How Ireland managed to attract around 1K US tech companies

 

In 2024, there were 970 US companies in Ireland, which directly employed about  210,000 people and spent more than €41B in the local economy annually, according to AmCham Ireland.

Most of the top 10 US tech companies have a local presence in Ireland and the majority of them represent the European headquarters. Some of the biggest companies are:

• Apple - 1st office in Ireland opened in 1980

• Amazon - 1st office in Ireland opened in 2004

• Alphabet - 1st office in Ireland opened in 2004 

• Microsoft - 1st office in Ireland opened in 1985

• Meta - 1st office in Ireland opened in 2008

• Oracle - 1st office in Ireland opened in 1987

• Salesforce - 1st office in Ireland opened in 2000

• Intel - 1st office in Ireland opened in 1989

• HP - 1st office in Ireland opened in 1976

• IBM - 1st office in Ireland opened in 1956

Dublin is the 2nd most popular European city (after London) selected by US companies as a regional headquarter.

Ireland is estimated to have a $50B digital economy, which accounts for about 13% of the country’s GDP (source). The ICT sector generated a tremendous growth of Ireland’s economy, new job opportunities, investment and innovation.

Ireland wasn’t always a rich country. In fact, it was one of Europe’s poorest countries for about 2 centuries, before the period of its fast economic growth, which started in the 1990s.

For example, Apple came to Ireland for the first time in 1980 and opened a manufacturing facility in Cork with 60 employees. Now, Apple has around 6,000 employees in Ireland and has doubled its local team size over the past 5 years. 

This sounds like an inspirational story, but how did Ireland manage to succeed in attracting those top US tech companies and hundreds more?

Let’s go through the main causes:

Low corporate tax (12.5%)

Ireland initially announced the reduction of the corporate tax in 1997 and implemented it over the next 6 years (reducing it by 4%, each year). The 12.5% corporate tax was launched in 2003 and is the same nowadays.

This means less taxes paid by US companies, as the federal corporate tax in the US is currently 21%.

Skilled & English speaking workforce

Foreign IT companies are attracted by the local skilled workforce, which is flexible to the ever changing digital economy.

There are multiple tech universities like: Dublin Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork, providing thousands of graduates willing to get jobs in the ICT sector.

Ireland is an English speaking country. It has 2 official languages: Irish and English, but only about 2% of the population speaks Irish on a daily basis. A significant multilingual talent pool is also available.

Member of the EU

Ireland joined the European Union in 1973 and is now one of the leading countries when it comes to the IT industry. Foreign companies opening offices in Ireland get access to the EU single market with around 500 million citizens.

Having a strategic location, Ireland became a gateway to the EU for US companies and an important tech hub.

Ease of doing business

Ireland is in the top 25 countries (24th position) by ease of doing business, according to EDB rankings. It has a business-friendly environment helped by the government with multiple initiatives to help entrepreneurs succeed.

Research and development

The government estimated a total investment of about €1 Billion for 2023, the first time to surpass the 1B mark. Ireland is a strong player in the R&D field and is investing in its ecosystem to further win more businesses from abroad.

A thriving startup ecosystem

Ireland ranks 17th in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index (losing 1 position, compared to last year). There are over 22,500 startups in the country, out of which 172 tech startups managed to  raise over €552M in funding this year alone. 

Good infrastructure

The country has an established and flexible infrastructure to support businesses in their daily activities. There is an extensive network of highways and the country is investing in air, sea, and rail networks to have a better connection with mainland Europe.

This is how Ireland succeeded and became a leading force in the IT industry. If you plan to work with an Irish software development company, explore over 100 reliable firms listed on TechBehemoths.