Posted on almost 6 years ago by Laurentina Kennedy
Over €760m in equity funding raised by firms supported through NovaUCD since 2003: Independent Newpaper Louise Kelly
1
More than €760m in equity funding has been raised by companies supported through NovaUCD since the centre for new ventures and entrepreneurs opened 15 years ago.
In the latest survey of these 360 startups, which collectively employ 1,040 people directly, it was found that their combined annual turnover totalled over €113m in 2018.
The companies operate in sectors including AgTech, CleanTech, FinTech, ICT, MedTech and Life Sciences.
CEO at Enterprise Ireland (EI) Julie Sinnamon said that startups are the "lifeblood of the Irish economy" and it is crucial for EI to support this ecosystem.
Furthermore, UCD’s tech transfer team, responsible for the commercialisation of the intellectual property (IP) emerging from the university's programmes, is also based at NovaUCD.
Over the last 15 years, 45 new UCD spin-out companies have been incorporated, more than 280 priority patent applications have been filed and more than 200 licensing deals have been concluded
AIB, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers and Xilinx contributed to the development of the NovaUCD facility originally, along with EI and UCD.
EI's Technology Transfer Strengthening Initiative (TTSI) has also supported the tech transfer team since 2007.
Last August UCD announced a €6.5m development project to renovate and extend NovaUCD’s east courtyard, which will increase the capacity to house startups will increase by more than 50pc when completed this summer.