Industry leaders came together in Galway this week for a conference focusing on ‘Navigating Start-Up Investment in Times of Uncertainty’.

WestBIC, in partnership with Data2Sustain and Enterprise Ireland, hosted the event at University of Galway, which brought together investors, founders, start-ups, scaling companies and ecosystem partners for a day of strategic insights and networking.

The conference opened with strong momentum data from Kevin Sherry, Executive Director of Enterprise Ireland, who highlighted that 157 new start-ups were supported by Enterprise Ireland in 2024, with €27.6 million invested in early-stage businesses.

Barry Downes of SVV delivered the day’s keynote presentation on AI market trends, sharing that 40% of AI startups are now building agent-based solutions, with the market expected to reach $47 billion by 2028.

“Change is even bigger and coming faster than you think,” Downes told attendees, providing eye-opening insights into the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

The conference featured four expert-led panel discussions covering MedTech, Start-Ups, Women Entrepreneurs and Scaling Companies, with investors from 16 different VCs, angels, and ecosystem supports participating as speakers and panelists.

Méabh Conaghan, from Enterprise Ireland, delivered closing comments, noting that the day’s themes consistently returned to relationships, business opportunities, collaboration, finance and investment – the essential pillars of startup success.

The conference provided valuable learning and networking opportunities for attendees navigating the challenges and opportunities in today’s startup investment landscape.

WestBIC supports entrepreneurs and businesses in the west of Ireland, providing funding, mentoring and business development services to help companies grow and scale. For more information visit westbic.ie

Pictured: Attending the WestBIC conference this week were (from left) Barry Downes (SVV), Kenny Deery (West Regional Enterprise Plan Programme Manager), Méabh Conaghan (Enterprise Ireland), Kevin Sherry (Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland), Colleen Baxter (WestBIC), John Brennan (WestBIC) andMike Conroy (Data2Sustain).