5 Reasons semiconductor companies are choosing Ireland

Why do semiconductor companies choose Ireland? The Semiconductor industry in Ireland can be traced back to 1976 when Analog Devices opened a Fab in Limerick. With the opening of Intel’s European manufacturing & technology Headquarters in 1989 near Dublin, the industry was really put on the map.

Thirty-nine years from the birth of ‘Silicon Ireland’ there is now a melting pot of innovation and international collaboration among; experienced engineers, skilled graduates, researchers, multinational and Indigenous companies that are involved in all stages of the semiconductor value chain from initial design through to fabrication.

The IDA Ireland recently published information regarding the reasons why semiconductor companies choose Ireland; 

HIGHLY SPECIALISED SKILLS & TALENT

Internationally sought after skills are available from; research, design and manufacturing perspectives in Analogue, Mixed-Signal, RF and DSP. This is accompanied by access to a European labour pool of 200 million people and Ireland’s strengths in STEM subjects to supply skilled graduates.

ESTABLISHED SEMICONDUCTOR CLUSTER

Ireland has a long established presence in the semiconductor industry with representation across the entire value chain and the proven ability to deliver large scale projects across a range of business activities. Multinational companies include: Intel, Analog Devices, Maxim Integrated, Xilinx, OnSemiconductor, Microsemi, Synopsys, Texas Instruments, Lam Research, Applied Materials and Cypress Semiconductor

VIBRANT START-UP SEMICONDUCTOR SCENE IN IRELAND

Irish based start-up companies Commergy, Firecomms, GloNav, ChipSensors, Mingoa, Duolog and Redmere have all been acquired in the last six years for over $100M. In the last five years Ikon Semiconductor, Decawave, Powervation and Movidius have raised over €30M.

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH CENTRES AND INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

Science Foundation Ireland and industry-funded centres provide a dynamic partnership between leading researchers in their respective fields and industry.

CRANN – Adaptive Nanostructure & Nano-devices

AMBER – Advanced Materials and BioEngineering

IPIC – Irish Photonics Integration Centre

CONNECT – The Centre for Future Networks and Communications

TRIL – Technology Research for Independent Living

MCCI – Microelectronics Circuits Centre

CLARITY – Centre for Sensor Web Technologies

Tyndall National Institute – Microelectronics and Nano-electronics, Microsystems , Photonics & Wafer Fabrication.

BUSINESS FRIENDLY TAX ENVIRONMENT

The Irish tax regime is both open and transparent, offering a competitive 12.5% corporation tax, extensive tax treaty network and a 25% R&D tax credit. 

If you are considering relocation and you work in the areas below with the relevant skills and experience, please do get in touch.

• Digital ASIC Design, skilled in VHDL / Verilog coding, from 2 – 20 years’ experience
• Digital ASIC Verification (SystemVerilog, UVM, OVM)
• Digital Physical Design – experts in the RTL-GDSII flow

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss semiconductor career opportunities, current job vacancies or come in and meet with a member of our team, please feel free to contact any of our consultants.