IVCA
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Dublin; Sunday 25th May, 2025: Venture capital funding into Irish SMEs soared to €532.8m in the first quarter of 2025, according to the
Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey published today in association with William Fry. This was a record for a first quarter and represents a year-to-year increase of over 100%.
But Mr Gerry Maguire, chairperson, Irish Venture Capital Association said: “It should be noted that over 80% of the total in this quarter was due to deals worth over €10m.” He said that the picture for start-ups raising under €3m was less rosy and this may reflect an imbalance in the market.
The first quarter excluded the impact of US “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2nd April. Mr Maguire said that anecdotal evidence suggested that the uncertainty and caution caused by this, especially amongst international investors, is likely to show up in following quarters.
Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, IVCA said that funding by international venture capital into Irish companies rose to 82% of the total, compared to 71% in the same quarter last year.
“This is a doubled edged sword. While it reflects the high quality and potential of Irish tech firms and demand by overseas investors, it also reflects Ireland Inc’s vulnerability to international influences if the tide goes out.”
Deals in the €30m+ category grew by nearly 90% to €296.8m. Funding in the €10m-€30m range rose by 184% to €132m. Deals between €5m-€10m grew 138% to €43.8m. Funding in the €3-€5m increased 346% to €35m from €7.8m the previous quarter.
Deals in the €1m-€3m category fell by 5% to €21.6m. Deals under €1m fell by 42% to €3.6m from €6.2m the previous year. There was also a big fall in the number of deals in this category, down from 21 to six. Seed funding, or first rounds raised by SMEs, marked time, falling by 3% to €39.3m from €40.4m the previous year.
The total number of deals in the first quarter was 43, slightly ahead of the same quarter last year (41).
Top five deals in the first quarter were lifescience company, Let’s get Checked which raised €150m. Cybersecurity firm, Tines raised €115m followed by AI company, Protex AI (€31.8m), drone delivery firm, Manna (€27m) and medical technology manufacturer, Perfuze (€22m).
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Note to editors – how the VenturePulse survey is compiled
The Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey is recognised by the VC industry and by government and international bodies, including the OECD, as the definitive and most up to date source of fundraising activity in Ireland.
The data covers equity funds raised by Irish SMEs and other SMEs headquartered on the island of Ireland from a wide variety of investors.
This research is the result of the latest detailed information supplied internally by members of the Irish Venture Capital Association and from published information where IVCA members were not involved. A list of the funding rounds that comprise the source data for the total will be available on the IVCA website.
About the Irish Venture Capital Association
The Irish Venture Capital Association, which marks its 40th anniversary this year, is the representative organisation for venture capital and private equity firms in Ireland.
An independent DCU report found that Irish venture capital and private equity supported the state’s investment through its agencies’ Enterprise Ireland and Irish Strategic Investment Fund and geared up investment through the Seed & Venture Capital Programme by almost 16 times.
The study estimates that employment numbers in venture and private equity backed firms grow by an average of 27%, compared to an overall increase in employment in the economy of just over 3% per annum over a similar time period.
