foolish for their ‘celebrity choice’ in Gavin. Despite a tough start to the week for the government, the business community at home have reacted pretty positively to Budget 2026.

Scale Ireland said they ‘strongly welcome’ Budget 2026 and highlighted the ‘focus on Irish entrepreneurs and supporting their innovative companies.’ The future is looking good then for Irish entrepreneurs?

Hopefully, but the present is going pretty well too and you can read all about in what we’ve got for you today.

⏳ Today’s dispatch takes 5 minutes 30 seconds to read. ⏩ Only got 15 seconds? Here’s what matters:

• ✈️ Irish drones take flight: sees.ai, the Boeing-backed startup led by John McKenna, raised £3.65M (€4.2M) to transform how we inspect and build critical infrastructure.

• 🏦 Dubliner in the big leagues: Conor Hillery appointed Co-CEO of JP Morgan EMEA. Another Irishman running global finance.

• ⚽ STATSports x Sony: The Irish sports tech backed by Harry Kane gets snapped up by Sony. From Newry to Tokyo, that’s a big score.

• 🇮🇪💸Stripe’s gone and tripled their Dublin office – proving once again that the Irish internet economy isn’t just alive, it’s sucking diesel.

• 🤖 Jentic joins AWS accelerator: Sean Blanchfield’s AI infrastructure firm becomes the first Irish startup accepted into Amazon’s GenAI Accelerator.

• 🦷 H3D raises $5.8M: Irish-founded AI manufacturing startup bringing smart design to dentistry. The Irish are in your fillings now.

• Budget 2026: R&D tax credit jumps from 30% → 35%, with faster refunds for startups.

Enjoy ☕

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LATEST UPDATES
News From Abroad ✈️

🇬🇧 Irish-led drone company takes flight: sees.ai, the Boeing-backed startup led by Irishman John McKenna, has raised £3.65 million (€4.2M) to scale its autonomous drone tech. Founded in 2018, the company’s mission is simple but mighty - transform how we design, build, and inspect critical national infrastructure.

🇺🇸 Keychain comes home: Irish serial entrepreneur Oisín Hanrahan (of Handy fame) is back on home turf, well, sort of. His New York-based supply chain platform Keychain has expanded into Ireland after raising another $30 million, bringing total funding to $68M.

🌍 Dubliner named co-CEO of JP Morgan EMEA: Conor Hillery, son of former TD Brian Hillery and grandson of stockbroking pioneer Eugene Davy, has been appointed Co-Chief Executive of JP Morgan’s EMEA operations.

🇮🇪💸 Stripe doubles down in Ireland: The company officially opened its new Dublin, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin joining co-founder John Collison. The move triples Stripe’s office space in Ireland as the company ramps up hiring. As Collison put it, “the Irish internet economy is sucking diesel.”

Back Home 🏠

• 🇮🇪 Aerska raises $21M to take on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s: Irish biotech Aerska just closed a $21 million seed round led by Backed VC and Age1 to develop RNA-based therapies targeting degenerative neurological diseases.

• ⚽ STATSports: The Irish sports tech backed by Harry Kane just scored big – acquired by Sony in a multi-million dollar deal. From Newry to Tokyo – that’s a Champions League exit if ever we saw one.

•  DevAlly have raised €2 million in pre-seed funding for the AI-powered platform helping companies comply with new EU accessibility regulations

• 🤖 Jentic: Irish-led AI infra startup Jentic, becomes the first Irish company accepted into AWS’s Generative AI Accelerator.

• 🦷 H3D: Irish-founded AI manufacturing startup H3D raises $5.8M Series A to bring its automated design tech into dentistry. From Aussie labs to global clinics the Irish are in your fillings now.

• 🔬 Deciphex: After bagging €30M earlier this year, Donal O’Shea’s Deciphex just added another €15M in venture debt from Claret Capital to turbocharge its global pathology expansion.

EXTRA INSIGHTS
What does Budget 2026 actually mean for Irish business?

 💡 Innovation Wins
The R&D Tax Credit jumps from 30% to 35%, a major boost for startups and scale-ups. Smaller firms will also get faster cash refunds (up to €87,500 in year one). Scale Ireland called it a “strong signal” that homegrown innovation matters.

🚀 Entrepreneur Relief (finally) gets a bump
The lifetime limit on CGT relief rises from €1M to €1.5M, meaning founders can now save up to €345K on exits. A step in the right direction — though many argue it’s still too modest to stop scale-ups relocating abroad.

👩‍💻 Talent & Retention
The KEEP scheme (employee share options) is extended to 2028, and SARP (for relocating key execs) sticks around too — albeit with a higher minimum salary of €125K. Both help Irish startups compete globally for talent.

📊 Investment Incentives
New stamp duty exemptions for listed Irish firms under €1B market cap aim to make it easier for scale-ups to raise capital. Meanwhile, a slight cut in fund exit tax (41% to 38%) gives investors a small win.

🏦 SME Squeeze Still Real
Despite the pro-enterprise tone, founders like CleverCards’ Kealan Lennon say SMEs are still “an afterthought” next to FDI. Rising costs (PRSI, minimum wage, auto-enrolment) remain the biggest threat to survival.

🤖 AI Gets Official
€1.4M goes to establishing Ireland’s National AI Office, which will oversee EU AI Act compliance and promote adoption.

🛂 Irish Exporters are flying it

Over 700 Irish companies met 140 Enterprise Ireland market advisors from 42 countries during International Market’s Week (IMW). Ahead of IMW 2025, Enterprise Ireland surveyed participating companies. Results show:

🌍 97% of exporters plan to enter new international markets in the next 12 months. The Eurozone leads the charge, but eyes are firmly on the UK and the US too.

🤖 Nearly 9 in 10 Irish companies are already integrating AI into their business

📈 Exports to the European Single Market have now overtaken the UK for the first time ever. Europe is officially our biggest customer.

🛡️ Ireland’s cyber sector levels up
Cyber Ireland’s new report shows the country’s cybersecurity industry is booming. Exports grew for nearly half of all companies (48%) and domestic sales jumped for 63%, with even bigger growth forecast into 2026.

The sector now employs almost 8,000 people, generates €2.7B in annual revenue, and adds €1.2B in value to the economy. Not bad for a country better known for pints than pen testing. 🍻

Hiring’s still strong despite skill shortages. 80% of firms plan to add staff, and over a quarter have fully integrated AI into their operations. Costs are rising, sure, but optimism’s higher.

🧠 BRAIN FOOD
All Good Ideas Start in Pubs, Bohemians Rule, and Denzel Visits Shannon

💬 Quote: “It started in a pub in Ireland, like all good ideas” Jack O’Meara, CEO of Aerska, after raising $21 million in seed funding to advance treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

💼 Job: National Accelerator & Startup Programmes Manager @ Enterprise Ireland (Dublin).

☘️ Tool: Shuttle, an Irish founded platform that gives individuals the opportunity to invest in early-stage startups.

🎧 Pod: The man who made Bohemians the cultural force it is today - Daniel Lambert - sat down with Joe Molloy on the Indo Sport podcast.

💪 That’s Interesting: Have we reached peak social media? Gen Z are moving away from the screen.

😂 Viral Moment: Denzel Washington reminisces about stopping at Shannon Airport for a pint of G:

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