NovaUCD named one of Europe’s leading start-up hubs by Financial Times
Posted 14 March, 2024
NovaUCD has been named as one of Europe’s leading start-up hubs in 2024 by the Financial Times.
In its inaugural edition of ‘(opens in a new window)Europe’s Leading Start-Up Hubs special report’, which details the best European incubator and accelerator programmes, the paper and its partners ranked the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin among the continent’s top 125 start-up hubs.
Ranked at 81, NovaUCD is one of only two start-up hubs in Ireland to be included in the inaugural list, and is the only Irish university-based hub among the rankings.
UnternehmerTUM, the start-up lab of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany, was ranked in first place.
“I am delighted to see that NovaUCD has been recognised by the Financial Times and Statista as one of the leading start-up hubs in Europe, and it is a great honour to be included in the inaugural report,” said Tom Flanagan, Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation at NovaUCD.
“Since it was established in 2003 NovaUCD has supported over 550 start-ups and new ventures, including companies such as, Aer Therapeutics, Corlytics, Equal1, Manna Drone Delivery, Output Sports, SuperNode and tech unicorn Wayflyer, to attract over €1.3 billion in funding and create thousands of jobs.
“We really appreciate this recognition and look forward to launching new innovative programmes and activities to support the next generation of start-ups with global ambitions.”
To map Europe’s top incubators and accelerators, the Financial Times, with its research partner, Statista, and FT sister publication, Sifted, identified some 2,000 start-up hubs and invited each to submit online applications for inclusion in its inaugural rankings under a series of criteria, including being physically based in Europe, in operation since at least 2019 and offer at least one incubation or acceleration programme.
The rankings of eligible hubs were based on survey responses of alumni of the hubs, track record analysis and recommendation analysis from start-up investors and seasoned entrepreneurs.
Since 2003, over 550 companies and early-stage ventures have been supported at UCD through the services provided by NovaUCD and its business programmes, such as its commercialisation bootcamps and UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme.
In addition, the NovaUCD entrepreneurial community has raised €1.3 bn in equity funding over the last 20 years, and current and alumni start-ups within its ecosystem include BiancaMed (acquired by ResMed Inc); Biosimulytics; CropBiome; Conjura; DOCOsoft; EpiCapture; Equinome (acquired by Plusvital); Go Eve; Life Scientific; Logentries (acquired by Rapid7); MagrowTec; Meili; OncoAssure; Oxymem (acquired by Du Pont); Plasma Bound; Proveye; SiriusXT; TestReach; xWave Technologies and Zipp Mobility (acquired by ZEUS Scooters).
NovaUCD’s reach and influence has also expanded over the last two decades as its team now also manages NexusUCD, the University’s Industry Partnership Centre, ConsultUCD, the University’s managed consultancy service, and the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre, which is located at UCD Lyons Farm in Co. Kildare.
NovaUCD was originally funded through a unique public-private partnership that included AIB; AMD; Arthur Cox; Deloitte; Enterprise Ireland; Ericsson; Goodbody and UCD.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations (with materials from Micéal Whelan, UCD Research and Innovation)
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
