🤔Tax Haven or Talent Hub
Heavy topics like tax and data privacy alongside various Irish success stories and of course, Stripe, cause they don't stop.
Welcome to the third edition of “The Land of Saints, Scholars, and Techies”!
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Languishing was the big word for April as Ireland continued in our holding pattern awaiting greater reopening post-COVID-19! Despite this, we saw some big global stories with an impact on Ireland as well as various positive updates on Irish companies!
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) and Facebook were at loggerheads, there was discussion on the impacts of a global corporation tax rate, innovative Irish companies Manna, Inscribe, and Tines received funding, and (you guessed it) Stripe did more things!
Are we really more than Taxes? 🧾 The time may soon be approaching when we will see if the claims that the reason companies come to Ireland is for more than a low tax rate are in fact true. I got in trouble with a tax consultant for using the word “haven” so let’s say Irish “favourable tax conditions” may be in doubt as global corporate tax rates are being discussed by the biggest Western economies and it could spell trouble. Personally, I believe the foundations have been laid in building an attractive offering that will attract companies when looking to Europe based on our EU access, English speaking, skills, and talent, and our company ecosystem plus we are sound. It is above my pay grade to really understand the complexity of it all but it is something to watch with interest that could seriously impact our post-pandemic recovery and beyond.
DPC doubts with data breach 🔓 Facebook was in the news for a big data breach as it was discovered the data of over 500 million users had been exposed. A breach isn’t uncommon for Facebook but there was some additional conflict this time as Facebook seemed unwilling to engage with the DPC and fully recognise this breach as new or relevant. This does impact real people and there were allegedly 1.5 million Irish people exposed (If you want to check your own data - https://haveibeenpwned.com/) and worryingly among those affected various people in sensitive roles. There have even been steps taken to try and create a mass action lawsuit from those compromised across Europe. On a higher level, the DPC is considered Europe’s most powerful tech regulator and so there are eyes on this investigation in the wake of GDPR and Schrems II. It is not the first time they have clashed as governments and regulators wrangle with the challenges of data protection but it is a big moment for the DPC as their performance and ability to manage big tech in Ireland is called into doubt. In my opinion, something will happen to big tech in the US or Europe in the coming years but I doubt this is the spark. The companies have become too big and powerful and I feel governments and regulators are waiting for the slip-up where they can pounce.
Iconic Investing 💰 Europe is calling once more for many of the leading US Venture capital organisations (VCs). April saw the first of these to set up shop on Irish shores as Icon Ventures opened a Dublin office. This is evidence of the growing number of successes to emerge from Europe and a desire by the Americans to have a slice of the pie. Sequoia recently landed in London while others have begun to look more aggressively at the market. The VC space like so many others is a competitive one and this will bring challenges for indigenous VCs but the benefits of a large American fund in the market could be immense for our growing companies. For the local VCs, it may just mean an even greater focus on doing things differently.
Fighting fraud 🦸 Irish start-up Inscribe raised $10.5 million in funding as the pandemic created tailwinds for their already successful online fraud protection offering. It is a large early raise for the company and brings their total funding to date to circa $14 million. The company is focused on document fraud at the moment and are already catching Lamborghini fraudsters among others (PUP fraudsters beware). They are looking to expand their staff and product offering and excitingly for Ireland, they plan to recruit 30 engineers here over the next two years.
Lock it down 🛡️ Irish cybersecurity company Tines were valued at $300 million after a $26 million raise in a Series B round. Tines are a cybersecurity automation company allowing employees to automate security workflows without the need for technical skills. Tines are an example of a no-code platform, a trend that is gaining massive momentum as companies look to enable non-technical end-users. With staff in Ireland and the States we can expect further growth locally and there is widespread hope for the future of the company given their valuation and client list after just three years. Tines are the latest in a list of companies to gain big valuations having been built in Ireland and my hope is for a number of unicorns to emerge from this cohort in the coming years.
