40 founders transitioning from multinationals into the start-up world with expertise ranging from AI and machine learning to neuroscience have joined a 12-week intensive entrepreneurship programme that will forge Ireland’s businesses of the future.
With a focus on reshaping how start-ups are created in Ireland, the Founders programme at Dogpatch Labs has welcomed its second cohort.
The second cohort includes 40 professionals from organisations like Stripe, META, Google, and NASA, alongside graduates from MIT, Stanford, and Cambridge with expertise in AI, machine learning, neuroscience and engineering.
“This is a new kind of start-up factory for Ireland—a model that taps into one of our greatest untapped resources: transitioning talent from multinationals into impactful start-ups”
The Founders Programme is a full-time immersive 12-week journey at Dogpatch Labs, where cofounders; a technical engineer and commercial expert, are paired before they even have an idea, building startups from scratch by complementary teams of exceptional talent.
Building exceptional founding teams
It provides mentorship from top-entrepreneurs and the opportunity for €100,000 in early-stage investment.
Founders is a two-year pilot funded by returns from successful investments in Irish start-ups through the NDRC. With its proven success and growing impact, new funding is required to sustain and scale this model beyond 2025.
The programme is already making an impact. Inspeq AI, co-founded by alumni from Meta and Amazon, raised €1.1m within six months for its AI-driven security platform. Glitch Ads, founded by leaders from Google and Wayflyer, secured €750,000 in angel funding to scale its ad optimisation technology.
“This is a new kind of start-up factory for Ireland—a model that taps into one of our greatest untapped resources: transitioning talent from multinationals into impactful start-ups,” said Amy Neale, partner at Delta VC. “The quality of this cohort is really something special.”
Stephen Kinsella, director of Immersive Software Engineering at the University of Limerick said that Founders bridges the gap between careers at multinationals and entrepreneurship, positioning Ireland as a global innovation hub.
“Talent is the single most important ingredient in any innovation ecosystem. Founders unlocks that talent and channels it into impactful startups, making it critical to Ireland’s future.”
The 2025 cohort will culminate in a showcase or “Demo Day” at Dogpatch Labs later this year, where participants will present their startups to leading investors, ecosystem leaders, and stakeholders.
“This model has proven its value, creating startups that wouldn’t exist otherwise with exceptional founding teams,” said Bobby Healy, founder and CEO of Manna Drone Delivery.
“Ensuring its future is critical to building a world-class innovation ecosystem for Ireland.”
Main image at top: Group of entrepreneurs discussing ideas at Founders at Dogpatch Labs.
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