Enterprise Ireland hosts first Silicon Valley Investment & Innovation Forum

Irish tech companies are today pitching to US investors such as Silicon Valley Bank and innovation investment specialists Qualcomm Ventures as part of the first ever Silicon Valley – Ireland Investment & Innovation Forum, organised by Enterprise Ireland.

Enterprise Ireland, in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank is hosting over 15 top US investors and corporate innovation scouts in Dublin this week, starting with today’s forum at the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC).

Throughout the week the delegation will meet with the Irish investment community as well as some of Ireland’s top technology research centres including NovaUCD, CeADAR Centre and the ARCH Centre.

At today’s Silicon Valley – Ireland Investment & Innovation Forum US industry experts will lead a range of investment panels and discussions. Key themes include how to raise funds in Silicon Valley, Blockchain, Regulatory technology, Internet of Things (IOT), Enterprise SaaS & Digital Health.

A host of leading US investment and tech thought leaders are at the event including:

· Barry O’Brien, Silicon Valley Bank

· Quinn Li, Global Head, Qualcomm Ventures and

· Nagraj Kashyap, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Ventures

The Irish VC community will also attend today’s event, and have the opportunity to network with their US counterparts to develop syndicates for future investment rounds.

Kevin Sherry, Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland said: “A key role of Enterprise Ireland is to help companies start-up and scale internationally. We are delighted to welcome some of the top US investor and technology influencers to Ireland this week. It is an ideal opportunity for us to educate the US investment community on what Ireland’s leading technology companies have to offer”.