Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Peter Burke T.D., is leading an Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland Trade and Investment mission to the US West Coast this week.
Accompanied by Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy and IDA Ireland CEO Michael Lohan, the delegation of 16 Enterprise Ireland clients and 15 IDA Ireland clients from the technology sector will participate in the five-day programme across Los Angeles, San Diego, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Seattle, engaging with US companies including NVIDIA, Netflix, and Amazon.
The US visit comes as Enterprise Ireland client tech exports to the US surge to over €1.1bn in 2023 and IDA Ireland strengthens and consolidates key strategic partnerships in the region.
The US is now the largest export market for Enterprise Ireland tech companies whilst North America remains IDA's most important market for FDI, accounting for over 70% of inward investment employment in Ireland. In 2023, 156 investments from North American companies were made in Ireland which will result in 13,000 new jobs.
Beginning the trade mission in Los Angeles, Minister Burke and members of VFX Ireland, the trade association that represents Ireland's VFX studios, will meet with Netflix and Amazon Studios to discuss ongoing and future collaboration opportunities.
Irish VFX studios, such as Windmill Lane, EGG VFX, Piranha Bar, and Outer Limits, have worked on major Netflix and US productions including "Shogun," "Bodkin," "The Woman King," "The Apprentice" (2024), and "The Forsyte Saga," showcasing their world-class talent.
The Irish VFX industry continues to thrive, now employing over 300 people and revenues have grown 326% in the last five years.
Enterprise Ireland notes that Ireland’s strategic location, talent, and the Section 481 tax incentive make it a prime hub to serve the US entertainment industry.
Minister Burke said the trade mission will focus on "key growth opportunities across the technology sector, supporting both early entrants and established Irish companies to expand key business relationships and secure further growth opportunities."
He continued: “Ireland’s continued contribution to FDI to the United States, at almost $240 billion, highlights the depth of the economic ties between both countries.
"Ireland’s creative and tech industry has an excellent international reputation, demonstrating world-class technical skill and we believe there is significant opportunity for future growth.
"There are a number of vibrant Irish companies travelling with us on this trade mission and I look forward to supporting them in bringing their highly innovative products and solutions to the US market.
“I am very proud of our reputation as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment largely due to our pro-business environment, our highly-educated workforce, and our membership of the European Union.
"During the visit, we will meet with key business people in the US and will outline how our focus on sustainability and digital transformation can support companies as they build competitiveness, expand, and further embed themselves in Ireland, and as a springboard to accessing the EU Single Market and the wider EMEA.”
Leo Clancy, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland client companies are scaling rapidly in the USA, which is now the second largest export country for client exports, with €5.9bn exports in 2023.
"Expanding their footprint in the USA, Enterprise Ireland clients have established 80 new market presences in the United States in the last 18 months, supported by Enterprise Ireland’s six offices across the USA.
"The trade mission this week will look to further support Enterprise Ireland clients to scale in the market, particularly in the tech and VFX sectors, which are showing strong growth potential for our client companies.”
Michael Lohan, CEO of IDA Ireland, said: “As part of this trade mission, we will be meeting with some of the largest and most dynamic companies in the world of technology and life sciences. These companies, among others, continue to seek stable, pro-business locations for their businesses to expand and grow.
"This week offers us an important opportunity to deepen our relationships with face-to-face meetings at the highest level with new and existing clients.
"Competition for foreign investment has never been as intense and trade missions such as these, help to increase awareness of Ireland’s attractiveness as a place to invest and succeed.”
“Investment from this part of the world continues to perform extremely well. In 2023, a total of 33 investments were secured from West Coast companies across the technology, high growth, and life science sectors,” concluded Michael Lohan.
Minister Burke will also attend the following events across California and Washington State as part of the Trade Mission programme: the USA Tech Advisory Panel in San Francisco, the Bay Area E-Commerce Roundtable Event, and the San Francisco and Bay Area Digital Roundtable and Reception.
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