Catalyst: Northern Ireland can leapfrog regions with AI-powered entrepreneurship

Catalyst has today announced a strategic overhaul of its entrepreneurship support to ensure Northern Ireland is equipped to lead, not lag, as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes how innovation happens.

Catalyst is an independent, non-profit science and technology hub focused with a vision of opportunity for all from through world-leading innovation and supporting entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland from its hubs in Belfast and Derry.

At its Annual Briefing in Belfast, Catalyst leaders said the economic and societal impact of AI is already profound and accelerating fast, so startups, scaleups and researchers now need to be equipped to use AI to build better, faster and more robust innovation driven enterprises.

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"We have seen what's coming, because we're building with it," said Catalyst CEO Steve Orr. "We believe our people have a once in a generation opportunity to step forward but only if we move fast, work together and make innovation radically more accessible."

The organisation told an audience of over 100 early-stage entrepreneurs, business leaders, academic partners and government representatives that AI's impact won't arrive as a single headline moment, but as a rolling transformation across sectors, business models and skills.

"As many organisations stand at the edge of this change, unsure how to respond, Catalyst is acting and retooling our entrepreneurship support," said Steve Orr.

The organisation unveiled a new way of enabling entrepreneurship in the AI era, rooted in its role as an independent, non-profit enabler of innovation. Its programmes are being rebuilt around:

• Always-on support, accessible to founders when they're ready rather than fixed recruitment windows for programmes
• Incorporating the Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework from MIT
• Providing access to AI-powered tools (like Jetpack and Orbit) that enable solo founders to move like teams
• A focus on inclusive access, ensuring these new tools don't leave underrepresented groups behind

Fiona Bennington, Director of Entrepreneurship & Scaling at Catalyst, said: "The start-up playbook has changed. AI-first ventures don't need the same size of teams or capital to go from startup to scaleup. What they need is speed, insight, and leverage and Catalyst is retooling to deliver exactly that.

"If we act now, Northern Ireland can leapfrog larger ecosystems. We have the talent and the collaborative spirit, but we must move with intent. The AI era won't wait."

Attendees at the annual briefing heard that Catalyst's plan for future support builds on tangible results achieved in the last year, including:

• Catalyst is now focused on three long-term goals, co-designed by 69 representatives of 39 stakeholder organisations in 2024, including one goal to make Northern Ireland a top three UK hub for innovation driven enterprises.
• 80% of participants in Catalyst’s Inclusive Innovation Programme ‘Stryve’ gained accredited qualifications, with entrepreneurial ambition rising from 31% to 86%
• 52% of Generation Innovation Work Experience participants now see entrepreneurship as their future
• 167 people formed 67 new startup teams through its Co-Founders programme with a 6.5x increase in survival rate
• Through Hello Possible (early business ideation), 50 Role Models engaged with 2,000+ aspiring founders from underrepresented backgrounds across all six counties
• Way to Scale participants project 5.5× revenue increases with 78% of participants having developed strategic international connections because of the programme. 

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Catalyst Chairman Neil Crockett added: "For Northern Ireland, but particularly for our startups, scaleups and those actively engaged in AI innovation, AI presents a unique opportunity to build on what our collaborative ecosystem has already achieved. With AI, people without traditional tech skills can now build, test, and launch products. If we help founders access these tools, we can unlock a new generation of entrepreneurs who might otherwise have been left behind.

“We want all stakeholders to engage with us in shaping how NI can leverage its strengths to compete and thrive in the AI era. We aim to work those most ready to contribute and innovate - including AICC, MIT, and other key partners - to enable getting the best outcomes for our people.”

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