Every All Articles story published on Business Pulse — all in one place.
Stripe's $53.4 billion PayPal bid and its 288-product AI infrastructure programme reveal a single ambition: to own the consumer reach and technical rails of the next global economy.
OpenText is investing €105 million to expand its Irish operations, creating 400 new jobs in Cork and Galway over the next three years. The investment doubles the Canadian tech company's existing commitment to Ireland and lands as one of the more significant regional FDI announcements of 2026.
The US database giant is growing its Irish workforce by more than 50% and opening a new Cork office. It is the latest signal that Ireland's bet on Applied AI is paying off — and that the jobs of the next decade will look very different from those of the last.
On Tuesday June 9th, the European Commission issued one of its most significant competition rulings in the rapidly developing AI market. Meta has five working days to comply — or face the consequences. For Irish businesses using AI tools, the implications go well beyond WhatsApp.
A new call under the Innovators' Initiative targets mid-career professionals ready to turn their expertise into commercially viable solutions.
On 14 October 2026, Dublin's RDS will host an event that could define Ireland's position in the global AI economy for the next decade.
New OECD data places Ireland near the top of the global AI exposure index. For Irish business leaders, that is both a warning and an opportunity.
Most Irish SMEs know AI matters. Few have a plan. We map the readiness gap — and the practical first moves any business can make this quarter.
The SFA represents businesses employing fewer than 50 people across Ireland, providing practical HR, legal and management support while lobbying for a policy environment that works for small employers.
The Irish government has consolidated over 250 business supports from 30 agencies into a single, free, advisor-led platform — and the early numbers suggest it is exactly what SMEs needed.
Skillnet Ireland's 2025 Annual Report confirms 84,515 workers trained across 23,000 businesses at a €74 million investment. Its new strategy places AI integration at the centre of Irish SME competitiveness.
The CIF Q2 2026 Outlook Survey reveals 94% of firms faced raw material cost increases in Q1, with 96% expecting further rises. Labour costs are climbing too, and two-thirds of firms have already raised project pricing.
From 1 July 2026, VAT on food and catering services in Ireland drops permanently from 13.5% to 9%. It is the most significant change to the cost of eating out in Ireland in three years.
The SBCI Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme closes on 30 June 2026 — or sooner if fully subscribed. With AIB and Bank of Ireland already paused, the window for Irish SMEs is narrowing fast.
Beyond the headline numbers, Budget 2026 contains a handful of changes that will land directly on the payroll, the P&L and the cash flow of every Irish small business this year.
Every county in Ireland has a Local Enterprise Office — yet thousands of business owners miss out. Here is what you need to know about LEO grant eligibility in 2026.
The Get Exporting programme, market choice, and funding supports Irish SMEs need to know.
A plain-language guide to Irish government funding and grants for SMEs in 2026 — Enterprise Ireland, SBCI, Skillnet and more.
A practical guide for Irish SMEs on what triggers a Revenue audit, what the process looks like, and how to get your records ready.
The salary you offer is only the starting point. Here is the full cost picture for first-time employers in Ireland in 2026.
Bank lending is up. Credit unions have tripled their capacity. A €560 million government loan scheme is open. Enterprise Ireland has €250 million in equity funding. The full picture of Irish business finance in 2026.
Bobby Healy's Manna built Ireland's largest drone delivery operation, completed more than 300,000 flights, raised $110 million and then ran into a planning system that could not accommodate it.
Limerick-based WrxFlo has raised €3 million from Elkstone, Furthr VC and Enterprise Ireland to scale its AI-powered manufacturing operations platform across the UK and US.
Cork-based NeuroBell is building wearable neurostimulation devices for home use, backed by Elkstone, Parkview Health, Furthr, Atlantic Bridge and Enterprise Ireland.
Dublin-based Equal1 has produced Bell-1, a commercially deployable quantum chip that works at room temperature and fits into existing high-performance computing infrastructure.
198 new companies. €32.9 million invested. More than half built around artificial intelligence. Ireland's startup ecosystem is entering a new era — and Enterprise Ireland is betting big on it.
IDA Ireland secured 190 FDI projects and 10,410 job commitments in the first six months of 2026, with 52% of investments outside Dublin — a strong result against intensifying global competition.
Stripe will power the full payments infrastructure of the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor and the 2029 match at Hazeltine — a major commercial win for the Irish-founded fintech now valued at $159 billion.
Global tax reform, US tariffs, AI infrastructure demands and intensifying competition from deep-pocketed nations are redrawing the foreign direct investment map. Ireland's traditional value proposition is under pressure.
Meta has cut approximately 20% of its Irish workforce as part of a global restructuring that has simultaneously seen the company report surging revenue driven by AI-powered advertising. Here's what the move actually means for Ireland's tech sector and the broader FDI landscape.
Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company has acquired $200 million of Equitix's stake in Greenlink, the subsea electricity interconnector linking Ireland and Great Britain. It's a clear vote of confidence in the long-term value of the physical infrastructure connecting Ireland's power grid to the wider European market.
Tim Cook worked his last day as Apple's CEO on 31 August 2026. We trace the operations expert's fifteen-year record, the $5 trillion valuation, and the AI argument he leaves behind.
Elizabeth Stein started Purely Elizabeth with $5,000 in a New York apartment kitchen. Seventeen years later, Ferrero has acquired it in a deal estimated at $800 million — and she stays on as CEO.
