NDRC saw its companies raise €125m in follow-on investments in 2015, as its portfolio’s value rose almost 50pc to €328m.

Investing in 22 new companies last year, NDRC’s returns have proved impressive. Follow-on investments and outright sales of companies saw NDRC receive €1.5m in realisations – 300pc up on last year.

This was driven by the likes of Logentries (sold for €63m), Boxever (follow-on of €11m), Soundwave (acquired by Spotify) and PMD Solutions (follow-on of €4.2m).

Return on investment

The market capital of its portfolio is €328m – 49pc up on 2014 – with €125m in follow-on investments secured, according to its annual report.

Adding in the 546 jobs created by the companies NDRC has a stake in (up 42pc) and the €1.5m worth of investments by the organisation, it looks like a decent deal.

“The start-up world in Ireland and internationally is an increasingly noisy one with some commentators arguing that it is more hype than substance,” said NDRC CEO Ben Hurley. “NDRC’s track record clearly demonstrates our significant and qualitative contribution to the start-up world.

“We have a unique investment model that is not only delivering a pipeline of investor-ready ventures, but is also strengthening awareness of Ireland as a globally focused, digital talent base.”

Logentries, one of the first companies to participate in NDRC’s LaunchPad programme in 2010, was acquired by US security analytics giant Rapid7 in 2015 for €63m. ClearSight Innovations, an NDRC-founded entity, was also acquired in 2015 for an undisclosed sum.

Spotify

Soundwave raised over €2.9m in follow-on investment before being sold to Spotify earlier this year, while Boxever had raised €12m by the start of 2016, announcing plans to double its workforce.

NDRC has remained active this year. In June, internet of things start-up Wia secured €30,000 funding for its plan to speed up connected-device creation after winning a pitch competition at the Dublin facility.

In March, NDRC was one of the investors in a €2.23m Series A round for Irish solid-state storage player NVMdurance. Other investors included New Venture Partners, ACT Venture Capital, and Enterprise Ireland, all of which already had stakes in the company.