Irish technology companies saw venture capital backing rise 8 per cent in the third quarter of the year, new data shows, as the impact of US tariffs on international investors faded.
But funding for the first nine months of the year was down 10 per cent year on year, data compiled by the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) said, and early deals suffered.
A total of €207.9 million was ploughed into Irish small and medium-sized enterprises in the third quarter, according to the Irish Venture Capital Association Venture Pulse survey, published in association with William Fry.
That followed a “dismal” second quarter, when funding dropped to its lowest in 10 years, following the US announcement of Liberation Day tariff plans in April, shaking international investor confidence.
RM Block
However, the latest data indicated investors had started to return to the market, with backing from overseas investors more than doubling to €146.7 million in the current quarter compared with €69.5 million in the second quarter.
“Hopefully we are starting to see some confidence and stability return to the market, but it remains a challenging time for early-stage companies,” said IVCA chairperson Caroline Gaynor.
Gaps also remained in some areas in the third quarter, with deals for seed funding and those under €1 million yielding less positive results. Year on year, seed rounds fell by 30 per cent to €23.4 million, and by 31 per cent for the first nine months of the year.
Total funding for the first nine months stood at €853.4 million, down from €945.3 million in 2024.
“The process for deploying the Government’s €250 million Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2025-2029 is well under way,” said IVCA director general Sarah-Jane Larkin. “We are optimistic that the environment for very early stage Irish companies seeking first-round funding will pick up in the first half of next year.”
Deals in the €1 million to €5 million range accounted for 30 out of the 39 transactions in the quarter, with those in the €1 million to €3 million up 35 per cent year on year. Deals in the €3 million to €5 million range were up 18 per cent.
But funding in the €10 million to €30 million category was down by two-thirds, declining to €26 million, while deals up to €10 million were down by 74 per cent to €13.5 million.
In the €30 million and over category, standout deals included €62 million raised by ProVerum, while AI machine learning firm Nory raised €34 million.
Life sciences topped the list for funding this year to date, followed by cybersecurity, AI and machine learning, fintech and software.
