Silicon Valley Trade Mission Showcases Ireland's Innovation

Irish Firms Score $44M in New Business Deals Irish Entrepreneurs Recognized for Excellence in Innovation

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Government's export engine for innovative technologies and services created by emerging and high-growth Irish companies, last week co-hosted a trade mission to California by Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheal Martin, TD. The visit featured announcements by several Irish companies that involved deals with prominent corporations, including several located in Silicon Valley. When combined, the deals totaled $44 million for the Ireland-based companies.

Also on the trip, Minister Martin was honored with a special award by the newly formed Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) for his contribution to advancing technology innovation in Ireland. He shared the award with Intel's chairman, Craig Barrett.

New Business Momentum for Irish Companies

Announcements made during the Minister's visit included:

CarTrawler, a global car rental distribution company, signed an agreement
with U.S.-based Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC).

Daon, a provider of identity assurance software products, signed a deal
with NEC Corporation.

SensL, a provider of innovative low-light solutions that use proprietary
silicon detectors, announced a new deal with Jefferson Lab.

Yougetitback.com announced a new relationship with Arizona State
University.

Abaltat, a provider of editing tools for professional soundtrack creation,
signed a distribution deal with Boris FX and Media 100.

Interactive Services, a learning specialist company, signed a partnership
agreement with Palm, Inc.

Powervation, a fabless semiconductor company, announced the opening of new
offices in Palo Alto. Minister Martin performed the official opening.

During his visit, Minister Martin also opened a new operations hub in Union City, Calif. for Galway-based Multis Group Ltd. Multis is a global technology services and outsourcing company that provides remanufacturing and remarketing services to some of the world's premier technology companies, including HP and Sun Microsystems. Current headcount at Multis' new Union City hub stands at 80; the company plans to increase this to more than 100 by the end of the year.

Commenting on the deals, Minister Martin said, "Investment relations between the U.S. and Ireland have entered a new era, marked by a dynamic two-way investment flow. Irish companies are now investing more in the U.S. than ever before. In fact, in the last decade, such investment has increased ten-fold, making Ireland the tenth largest investor in the U.S. market. In the last twelve months, Irish companies have opened 47 offices in the U.S."

The Minister continued, "Multis is a tremendous example of the ambition, ingenuity and hard work that has fueled this shift in the Ireland-U.S. bilateral investment flow. Given Multis' rapid growth, it's not surprising to see the company establishing a new operations hub in Silicon Valley."

John McIntyre, senior vice president of software and services for the Americas for Enterprise Ireland added, "The scope of these deals is a tribute to the calibre of the Irish entrepreneurs, their high-value product offerings, and their ability to compete in demanding global markets. The U.S. is a key market for our client companies and Enterprise Ireland remains deeply committed to their growth in this region. It is more important than ever for Irish companies to maintain a strong focus on this market and to demonstrate commitment to the longer-term opportunities."

Celebrating Ireland as a Hub of Innovation

Also on the trip, Minister Martin was honored by the newly formed Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) for his contribution to advancing technology innovation in Ireland. He joined Intel's chairman, Craig Barrett, who also received this special award at a dinner held at Stanford University. During the dinner, the ITLG, in conjunction with the Irish Times presented the inaugural ITLG-Irish Times "Innovation Award" to ChangingWorlds, a provider of personalized software for mobile phones. Four Irish companies were shortlisted for the award. The other finalists included Nubiq, Altobridge and Digisoft.tv.

About Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland is the Government Agency responsible for driving leadership and growth for innovative Irish companies in international markets. With a network of 13 domestic offices and 32 international locations, Enterprise Ireland helps world-class Irish companies establish strong positions in global markets, thereby increasing regional and national prosperity.

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Source: Enterprise Ireland Silicon Valley

CONTACT: Jane Evans-Ryan of Genuity PR, +1-408-489-6391,
jane@genuitypr.com, for Enterprise Ireland Silicon Valley

2008-04-02 16:53:27 0326872 PRNEWSWIRE