OpenText to Create 400 Jobs in Cork and Galway with €105 Million AI and Cybersecurity Investment
Canadian software giant OpenText has announced a major €105 million investment in Ireland, creating 400 new jobs over the next three years across new centres of excellence in Cork and Galway. The investment, announced on Saturday 11 July, will focus on high-value areas including agentic AI, application modernisation, cybersecurity, and sovereign cloud capabilities. IDA Ireland described the announcement as "strategically important" for the future of AI and cybersecurity development in Ireland, and a significant vote of confidence in the country's talent pool for advanced technologies.
Background
OpenText is one of the world's largest enterprise software companies, with operations in more than 180 countries and a client base that includes many of the world's leading corporations and government agencies. The company specialises in information management — the tools and platforms that organisations use to manage, secure, and extract value from their data. Its products span a wide range of areas, from content management and business process automation to cybersecurity and cloud services.
Ireland has been a significant location for OpenText for many years, with the company having established operations in the country as part of its broader European strategy. The new investment represents a significant expansion of that presence, reflecting both the company's confidence in Ireland's talent pool and its assessment of the strategic importance of the Irish market for its future growth.
The decision to locate the new investment in Cork and Galway — rather than Dublin, which has historically attracted the lion's share of foreign direct investment in Ireland — is significant. Both cities have been working to develop their technology sectors and to attract high-value investment, and the OpenText announcement is a major boost to those efforts. Cork, with its established technology cluster centred on the Mahon Business Park and the Cork Science and Innovation Park, and Galway, with its strong life sciences and technology base, are well-positioned to support the kind of high-value roles that OpenText is creating.
Key Developments
The 400 new jobs will be created over a three-year period, with recruitment beginning immediately. The roles will be focused on four key areas: agentic AI — the development of AI systems that can act autonomously to complete complex tasks; application modernisation — helping organisations to update and transform their legacy IT systems; cybersecurity — protecting organisations from the growing threat of cyberattacks; and sovereign cloud — the development of cloud computing infrastructure that meets the data sovereignty requirements of governments and regulated industries.
The new Centre of Excellence will have hubs in both Cork and Galway, with the specific allocation of roles between the two cities to be determined as recruitment progresses. The company has indicated that it will work closely with the universities and institutes of technology in both cities — including University College Cork, University of Galway, and the Munster Technological University — to develop the talent pipeline needed to sustain the investment over the long term.
The IDA Ireland CEO welcomed the announcement, calling it "a strategically important investment in the future of AI and cybersecurity development in Ireland." The IDA's role in attracting the investment reflects the agency's ongoing efforts to position Ireland as a leading destination for high-value technology investment, particularly in areas like AI and cybersecurity where demand for skilled workers is growing rapidly.
Why It Matters
The OpenText investment matters for several reasons. At €105 million and 400 jobs, it is a significant addition to Ireland's technology sector, and the focus on AI and cybersecurity reflects the direction in which the global technology industry is moving. The decision to locate the investment in Cork and Galway rather than Dublin is particularly welcome, given the government's stated objective of distributing economic development more evenly across the country.
The cybersecurity dimension is especially significant. Ireland has been working to develop a cybersecurity cluster, and the OpenText investment adds to a growing ecosystem that includes other major players in the sector. As cyber threats become more sophisticated and more frequent, the demand for cybersecurity expertise is growing rapidly, and Ireland is well-positioned to become a leading centre for the sector.
The sovereign cloud element of the investment is also noteworthy. As governments and regulated industries become increasingly concerned about data sovereignty — the question of where their data is stored and who has access to it — the demand for cloud infrastructure that meets specific national or regulatory requirements is growing. OpenText's investment in this area positions Ireland as a potential hub for sovereign cloud services in Europe.
Local Impact
In Cork, the OpenText investment will add to a technology sector that already includes major employers such as Apple, Dell, and VMware. The new roles will be concentrated in the city's established technology districts, with the company expected to take space in one of Cork's major business parks. In Galway, the investment will complement the city's existing technology and life sciences base, adding high-value jobs in areas that are complementary to the skills already available in the local labour market.
The universities and institutes of technology in both cities will be key partners in the investment, providing the talent pipeline that OpenText needs to sustain its operations over the long term. The company's commitment to working with local educational institutions reflects a recognition that the success of the investment depends on the availability of skilled graduates in the relevant disciplines.
What's Next
OpenText will begin recruitment for the new roles immediately, with the company expected to advertise positions across a range of disciplines including software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and cloud architecture. The company will also begin the process of identifying and fitting out its new premises in Cork and Galway, with the aim of having the first cohort of new employees in place before the end of 2026. IDA Ireland will continue to work with the company to support the investment and to ensure that it delivers the maximum possible benefit to the Irish economy.
