The two-way investment relationship between Ireland and the US is one of the most dynamic and deeply embedded economic partnerships in the world. Today, American companies employ approximately 245,000 people in Ireland, while Irish companies employ more than 200,000 people across all 50 US states. Ireland is now the fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment into the United States, with Irish companies having invested $390 billion (€340 billion) in the US economy.
Aidan McKenna, who leads Enterprise Ireland’s Americas operation, says the US market is critically important to Irish companies operating in this corridor, serving as a primary engine for scale, growth and global competitiveness.
“Enterprise Ireland-supported exports to the US reached €6.71 billion in 2025, underlining its role as a key export destination and strategic growth market for over 950 Irish companies,” he notes. “We also know leading Irish firms view the US as their main growth driver through 2030, supported by multi-billion-dollar capital commitments and deep operational presence.”
This relationship is genuinely two-way in nature, says Sean Sheridan, international tax partner with KPMG in Ireland. “Irish companies have built and are growing real operations in the US, employing over 200,000 people and investing billions across manufacturing, technology and services. At the same time, the US remains the largest investor into Ireland, which underlines how balanced and interdependent the relationship has become.”
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McKenna is also keen to impress that Irish companies are not just exporters but deeply embedded partners in the US economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of additional jobs.
“They spend billions annually on US goods and services and play a key role in revitalising regional and rural economies through manufacturing and infrastructure investment,” he notes. “At the same time, US demand for Irish innovation continues to rise, with partnerships delivering efficiency, cost savings, and competitive advantage to American businesses.”
This means companies operating across the US-Ireland corridor are continuing to invest in high-value sectors that reflect demand-driven innovation and align with long-term global trends such as sustainability, digitalisation and reindustrialisation. McKenna says: “This dual strategy – combining sustained capital investment with cutting-edge innovation – futureproofs both company growth and the broader transatlantic economic partnership.”
Sheridan agrees there is a “clear shift” into future-facing sectors. “Enterprise Ireland data shows Irish companies expanding in areas like AI, fintech, digital services and advanced manufacturing, with new US market entries and partnerships accelerating in those sectors. That’s where the next phase of growth is coming from.”
Orla Gavin, head of tax with KPMG in Ireland, says: “Investment is increasingly tied to digitalisation, R&D and new technologies, which is consistent with IDA Ireland’s focus on AI, innovation and skills as key drivers of long-term growth.” She points out that supporting Irish companies to scale is equally important. “That combination – outward investment and strong domestic capability, is what builds resilience and keeps the relationship moving forward.”
A clear example of this is Carbery, an international food ingredients, flavours and nutrition business headquartered in Ballineen, West Cork, which is proud of its Irish co-operative heritage. Its Synergy Flavours business allows it to combine Ireland’s high-quality dairy and food ingredients reputation with innovation, application expertise, and close customer collaboration, says Kevin Collins, chief executive of Synergy North America.
“The US is an especially important part of that story, both as a key market for Irish dairy ingredients and as a major growth platform for our taste business,” Collins says.
Synergy’s presence in the US has been built over many years through investment, innovation and strategic acquisitions. “As Carbery looked beyond traditional dairy markets, we recognised the opportunity to diversify into higher-value ingredients and flavours, building on our expertise in food science and customer innovation,” Collins explains. “The US was a natural place to do that, given the scale of the market, the pace of innovation, and the importance of taste in driving consumer choice.”
Today, the company employs more than 420 people across four US sites, and serves more than 800 customers across the US, Canada and Mexico. The company will continue its investment in innovation and new capabilities in the flavour industry, says Collins, noting its recent acquisition of the US flavours business of Prinova. Nutrition is another important area of investment for the firm. “We continue to see strong opportunities in active nutrition, healthy ageing, clinical nutrition, and emerging GLP-1 companion nutrition,” Collins says.
Antonia Ellis is chief revenue officer with Origina, which provides independent software support and maintenance to many of the world’s largest enterprises, helping them keep critical systems secure and reliable.
Ellis says the US is a strategic market for Origina and has been central to its growth. “More than half of our customers are based there, and our North American headquarters is located in Plano, Texas,” she explains. “We’ve built teams, expertise and long-term customer relationships on both sides of the Atlantic, combining Ireland’s engineering talent with access to some of the world’s largest and most complex enterprises.”
Origina has continued to invest in both markets as it scales, she adds. “For us, the US-Ireland corridor is far more than a route to market. It is a long-term partnership built on talent, innovation and shared ambition.”
‘We are particularly proud that technology developed and manufactured here is now used in 95 per cent of the top 1,000 hospitals in the US and has supported the treatment of more than 2.1 million US patients’
— John Power, Aerogen
Ellis explains that Origina is investing heavily in the expertise and services that support some of the world’s most important industries, particularly where long-lived, mission-critical systems underpin essential operations. “That includes regulated and high-availability environments such as financial services, public sector, healthcare, utilities, and large-scale manufacturing.”
Cybersecurity is a major area of focus across all of those sectors, and Origina recently launched OPTAS, its proactive threat assurance service. Security teams do not need more alerts, they need better answers, Ellis says. “Many of our customers operate across both Ireland and the US, so we see first-hand the operational and security challenges that come with managing complex enterprise environments at scale.”
Origina is also continuing to invest in people. “The long-term strength of the relationship between Ireland and the United States has always been built on talent, knowledge and innovation,” Ellis says. “Developing world-class engineering and security capability across both markets remains one of our highest priorities.”
Aerogen is Ireland’s largest indigenous medtech company and the global leader in acute care aerosol drug delivery. John Power, chief executive of Aerogen, explains that while it started as a small Irish start-up, it has since grown into a global healthcare company employing more than 700 people.
While innovation, engineering and manufacturing remain firmly rooted in Ireland, the US is critically important to Aerogen and has been central to its growth and success over the last decade.
“We are particularly proud that technology developed and manufactured here is now used in 95 per cent of the top 1,000 hospitals in the US and has supported the treatment of more than 2.1 million US patients,” Power says.
Aerogen is currently investing in next-generation aerosol drug delivery technologies and platforms that can improve outcomes for patients across critical care, respiratory medicine, emergency care, and neonatal medicine. Also, through Aerogen Pharma, it is investing in the future of inhaled therapeutics. “Our lead programme is inhaled surfactant therapy for premature babies, currently in Phase III clinical trials,” Power explains. “If successful, it has the potential to become one of the most significant advancements in neonatal care in more than 50 years.”
For Aerogen, the US-Ireland relationship goes far beyond commercial success, Power adds. “The US has been an incredible partner in helping drive clinical adoption, research, education and innovation. In many ways, Aerogen’s success is a reflection of the broader US-Ireland relationship. Irish innovation, engineering and manufacturing excellence combined with US clinical leadership and adoption have enabled us to improve patient care at a global scale.”
