The 2024 Irish Budget, launched by Finance Minister Micheal McGrath this week, proposed significant changes for Irish startups:

• R&D tax credit increased from 25% to 30%, with the year-one payment threshold now at €50,000.

• A new capital gains tax relief for angel investors supporting innovative small startups.

• Employment Investment Incentive scheme changes, standardizing the minimum holding period to four years for all investments and raising the relief limit to €500,000.

Startup advocates like Ciaran Gilsenan from HBAN welcomed these changes, while Martina Fitzgerald of Scale Ireland praised the R&D tax credit increase. However, concerns remain across the board about simplifying state supports and reliefs, despite McGrath's specific attempts to reassure businesses.

Ultimately the success of this budget (like most) depends on implementation, not the headlines. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the newly formed Tax Administration Liaison Committee (TALC) whose main remit is to simplify tax reliefs and schemes such as those mentioned above. It will be a great indicator of whether the headlines sink or swim. 👀

For more analysis on the 2024 budget for the tech industry check out some great reporting from Silicon Republic, The Independent and Think Business.

Looking outside of Ireland here are your weekly highlights from the Digital Irish Abroad:

• Ruairí Doyle Creates a "Netflix for News" in Collaboration with Global Media Giants 🇨🇦

• Irish Aviation Juggernaut Brings Flying Taxis to Europe 🇪🇺 

• Monzo Bank Taps Conor Walsh for US Leadership 🇺🇸

• Colin Lawlor: Transforming Sleep and Changing Lives Globally 🇺🇸 🇩🇪

• Irish Renewable Energy Experts Join Forces to Drive US Energy Transition 🇺🇸

Enjoy! ☕

Ruairí Doyle Creates a "Netflix for News" in Collaboration with Global Media Giants

The Irish-man-led Canadian company recently made a significant announcement about its exclusive partnership with The New York Times. This collaboration aims to expand its global presence by distributing digital news products in over 150 countries. This development follows closely on the heels of recent partnerships with esteemed media organizations like The Economist, Business Insider, Politico, The Guardian, and Bloomberg, essentially forming a who's who of global media brands.

PressReader also plays a pivotal role in helping media companies establish their digital platforms. They provide a B2C platform where readers can subscribe to access content, often likened to the "Netflix or Spotify of newspapers and magazines." In total, the platform offers access to over 7,500 newspapers and magazines.

Ruairí Doyle, a Trinity graduate, embarked on his career journey in 2007 with Mediahuis IRL. He played a crucial role in shaping the digital strategy of Ireland's largest news website, the Independent, before taking on various digital media roles. Later, he moved to Canada and assumed the position of VP of Product for PressReader. More recently, he has taken on the CEO role, overseeing a team of 400 employees.

"I am thrilled to announce today that PressReader is now the exclusive distributor of digital news products and digital content from The New York Times Company."

• H/T 🎩: PR Newswire

Irish Aviation Juggernaut Brings Flying Taxis to Europe 🚕

Dec Ryan announced during the week that "Irelandia Aviation is going into the EVTOL operating market in Europe".

Dec has had an incredible career shaping the LCC (low-cost carrier) industry globally as a Managing Partner of IA. This includes former roles as the CEO of Ryanair before he based himself in Colombia as Executive Chairman at Viva Air Group. Most recently, he has served as a board member of LCC Avianca.

EVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically, similar to helicopters, but they are electrically powered and often feature multiple rotors or fans for propulsion. These aircraft are considered the future of urban air mobility and the taxi industry.

This is a significant departure (pardon the pun) from running a budget airline and is undoubtedly a leap of faith into an unknown industry. However, industry influencer Andy O'Shea put it, "When a seasoned and smart investor like Dec Ryan decides to enter this space, it gives me hope that this sector might thrive." 🚀

It will be fascinating to watch this pivot unfold over the next few years.

Monzo Bank Taps Conor Walsh for US Leadership 🏦🇺🇸

This is digital banking pioneer Monzo's second attempt at breaking into the States after it withdrew its application for a US banking license in 2021 after extended negotiations with regulators.

Walsh, previously the head of global product for Cash App at Square, has joined Monzo to spearhead its US operations and will have to lean heavily on this experience to adapt their product to the US market. No easy task.

The UCD graduate is “thrilled and honoured to join Monzo. I’m a long-time admirer and am excited about the huge opportunity to further expand our product and mission in the US.

H/T 🎩: Finextra

Colin Lawlor: Transforming Sleep and Changing Lives Globally 🛌🏽

Congratulations to Colin and SleepScore Labs, which recently announced permanent reimbursements and certification for its digital sleep improvement program in Germany.

The program, known as the 'Dein Schlaf Dein Tag powered by SleepScore' through a smartphone app, will be available to 74 million insured people in Germany and may expand further across the EU.

The reimbursement was granted after a randomized controlled trial involving nearly 500 participants showed significant improvements in sleep quality among app users after 6 and 12 weeks compared to a control group.

Based in California as the CEO, Colin has had an incredible career since leaving Ireland, holding high-profile roles as President of the Irish Exporters Association, VP at sleep tech giant ResMed as well as being a member of the Forbes Business Council.

Irish Renewable Energy Experts Join Forces to Drive US Energy Transition ⚡

Bluestar Energy Capital has proudly welcomed Neil O'Donovan as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). O'Donovan is teaming up once again with his former colleague, Irish renewables industry veteran and the founder of Bluestar, Declan Flanagan.

Flanagan, who established Bluestar, shares a history with O'Donovan, as both played pivotal roles in the development of Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE) before its acquisition by Orsted in 2018.

Founded in 2019 by Declan Flanagan, Chicago-based Bluestar Energy Capital is taking advantage of incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The team has already achieved significant success, with more than 10 GW of renewable energy projects under their belts. Looking beyond the United States, Bluestar has set its sights on expanding into Australia and Europe.

In their pursuit of ambitious goals, the company secured an impressive $100 million in Series A funding in September 2022. The driving force behind this substantial injection of capital was BlackRock.

H/T 🎩: Recharge

Keep an eye out for a bonus newsletter this week. I will be taking a deep dive into Irish-related investments in September. 🕵🏽

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