Ireland is home to both international chip giants and home-grown deep-tech start-ups, highlighting its strength in the semiconductor sphere.

Global semiconductor demand continues to surge along with the adoption of the latest offerings in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), cloud computing, data centres, electric vehicles and more.

Ireland boasts an impressive chips sector for such a small country, with 14 of the world’s top semiconductor companies making themselves at home here.

However, it’s not just the big international players that are setting up shop on the Emerald Isle. Ireland also has a strong manufacturing, engineering and R&D ecosystem of its own, which enables it to grow successful semiconductor start-ups.

One of the most well-known success stories comes from machine-vision chip maker Movidius, which was established in 1999 and acquired by chip giant Intel in 2016 for €300m.

More recently, Dublin-based Decawave, which was founded in 2007, was snapped up by US company Qorvo for $400m in 2020.

And it’s not just chipmakers that Ireland has supporting the space either. The country also has a strong photonics ecosystem, which plays an important role in the world of chips, while other companies use semiconductor technology in other industries.

So, what are the next successful semiconductor stories Ireland has to offer? Here are five strong companies from the industry to keep your eye on.

Altratech

Biotechnology company Altratech designs advanced biosensors and semiconductor chips for rapid DNA testing.

Founded by Dr Tim Cummins and University College Cork-based Dr Brian O’Farrell in 2013, the Cork-based company brings together nanobiotechnology, chemistry and semiconductors to develop molecular detection tech that would allow people to rapidly and accurately measure and quantify viral RNA, DNA, antigen or antibody samples.

In 2021, the company raised €5m in funding to further its health research and last year, it was approved for a €10.5m investment from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator to develop a handheld device which can test for viral diseases.

Equal1

Already making waves on the international stage, quantum computing company Equal1 has developed a quantum system-on-a-chip processor that integrates a full quantum system onto a single chip.

The University College Dublin spin-out was founded by Dr Dirk Leipold, Mike Asker and Prof Robert Staszewski in 2017. The company secured a €10m EIC grant and a separate multimillion-euro investment from Btov Industrial Technologies and Atlantic Bridge in 2021.

Last year, Equal1 took home the Quantum Business Innovation and Growth prize.  It also signed a memorandum of understanding with chip giant Nvidia to work together on quantum technology use cases, business models and proofs of concept.

Mbryonics

Photonics are an important part of the semiconductor industry and Galway start-up Mbryonics is just one key player in this arena to keep an eye on.

The company, which was founded by John Mackey alongside his siblings Ruth and David, develops optical systems for high-speed, secure communication infrastructures – specifically, its technologies are used in satellite communications and 5G.

The photonics start-up bagged €17.5m from a European accelerator last year and was also among the winners at the annual Technology Ireland Industry Awards and the founders were named the 2024 EY Established Entrepreneurs Of The Year in 2024.

Pilot Photonics

Another photonics success story is Dublin City University (DCU) spin-out Pilot Photonics, which created out of more than 10 years of pioneering R&D undertaken at DCU, Trinity College Dublin and Tyndall National Institute before being spun out in 2011.

The Dublin-based start-up combines its laser tech with state-of-the-art semiconductor processing known as photonic integration to create products that can be utilised in markets such as telecoms, automotive, aerospace and energy.

The company secured a €1.8m investment in 2022 and, last year, it secured another €2.5m from the EIC to develop key technologies to help overcome scaling challenges in the data centre industry.

YieldHub

Limerick-based YieldHub is a software company that specialises in semiconductor yield management, data analytics, and optimisation services.

Originally named MFG Vision, the company was founded by John O’Donnell in 2005. The company recently won two awards from the Asia Matters Business Awards 2024, one for high-potential Asia market expansion and one for technology exporter of the year.

The company was also named a finalist for the Innovation Impact Business Award by the Limerick Chamber and nominated as a finalist for Supplier of the Year at the UK’s Annual TechWorks Awards.

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