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Mapping Innovation in Ireland

Beauhurst data on 1,240 Irish companies with a granted patent, a spin-out origin, an accelerator place, or a significant R&D grant.

Words Lily Ruaah

Mapping Innovation in Ireland

Beauhurst now tracks every active Irish company. Of those, 1,240 show at least one sign of innovation: a granted patent, an academic spin-out origin, accelerator attendance, or a significant research and development (R&D) grant. For the investors, advisers, universities, and public bodies that work with these companies, knowing where they are is the first step to finding them.

This analysis maps where those companies are and which universities they come from, then picks out the 10 with the strongest mix of signals. Most of these companies show a single signal, usually a patent, and just 77 (6%) show two or more. Let’s get into it.

Methodology: How we identified innovative companies

We started with every active Irish company on the Beauhurst platform, then kept those showing at least one of four signals:

  • Granted patent: the company holds at least one granted patent.
  • Academic spinout: the company was founded to commercialise research from a university or research institute. 
  • Accelerator attendance: the company has taken part in at least one accelerator programme.
  • R&D grant: the company has received a significant R&D grant. 

That gives 1,240 companies. Locations are based on each company’s registered address. All figures describe the companies Beauhurst tracks, not every innovative company in Ireland.

Disclaimer: Spinout, accelerator, and R&D grant data is curated rather than comprehensive, so we treat it as a supporting signal.

Dublin is the heart of Irish innovation

Of the 1,238 innovative companies with a registered address, 641 (52%) are in Dublin. Cork (127) and Galway (81) come next, and together the three counties account for 69% of innovative companies across Ireland. Every one of Ireland’s 26 counties has at least one innovative company that Beauhurst tracks.

Infographic map of Ireland showing 1,238 innovative companies by county, with Dublin hosting 52%; purple shading highlights regional counts. Informative, neutral tone.

Dublin’s share barely changes from one signal to the next. It holds between 49% and 52% of patent holders, spinouts, accelerator attendees, and R&D grant recipients. Galway is the exception: it has 7% of innovative companies overall, but 21% of spinouts (13) and 15% of R&D grant recipients (22).

Beyond these three, Kildare (38), Louth (33), Limerick (32), and Clare (32) form the next group. Patents dominate almost everywhere: in 23 of the 26 counties, at least 70% of innovative companies hold a granted patent.

Table titled “Innovative Irish companies by county and tracking trigger” lists patents, academic spinouts, accelerators, and R&D grants. Dublin leads; totals are 982, 61, 150, and 145.

University of Galway: the home of spinouts

Beauhurst tracks 61 active academic spinouts in Ireland. Our spinout data is based on shared data with universities across Ireland, where universities have not shared data, it isn’t included. If you would like to share your institution’s most recent spinout data, please reach out. 

Three universities account for 45 of them (74%). University of Galway leads with 17, ahead of University College Dublin (16) and Trinity College Dublin (13). One company, LUMA Vision, spun out of both Galway and Trinity. No single Dublin institution produces as many as Galway, although Dublin’s universities together account for 34.

Spinouts are far more likely than other innovative companies to show a second signal: 40 of the 61 (66%) show two or more, against 3% of the rest. Of the 61, 26 (43%) have received an R&D grant, 18 (30%) hold a granted patent, and 16 (26%) have attended an accelerator. University of Galway spin-outs stand out on grants: 11 of its 17 have received one.

It’s worth noting, however, that spinouts do not always stay near their university. Of the 60 from Irish institutions, 15 are registered outside the institution’s home county. Endowave, a University of Galway spinout, is based in Dublin. Enoda and ODOS, both from University College Dublin, are registered in County Cork.

In collaboration with Parkwalk, we examine equity investment into UK spinoutsGet the full analysis

Standout companies: One company shows all four signals, and 21 show three

When all four signals are combined, 21 companies show three of them, and one, Tympany Medical, shows all four. The 10 below have the strongest mix, ranked by number of signals and then by number of R&D grants. Nine of the 10 are university spinouts, and four are registered in Galway.

10.

ProVerum

Location: DublinInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, R&D grant

ProVerum was founded in 2015 to commercialise technology from a medical device design lab at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Engineering. Its ProVee System is a small nitinol implant that reshapes an enlarged prostate to relieve the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

ProVerum is one of 13 Trinity College Dublin spin-outs in Beauhurst’s data, and operates from Dublin and Galway. It holds a granted patent, and both of its R&D grants came in 2021.

09.

Neurent Medical

Location: GalwayInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, R&D grant

Neurent Medical was founded by Brian Shields and David Townley, with roots in the BioInnovate Ireland programme. Its Neuromark system is a minimally invasive treatment for the inflammation behind chronic rhinitis.

