08-05-2025
Access to funding biggest concern for start-ups
Access to funding remains the biggest concern for the founders and CEOs of start-up companies according to new research.
Scale Ireland's "2025 State of Start-ups Survey" also found that start-ups are harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence with almost 90% of respondents deploying or preparing to deploy AI.
The recruitment and retention of staff remains a major challenge, according to the study.
More than half of founders said staff retention was as difficult as the previous year, while almost 17% found it more difficult.
Over half of respondents rated the contribution of non-EU workers as "very significant".
Overall, nearly two-thirds of start-up leaders feel Ireland is not doing enough to help indigenous tech firms attract and retain talent.
The survey of 235 CEOs and founders was conducted by Scale Ireland, an independent not-for-profit representative organisation which advocates on behalf of Irish tech start-ups and scale-up companies.
"At this time of uncertainty globally, our findings reinforce the need to bolster our indigenous sector," the CEO of Scale Ireland, Martina Fitzgerald, said.
"It is vital that we mobilise private capital to ensure Irish companies can scale globally and remain here in Ireland," Ms Fitzgerald said.
The survey is being released to coincide with Scale Ireland's Regional Start-up Summit which takes place in Athlone today.
