Enterprise Ireland today (15th December 2010) welcomed the announcement that Polaris Venture Partners, a leading US venture capital firm, will open a Dogpatch Labs facility in Dublin. This will be the first such facility outside of the United States building on the successful Dogpatch Labs previously established in San Francisco, Cambridge (Massachusetts) and New York.
Dogpatch Labs are dynamic open plan spaces for entrepreneurs working on new business ideas. This facility will benefit Irish entrepreneurs and make Ireland an even more attractive place for mobile entrepreneurs to establish new start-ups.
Welcoming this development the CEO of Enterprise Ireland Mr Frank Ryan said: ‘This is a most welcome announcement under Innovation Fund Ireland, the Government initiative managed by the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) and Enterprise Ireland to attract leading venture capital fund managers to Ireland. The Dogpatch Labs facility will be a significant addition to the Irish entrepreneurial eco-system and the further development of Ireland as a Global Innovation Hub. It is also very complimentary to a number of Enterprise Ireland initiatives and is consistent with enterprise policies outlined in the Report of the Innovation Task Force’.
The announcement of the new Dogpatch Labs facility follows on two other recent initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs and new business start ups in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has launched the Internet and Games Competitive Start Fund to help internet and games start ups get off the ground and launch new products and services in the international marketplace. This competitive fund is focused on providing start ups with critical early stage funding to explore and determine the market fit of their business and progress to product launch. (more…)