Stripe once again 💈 Stripe continued to make moves through April with significant investments and acquisitions, alongside entrance to the Middle East market, and some time spent defending their home county. Stripe persisted in diversifying through acquisition with the addition of Taxjar adding more strings to their bow. Meanwhile, they invested in two fintech start-ups - expense management Ramp (A great NotBoring description) and pre-banked generation fintech Step. The company showed its massive ambitions as it opened its first office in the Middle East in Dubai. Already operating in 44 countries there is room for further expansion and with that an increase in valuation, scale and influence. Some challenges can come with all of this success and in April the Collisons were forced to defend Limerick as a Forbes article described it as “stab city”, the murder capital of Europe and akin to Cold War Berlin. The reaction of the brothers and the general Irish community swiftly saw the article removed and showed that you don’t mess with the Irish (especially when they are the sweethearts of Irish and global tech).
Don’t Doubt Drones 🛩️ Having discussed Manna in last month’s edition April saw a big new raise for the company as they target moving from the Irish to the European, US, and UK market in the coming years. A Series A of $25 million lead by Draper Esprit shows the ambitions and hopes for the company in revolutionising last-mile delivery. It isn’t just delivery though that is being disrupted by drones. Irish co-founded Sees.ai received approval to begin testing their industrial inspection and maintenance offering in the UK. Additionally, Greenheart CPD received a round of funding in its bid to encourage hemp production using emerging technologies like drones and blockchain. Interested in learning more about Bobby Healy, Manna’s founder, check out this short Q&A with Morning Brew.
Better than an Irish goodbye ☘️ Currencyfair led the news this month when it came to mergers and acquisitions as they announced a merger with Assembly Payments from Australia. Meanwhile, we saw Sentennial acquired by EML in a deal worth over €100 million, eShopWorld valued at over €1 billion in their acquisition by Asendia, Chargify move to a merger following funding, and on the smaller end Lua acquired by Beekeeper. It is great to see Irish companies continuing to succeed and earn exits will only bring benefits to the economy and shows that we are not reliant on FDI exclusively.
5 pm somewhere 🥳 April saw Ireland introduce a new code of practice centred on an employee’s right to disconnect in the increasingly connected and now remote world of work. This is aimed at supporting a greater work-life balance and enabling people to shut off even while working from home. Ireland is even serving as an example to our neighbours. While the code of practice does not legally change much it highlights the issue and forces a conversation for employees and employers to mitigate against an always-on culture leading to burnout.
Blockchain bets 🥌🔗 Consensys received a new round of funding which is set to drive growth in the overall business as well as new roles in their Irish operations. The blockchain technology company funding of $65 million will help them develop solutions around decentralised finance (DeFi), Web3, and Layer 2. This is yet more evidence of the growing blockchain community in Ireland which we have seen in previous month’s editions. As one can see below the great and good as well as various start-ups are involved. Personally, I know that adoption is on the way as this month my dad asked for an explainer of Blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Jobs Glorious Jobs 🧑💻 April saw more positive job news across the country. In the capital, ActiveCampaign and ServiceNow announced big new hiring campaigns and Invert Robotics and ProductBoard opened new Dublin offices. Additionally, Clio continued to grow at a slower pace, and Albany Beck planned growth in the wake of Brexit. Meanwhile, StitcherAds are bringing jobs to the sunny southeast, Expleo continues to grow in Belfast, and in Cork, we saw Innowatts and Smartroutes announce roles.
Unicorns walk among us 🦄 It would have been nice of them to announce earlier than the 30th but after Fenergo promised 100 new jobs at the start of the month news emerged of their new unicorn status. A unicorn is a company valued at over $1 billion something which Fenergo achieved with a new funding round of $600 million. Rising from the aftermath of the financial crash they are the third Irish company after Intercom and Workhuman to achieve unicorn status. I have no doubt some other companies will follow these companies and we will even see an Irish Decacorn in the coming years.
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My Story and The Land’s Background
👋 To quickly introduce myself to anyone new … My name is Seán. I am in my late 20s, I was born and raised largely in Dublin so apologies if my capital bias may sometimes show up. I work within the tech industry and believe that the Irish market and ecosystem is a dynamic one for a small country.
With COVID and too much time on my hands, I decided to create this newsletter to capture the biggest stories and provide some commentary and thoughts of my own. My aim is to provide value to my readers by curating and commenting on what I believe to be the most compelling stories so you can stay informed with one quick email.
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Cheers,
Seán