Neurent spun out of the University of Galway and holds a granted patent. Both of its R&D grants date from 2018 to 2020, making it the only company among these 10 with no grant since 2020.

08.

SymPhysis Medical

Location: GalwayInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, R&D grant

SymPhysis Medical was co-founded by Chief Executive Tim Jones and Chief Scientific Officer Dr Michelle Tierney. It is developing releaze, a device that lets people with fluid build-up in the chest, common in late-stage cancer, drain it at home rather than relying on a nurse or carer.

SymPhysis is one of 12 University of Galway spin-outs still registered in the county. Alongside its granted patent, it has received two R&D grants, in 2021 and 2025.

07.

ATXA Therapeutics

Location: DublinInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, R&D grant

ATXA Therapeutics was founded by Professor Therese Kinsella, a University College Dublin biochemist, to develop her research. It is working on drugs for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare and progressive condition in which the arteries in the lungs thicken.

ATXA is one of 16 University College Dublin spin-outs in Beauhurst’s data. It holds a granted patent, and its two R&D grants came four years apart, in 2018 and 2022.

06.

Ostoform

Location: WestmeathInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, R&D grant

Ostoform spun out of the University of Limerick in 2017 and is based in Mullingar. Co-founded by Managing Director Kevin Kelleher, it makes a mouldable seal for ostomy bags that keeps output away from the skin, to reduce leaks and skin irritation.

Ostoform’s granted patent sits alongside three R&D grants, all received between 2021 and 2022. It is the only company among these 10 registered outside Dublin and Galway.

05.

Proveye

Location: DublinInnovation signals: Academic spin-out, accelerator, R&D grant

Proveye is a University College Dublin spin-out led by Chief Executive Jerome O’Connell and Professor Nick Holden, and based at NovaUCD. Its software combines satellite, drone, and ground-sensor imagery with machine learning to show how crops are growing and how productive farmland is.

Proveye has attended more accelerators than any other company among these 10: AgTechUCD, the AWS Clean Energy Accelerator, and the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Ireland. It has also received four R&D grants since 2022.

04.

Endowave

Location: DublinInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, R&D grant

Endowave is developing a microwave treatment for lung cancer. A flexible catheter is guided through the airways to the tumour, which is destroyed with targeted heat. The aim is a single, minimally invasive procedure.

Endowave spun out of the University of Galway but is registered in Dublin, one of four University of Galway spin-outs based outside the county. Its granted patent sits alongside four R&D grants, received between 2021 and 2025.

03.

Atturos

Location: DublinInnovation signals: Academic spin-out, accelerator, R&D grant

Atturos was founded in late 2016 by Professor Stephen Pennington, building on his research at University College Dublin. It combines proteomics with data science and machine learning to find disease markers in blood samples, with tests in development for psoriatic arthritis, prostate cancer, and diabetic kidney disease.

The company attended AIB Start-up Academy in 2017 and has received six R&D grants, the second-highest count among these 10.

02.

Rockfield Medical Devices

Location: GalwayInnovation signals: Patent, accelerator, R&D grant

Founded in 2014 by Tomas Thompson, Rockfield Medical Devices develops enteral feeding devices, which deliver nutrition through a tube. Its MobilityPlus project is a connected version of the device.

Rockfield went through the New Frontiers programme in 2015 and has since received eight R&D grants, more than any other company among these 10. It also holds a granted patent.

01.

Tympany Medical

Location: GalwayInnovation signals: Patent, academic spin-out, accelerator, R&D grant

Tympany Medical was founded in 2018 by Dr Liz McGloughlin and Rory O’Callaghan, through the BioInnovate Ireland programme at the University of Galway. It makes OtoVU, a miniature endoscope designed specifically for ear surgery.

It is the only company in our data to show all four innovation signals. As well as its granted patent and spinout origin, it has received three R&D grants and joined the EIT Health Catapult programme, run by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, in 2024.

Find innovative Irish companies

Dublin is home to about half of the innovative companies Beauhurst tracks, and 79% of them hold a patent, most with no other signal. The rarer companies that combine signals are almost all university-born: 19 of the 22 with three or more are spin-outs, and the University of Galway produces more of them than any single Dublin institution. That suggests Ireland’s universities, including those outside Dublin, are a good place to look for companies with the broadest innovation profile.

Explore every active Irish company, and the signals behind this analysis, on the Beauhurst platform.

Lily Ruaah

Lily Ruaah

Content Associate

With a dynamic career spanning over a decade, Lily is the Co-Founder of BlackCat Content and a professional writer. At Beauhurst, she drives the creative and analytical writing initiatives, producing compelling content that captivates and informs. Before Beauhurst, she worked as an SEO Content Writer, where she honed her skills in optimising content for search engines. Adding to her repertoire, Lily holds an MA and BA in Creative Writing, blending her passion for creativity with a keen analytical mind.

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