The report highlights how agile Irish startups are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their core operations, with 36% of Irish startups embedding AI at the core of their business model, significantly higher than the 29% European average.
The findings reveal that 63% of Irish startups have adopted AI, with 36% embedding it at the heart of their business models—a figure that outpaces the European startup average of 29%. Irish startups are also seeing measurable gains from this adoption, reporting an average 36% revenue increase directly linked to their use of AI.
"The data in this report aligns closely with our observations in the field - Irish startups are demonstrating a strong commitment to integrating emerging technologies," said Niamh Gallagher, AWS Country Lead for Ireland. "Many of these companies clearly recognise that AI is becoming increasingly important for maintaining competitiveness, attracting investment, and pursuing global expansion opportunities."
AWS Gen AI Loft comes to Dublin
The AWS Gen AI Lofts foster innovation and community with unique, high impact pop-ups around the world. Dublin’s two-week-long event kicked off on 13 May and daily workshops and meetups cover Future of Healthcare & Life Sciences with Gen AI, a Technical Founder Sprint (Gen AI Edition) and The Future of Work and how Gen AI presents an opportunity for organisations to completely rethink how and what they deliver to customers.
During the AWS Gen AI Loft Dublin, Niamh Gallagher met with Niamh Smyth, Minister for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation. The Minister was presented the “Unlocking Ireland’s AI Potential 2025” report and taken through the key findings. During the event, leading Irish startup founders shared how AI is already transforming their industries.
“This report validates our approach to keeping children safe online,” said Rena Maycock, founder of Chirp, a safety-focused tech company. “Using GenAI to enhance our datasets has enabled us to detect and block harmful communications and offer real-time protection for children and families—something that simply wouldn’t be possible with conventional tech alone.”
“At Jentic, we’re building AI-native infrastructure for the agent era, enabling AI agents to dynamically discover, load, and execute the exact tools they need, precisely when they need them,” said Dorothy Creaven, Chief Operating Officer of Jentic. “This report reinforces what we’re seeing every day: Ireland’s startups are not just adopting AI, they’re pushing the boundaries of how AI is applied at scale.”
“The report reflects what we're seeing on the ground,” added Sean Mullaney, Founder & CEO of Seapoint. “AI isn’t just enhancing finance tools—it’s fundamentally changing how startups manage money, make strategic decisions, and scale. It's enabling us to build the intelligent financial home we always wished we had.”
Minister Smyth praised the role of startups in Ireland’s AI leadership
“These findings make it clear that startups are central to Ireland’s digital future,” she said. “They’re leveraging AI not only to grow, but to lead the transformation of entire industries—from safety tech to genomics and climate solutions.”
The Unlocking Ambitions report also found that Irish businesses reported a 25% year-on-year increase in AI investment, a94% of Irish businesses using AI reported significant performance gains, from improved customer insights to operational efficiency.
"This report highlights the remarkable pace of innovation in today's startup ecosystem," said Tricia Troth, General Manager, Startups UK & Ireland at AWS. "We're seeing startups move beyond AI experimentation to implement practical, strategic applications. The data shows how founders are increasingly focused on integrating AI into their long-term growth and scaling strategies."
Read the report in full here.
