Governor Kathy Hochul on May 17th, announced a new partnership between Empire State Development, Ireland’s Guinness Enterprise Centre, and Dublin-based Furthr to foster innovation and collaboration between businesses in New York and Ireland. The partnership, formalized in a memorandum of understanding signed on May 17th, by Governor Hochul, recognizes the entities’ shared interest in collaborating on key technology and industry sectors and dedicates resources to creating innovative entrepreneurship opportunities in New York and in Ireland. Governor Hochul signed the memorandum of understanding while in Ireland after meeting with leaders from the Guinness Enterprise Centre and Furthr.

“New York State and Ireland are united in the belief that our economies are stronger, more resilient, and more innovative when we work together,” Governor Hochul said. “This agreement between New York, the Guinness Enterprise Centre and Furthr creates real opportunities for startups and early-stage businesses on both sides of the Atlantic to grow and innovate, and I look forward to advancing this partnership with our Irish counterparts that will help us build a vibrant and more modern economy.”

Director of Incubation and GEC Centre Manager Niamh Collins said, “On May 17th's Irish entrepreneurs need to be internationally focused from day one. The team at the Guinness Enterprise Centre is constantly seeking new pathways to facilitate and accelerate market access, so we are delighted to welcome Governor Hochul and her team to the Guinness Enterprise Centre to formally partner with Empire State's Development division. Together we can create exciting new opportunities for companies in Ireland and New York State, forging transatlantic innovation and empowering entrepreneurs.”

Martin Murray, CEO at Furthr, a founding partner and managing partner of the Guinness Enterprise Centre said, “Under the agreement, each of the entities will make resources available to accelerate connections between New York and Ireland; share technical information, data, and analytics to inform best practices; and engage in outreach activities with other industry, government, and academic leaders to strengthen the partnership. On May 17th’s announcement really opens up a world of exciting opportunities for our Irish client companies to accelerate their growth directly into the US East Coast tech corridor while providing New York start-ups with a supportive landing location and ecosystem in Ireland.”

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Teaming up with the Guinness Centre and Furthr allows us all to share ideas and tap into a wide array of resources and expertise that will unleash unlimited potential for our entrepreneurs and startups on both sides of the Atlantic. This collaboration will foster innovative ideas to grow key segments of our economy.”

The MOU formalizes a relationship between Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), the Guinness Enterprise Center, and Furthr to accelerate technology-based commercialization initiatives and spur economic activity.

The Guinness Enterprise Centre is Ireland’s home for entrepreneurs, housing more than 150 companies representing a range of industries from medtech to digital gaming. The GEC’s mission is to empower entrepreneurs to take on local or global markets. Through the Guinness Centre, New York-based companies will have an avenue to plug into the Ireland ecosystems and markets, including access to physical space, peer and mentorship networks, academic institutions, and market entry. At over 95,000 square feet in Dublin City Centre, the Guinness Centre supports founders by providing an ecosystem of supports and services, including access to international markets. The GEC is supported in this mission by Furthr whose objective is to provide game-changing impacts to founders through events, mentorship, accelerators, and access to funding

This partnership builds on the work of NYSTAR, which plays a critical role in spurring technology-based applied research and economic development in New York State; promoting national and international research collaboration and innovation; and leveraging New York’s research expertise and funding with investments from the federal government, foundations, businesses, venture capital firms and other entities. NYSTAR will be able provide Irish start-up technology companies with physical space; access to capital; coaching; mentoring; networking connections; prototype development; and access to other technical services through its partnerships with incubators, research institutions, accelerator programs, and universities. This includes connections to a network of manufacturers through our NY MEP centers, which provide growth and innovation services to small and mid-sized manufacturers.

Governor Hochul’s Innovation Agenda

The partnership also complements Governor Hochul’s commitment to driving innovation across New York State to attract major employers and create good-paying, 21st century jobs. As part of her FY 2025 Budget, the Governor secured a $275 million investment in Empire AI, a consortium of seven founding institutions that will create and launch a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center in Buffalo that will put New York State at the cutting-edge of AI research.

Governor Hochul also signed New York’s historic Green CHIPS legislation to drive semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing in New York State and announced a $10 billion partnership to bring next-generation chips research to NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex.

In addition, the Governor has continued to advance a $620 million Life Science Initiative to support innovation in biomedical research. And through strategic investments like the $113.7 million Battery-NY initiative, Governor Hochul has fueled the growth of the sustainability, green technology, and energy storage economies in New York State.

The Governor’s innovation agenda has catalyzed major public and private investments, transforming New York’s economy and creating good-paying jobs of the future. GlobalFoundriesrecently announced an $11.6 billion investment to expand its chip manufacturing campus in New York’s Capitol Region, creating 1,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs. In 2022, Micron announced a 20-year, $100 billion investment to create a megafab campus in Central New York, creating 50,000 new direct and indirect jobs and unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in community benefits. The Governor’s Life Science Initiative helped to solidify New York’s selection for the $300 million Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York, a biomedical research hub in New York City, and significant investments from Schrödinger, Inc., Deerfield Discovery and Development, and other life sciences businesses. Earlier this year, the National Science Foundation also announced a $160 million investment in Binghamton University’s New Energy New York Storage Engine to establish a hub for innovation, technology translation, and workforce development to grow the capacity of the domestic battery industry.

About the Guinness Enterprise Centre

The Guinness Enterprise Centre is Ireland’s national super-hub for entrepreneurial innovation. For hundreds of years The Liberties area of Dublin has been a centre for industrial and commercial innovation. Since 1998, the Guinness Enterprise Centre has continued that tradition. Today, some of Ireland’s most innovative startup enterprises in the areas of sustainability, healthtech, software, cybersecurity, games development, aviation technology and medical devices choose the Guinness Enterprise Centre, not as a destination, but rather as a starting point for their entrepreneurial journeys. The Guinness Enterprise Centre is a community of innovators with global ambitions.

About Furthr

Furthr has been supporting startup enterprises since 1988. Its mission is to deliver game-changing impacts for the Founders of innovative startup and scale-up enterprises. Furthr’s work across the dimensions of Acceleration, Funding and Connecting ensures that ambitious Founders are ready to take on investment and to scale into international markets. In collaboration with Enterprise Ireland, Furthr works with hundreds of Ireland’s most innovative startups every year.

Furthr is a Founding Partner, and is the Managing Partner, of the Guinness Enterprise Centre.