BuyMedia to create 100 jobs at Galway’s Platform94 hub

More than 100 new jobs have been announced at a Galway-based company that specialises in advertising planning, management and purchasing.

Buymedia says the roles will be filled over the next four years.

The company’s CEO, Fergal O’Connor, said positions were available in marketing and software development as well as a range of tech openings, for Artificial Intelligence engineers.

The firm has developed an AI platform which it says gives companies more targetted advertising, while predicting future customer decisions.

The company’s headquarters are at Galway city’s innovation hub Platform94, which officially opened its €5.2m expansion this morning.

The investment has seen the centre significantly increase its footprint, bringing its total space to 66,000 square foot.

Fifteen private office spaces have been added to the centre, along with a video conferencing boardroom and a media production suite.

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the hub, which was formerly known as the Galway Technology Centre.

The campus was originally founded in 1994 to meet the needs of an emerging cluster of tech companies outside the capital.

It is owned by Galway Chamber and WestBIC and supported by Enterprise Ireland.

The building is at 85% occupancy, with more than 600 people employed on site and an additional 100 positions currently open.

Platform94 said it has exceeded its own job creation targets by 100 and has done so two years ahead of time.

“The space available for scaling companies today is 11 times what it was when we first opened 30 years ago,” said Dave Hickey, chairperson of the board of directors at Platform94, who was speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

“We have over 60 companies physically based in Platform94, and a further 60 or more which are ‘virtual’ members, so they use the facility on and off,” he said.

Platform94 is predicting it will bring €66.8m of gross added value to the region this year.

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“If you take the income that [employees] generate, what they earn and spend in the local environment across the regions – not just Galway-centric – that comes to a pretty high figure,” said Mr Hickey.

Many innovation and business centres have opened or expanded in recent years, but Mr Hickey said its focus on scaling businesses helps to draw firms to its door.

“There have been huge strides made in the start-up infrastructure across the region, in fact across the country, but start-up and scale-up are different things,” he said.

“Scaling companies need a different set of disciplines. They need to be much more focused on product development, they need to specialise a bit more, they need to stop doing stuff that they may well have done as a start-up,” he stated.

“Being a start-up is about exploring and finding your niche, a scaling company has found its niche and needs to bring that to the market,” he added.

The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Dara Calleary said today that the opening of the extension of Platform94 will further cement Galway’s reputation as a hub for digital tech and provide high-potential businesses with the space and support they need to flourish and prosper.

“The West Regional Enterprise Plan is responsive to the opportunities and needs of the region and focuses on regional collaboration. Platform94 is an example of the power of that collaboration, and I hope and expect that it will inspire similar initiatives in the region,” Mr Calleary said.

Leo Clancy, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, said that Platform94 has been supported by Enterprise Ireland through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund which provides funding for innovation and collaborative projects with the aim of creating sustainable jobs in the region.

“Building on the success of the original Galway Technology Centre, the new extended premises will help support an increase in value-added activity, collaboration and innovation by offering technical support and facilities, and links to training to strengthen scaling enterprises within the region,” Mr Clancy said.

“We look forward to working with the businesses that will further grow their enterprises in this immersive hub, with a view to scaling internationally,” he added.

Additional reporting by Pat McGrath