Caption (from left): Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, and Caroline Gaynor, chairperson, Irish Venture Capital Association. Picture: Fennell Photography.
- IVCA says data is “warning sign” for Ireland
Dublin: Sunday, 7th September, 2025: Venture capital funding into Irish SMEs in the second quarter fell to its lowest level in ten years, according to the
Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey published today in association with William Fry. Funding plummeted to €112.6m, from €494m in the same quarter last year. This is the lowest figure the IVCA has recorded since the second quarter in 2015.
As a result, funding in the first half of the year fell by 14% to €645.5m from €752.7m the previous year.
“The fall off would have been worse if not for a record first quarter 2025 which saw an increase of over 100% to €532.8m compared to the same period last year,” commented Caroline Gaynor, chairperson, Irish Venture Capital Association.
She added that the quarterly result was largely explained by an 81% pull back by international investors, which invested €69.5m in the quarter, compared to €375.3m the previous year, a shortfall of over €305m.
“This is a timely warning sign for Ireland and highlights the need for us to stand on our own feet in terms of funding and backing for our brightest and best indigenous start-ups, instead of depending on volatile international support,” she said.
Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, IVCA, said that bearish international sentiment was reflected in
quarter two deal sizes. “There was only one deal (Nomupay) in the €30m+ category, compared to five last year. Funding fell by 88% to €37m from €300.3m.”
There was also only one deal in the €10m+ category (Kota), down from six rounds last year. Funding fell by 87% to €12.4m from over €100m.
“There was a falloff in all deal sizes, with the exception of those under €1m,” added Sarah-Jane Larkin. “Seed funding, or first rounds by SMEs, fell by over a half to €25.5m.”
She added, “The IVCA applauds the recent DETE report1 which found that ‘there is a need for future government intervention to improve the supply of scaling finance’. This new data emphasises the urgency of the situation.
“In an increasingly isolationist global economic market, it is more important than ever that we are not dependent on international capital or sentiment and have the capacity to fund our own indigenous winners.”
The life sciences sector with €255.3m (40%) led the way in funding for the half year, followed by cybersecurity (18%); fintech (14%); software (9%); and AI & machine learning (8%).
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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.
Ronnie Simpson BBS, FPRII; Member, National Union of Journalists
Ronnie Simpson Consulting
(Formerly of Simpson Financial & Technology PR).
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