In a recent Business Post article, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke highlighted the importance of viewing multinational companies and indigenous enterprise as complementary parts of Ireland’s economy, rather than competing interests.
For Ireland’s semiconductor sector, this relationship is already delivering results.
In May 2025, Minister Burke launched Silicon Island: Ireland’s National Semiconductor Strategy at Tyndall. The strategy set out a roadmap for strengthening Ireland’s position in semiconductors through investment, innovation, skills development and collaboration across the sector.
This ambition is reflected in Tyndall 2030, which places innovation, commercialisation and talent at the centre of Ireland’s semiconductor future. As part of this strategy, Tyndall has set a target of creating 10 spinout companies by 2030, helping to translate world-class research into high-growth indigenous enterprises. Following the launch of three semiconductor spinout companies in 2025, Tyndall is making strong progress towards its target with further spinout announcements anticipated in the near future.
As Tyndall 2030 states:
Tyndall 2030 provides a delivery mechanism for Silicon Island, strengthening lab-to-fab pathways, supporting enterprise growth, and reinforcing Ireland’s position in strategic value chains.
Tyndall’s 2025 Annual Report demonstrates how that ecosystem is already delivering impact. During the year, Tyndall engaged with 98 industry partners, almost half of which were SMEs, launched three semiconductor spinout companies, and established Ireland’s Chips Competence Centre (I-C3). Led by Tyndall and supported by Enterprise Ireland and the European Union, I-C3 is helping semiconductor startups and SMEs access training, mentoring, funding pathways, market opportunities and industry networks to support growth and scaling.
That connection between multinational expertise, research excellence and innovation sits at the heart of Ireland’s semiconductor ambitions.
Commenting on the relationship between multinational investment and indigenous enterprise, Tyndall’s Director of Industry Engagement and Innovation, Dr Patrick Morrissey, said:
Tyndall’s three 2025 spinout companies are led by individuals with decades of experience and skills gained while working in Ireland’s semiconductor multinationals. The presence of these companies has helped create the talent base, expertise and industry connections needed to develop globally competitive indigenous enterprises.
Talent development is equally important.
Through initiatives such as the Tyndall Semiconductor Skills Training Programme, the Graduate Engineering Programme and the advanced Training Fab Facility, Tyndall is helping develop the next generation of semiconductor talent required by both multinational employers and emerging Irish technology companies.
Importantly, the flow of knowledge and expertise works both ways. Tyndall is not only helping to prepare people for careers in the semiconductor sector; it also provides opportunities for professionals already working in industry to upskill, reskill and collaborate with researchers. In 2025, 76 industry researchers were hosted on-site at Tyndall, reflecting the close relationship between research, industry, and innovation.
Through its Training Fab Facility, industry engagement programmes and collaborative research activities, Tyndall provides an environment where students, engineers, researchers, startups, SMEs and multinational companies can work alongside one another, helping to strengthen Ireland’s semiconductor capability at every stage of the ecosystem.
Ireland’s multinational and indigenous sectors are not competing forces. Rather, they form part of a connected ecosystem where industry, research and innovation work together to develop talent, create new opportunities and strengthen Ireland’s position in the global semiconductor value chain.