Diageo shares jumped as much as 11% in London as chief executive Sir Dave Lewis unveiled the fullest picture yet of how he plans to fix the world's largest premium spirits group.
Sir Anthony O'Reilly lived one of the most extraordinary careers in modern Irish history — from British Lions records and the Kerrygold brand to Heinz, Independent Newspapers and the Ireland Funds.
Ireland has lost one of its most consequential business leaders and philanthropists. The founder of Glen Dimplex built, from a ten-person factory in Newry, a global manufacturing group with more than €2 billion in revenue — and gave generously across two islands and two continents.
Ireland's business leaders are ramping up AI investment, but Accenture's latest research shows the productivity transformation has not yet arrived at scale. Here's why — and what leaders need to do next.
Adam Keane spent his teenage years working in his family's Dublin nursing home. When he finally built his own company, he went straight back to that world — and built something it desperately needed.
Brian Moloney built StormHarvester from nothing in Belfast. It is now the fastest-growing technology company in Ireland, operates in four countries and is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 finalist.
How American college football grew from a one-off 1988 millennium fixture at Lansdowne Road into a permanent annual event generating over €130 million per edition and a €514 million cumulative boost for the Irish economy.
Andy Burnham became the UK's seventh prime minister in a decade on 20 July 2026. We trace his career from Westminster to Manchester and what his premiership means for Ireland.
Spain defeated Argentina in the final at MetLife Stadium, closing the most expansive World Cup in history. Bank of America data shows the tournament generated $40 billion globally and $20 billion for the US economy.
Less than two years after winning a landslide majority, Keir Starmer is stepping down as Britain's prime minister. Here's how it happened — and what a new UK leader means for Irish business.
Today, June 12 2026, Ireland's most significant overhaul of asylum and migration law in the history of the State takes effect. For Irish business — from labour supply to talent pipelines to operational planning — the implications are real and immediate.
A 15% tariff on most EU goods entering the US. Zero tariffs on US industrial goods entering the EU. A sunset clause. A pharmaceutical uncertainty. And Ireland — with €139 billion in pharma exports and 245,000 people employed by US multinationals — directly in the centre of it all.
Income tax up. VAT up. Corporation tax tracking ahead of forecast. Total tax receipts 6.1 per cent ahead of last year with four months still to go. The May 2026 Exchequer returns tell a story of an Irish economy that is performing with remarkable resilience.
$41 billion injected into global GDP. $871 million in prize money. 6 billion viewers. 5 million fans in stadiums. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is not just the biggest sporting event ever staged — it is one of the most significant economic events of the decade.
Irish-owned companies are exporting at record levels. Enterprise Ireland's client base generated €36.75 billion in export sales in 2025 — a 7 per cent increase on the previous year.
Business leaders across sectors are unanimous: the inability to house workers is becoming the binding constraint on Irish growth.
It was once Ireland's largest fossil fuel provider, emitting 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Today, Bord na Móna is a renewable energy company with a 5GW pipeline, 20,000 hectares of restored peatlands and its highest operating profit in history.
Coillte manages 7 per cent of Ireland's entire land mass. Its forests sequester carbon, supply sustainable timber for homes, restore biodiversity and provide recreational space for millions.
50 per cent fewer emissions than 2009. More than half the delivery fleet electric. 95 per cent of heavy goods vehicles running on renewable fuel. 99 per cent of buildings on green energy.
Fenway Sports Group is selling roughly a third of Liverpool FC to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, backed by Jeff Bezos and Eduardo Saverin, at a $7 billion valuation — the largest ever placed on a football club stake.
From a Munich startup founded in 2013 to a profitable pan-European bank with Irish customers, N26's journey tracks the rise, stumble and renewal of the European neobank model.
With 100,000 pre-registered customers, a full European banking licence and €83.5 million invested in Dublin, Monzo's Irish launch is the biggest digital-banking entry since Revolut.
Austria's BAWAG Group has agreed to acquire Permanent TSB in a €1.62 billion all-cash deal. The Irish government will sell its 57.5% stake for €931 million, closing fifteen years of State ownership of the bank.
AIB has launched its biggest digital overhaul in more than a decade — a redesigned mobile banking app built with 3,000 customers, backed by a €300 million annual technology budget, and rolling out to 2.8 million app users.
From a €15 million rescue deal to a €20 million tournament week — the numbers behind Trump International Doonbeg hosting the Amgen Irish Open in County Clare.
Trabzonspor's stock exchange filing confirms a guaranteed €34–35.7 million two-year contract plus a 20% image-rights cut — the richest deal in Turkish football history.
From wild swimming and yoga picnics to longevity science and Ayurveda in County Laois, Ireland's outdoor wellness culture has moved firmly into the mainstream in the summer of 2026.
Christian Dior's major show at Trinity College Dublin placed the city on fashion's international stage and formally acknowledged Ireland's cultural and craft standing.
With record revenue of €926 million, 2,568 homes delivered in 2025 and a market capitalisation of €1.21 billion, Glenveagh Properties has become the defining listed homebuilder in Irish residential construction.
On 4 June 2026, Kennedy Wilson and APG announced a €2 billion residential joint venture covering more than 3,400 private rented homes across Ireland. Here's what it means for businesses and the broader economy.