Connected newsletter: The most important people in Irish tech
Connected at the Business Post is your source for the news that matters in technology and innovation, all told from an Irish perspective
In my job I’m lucky enough to meet plenty of well-known tech executives but few have impressed me as much as Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s new chief financial officer, who manages to be both incredibly smart and down to earth.
Friar, who hails from the tiny village of Sion Mills, Co Tyrone, was back in Belfast earlier this week where she sat down for an informal chat with entrepreneurs at Ormeau Labs. Alas, I’m not permitted to reveal what exactly was said but given her previous roles as CFO at Jack Dorsey’s Square, as CEO of NextDoor, and as a board member at Walmart, there were plenty of great insights shared.
It was striking how keen Friar is to help others on their journey. In this, she shares much in common with the other 99 people who make the Connected 100. This new ranking published today, covers the most important people in Irish tech currently.
I’m aware such lists are contentious but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as it gives pause for thought to consider all the ingredients necessary to make up a thriving tech ecosystem. I look forward to hearing your views, both positive and negative, on the ranking.
The best jobs in tech
As if our top 100 weren’t enough to keep you busy over the next few days, there are also plenty of other good features in the latest Connected magazine, including Liz Carolan on AI and elections, Jason Walsh on multi-cloud networks and the end of passwords, Liam Coates on tech and teens, and Ian Campbell on data centre constraints and the FDI pipeline.
Anyhow, back to the present and one of our biggest stories this week was news that MiddleGame Ventures has announced the first close of a new €150 million new fund. The State’s sovereign wealth fund is among the backers of the fintech-focused fund. MiddleGame is a big backer of Irish companies, including Wayflyer and Payslip.
In other big news, we exclusively revealed that Ergo, the IT services company, is considering taking on equity investment for the first time as it also weighs a public listing.
Further afield and Amazon hit a $2 trillion market valuation for the first time. Nvidia came off its highs on the back of a big investor sell-off but the AI chip designer is still up over 150 per cent this year.
Microsoft risks a hefty European Union fine after regulators accused the company of abusing its market power by bundling the Teams video-conferencing app to its other business software.
Staying with Big Tech and Apple rejected overtures by Meta Platforms to integrate the social networking company’s AI chatbot into the iPhone months ago. Talking of Apple, it plans to restrict use of its new AI features in Europe.
Another big story was that some of the world’s biggest music labels have taken a lawsuit against Udio, an Irish co-founded AI app, for alleged copyright infringement.
In our weekly update, we are giving you the lowdown on the best tech jobs currently available locally. If you want to be included, then email topjobs@businesspost.ie
Weekly Newsletter
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In other news:
• Google to expand data centre footprint in Ireland
• SoftBank to invest up to $20m in AI start-up Perplexity
• Digital Iron raises $2m for heavy machinery after-sales platform
• Revolut launches extra security features in Ireland
• ChannelSight co-founder branches out with new venture
Send on your news and views to connected@businesspost.ie
All the best,
Charlie
‘“We are concerned that Apple designed its new business model to discourage developers and end users from taking advantage of the opportunities"
EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager speaking as Apple was told it is breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA)
Who are the most important techies in Ireland?
What the arrival of AI phones and computers means for our data (New York Times)
