Sep 20, 2024

Connected at the Business Post is your source for the news that matters in technology and innovation, all told from an Irish perspective 10:00 EDITOR'S NOTE It’s official. Irish tech companies are among the best in Europe. A new ranking published this week included four great well-known Irish firms - Tines, Fenergo, Wayflyer and - Teamwork- that are more than holding then own against European counterparts such as Bolt, Swappie, Curve and OnlyFans. Luminate Medical didn’t make the ranking but it is certainly among the most innovative companies around currently. The Galway-based medtech firm, which has developed solutions to counter the adverse side effects from chemotherapy, has just raised $15 million . I visited the company’s new facility recently to get a look at the work the company is doing. Here’s my article covering the visit. The fallout from the Apple tax ruling rumbles on, causing maximum embarrassment to Ireland Inc. As my colleague Sarah Collins reported on Thursday, MEPs have called for further reforms to prevent a repeat of the case with several inferring Ireland was stealing from its EU neighbours. Ouch! It was mixed fortunes on the jobs front this week. Cybersecurity and compliance company Proofpoint has opened its new international hub in Cork in a move that will see it take on 250 staff over the next two years. On the downside though, CarTrawler announced plans to lay off 10 per cent of staff although it did stress it will be hiring for 28 new roles to coincide with a new change of strategy. In addition, newly filed accounts show that Flipdish, reduced its staff count by 97 personnel in the year ending January 31. Weekly Newsletter If you would like to receive the Connected newsletter automatically in your inbox every week, please sign up here One of the big news stories this week was Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s call to employees to return to the office on a full-time basis as of next January. Does this spell the end of remote working or is the e-commerce giant out of step with how the world is thinking? We’ll see soon enough. Talking of Amazon, the company is marking 20 years in Ireland. It compiled new data on its impact locally. Among the findings was that more than 1,000 Irish businesses sold around 5.5 million products via its platform last year resulting in €170 million in export sales . In other big news, Google won a court fight with the European Union over a €1.5 billion fine for thwarting competition for online ads, while Instagram introduced better privacy and parental controls on teen accounts Stripe president and co-founder John Collison has said the firm has chosen to remain private and resist calls for an initial public offering as its venture capital backers “own a stake in a company that is compounding” and “continue to appreciate its intrinsic value”. Raylo , an Irish co-founded smartphone subscription company, whose backers include Telefónica, has expanded its debt facility with NatWest and Quilam Capital, increasing the value to £125 million (€148 million). In our weekly update, we are giving you the lowdown on the best tech jobs currently available locally. If you want to be included, then email topjobs@businesspost.ie In other news: