VC funding into Irish SMEs soars in first quarter to €533m
Venture capital funding into Irish SMEs jumped to €532.8m in the first quarter of 2025, new figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association Venture Pulse survey shows.
This was a record for a first quarter and marked a year-to-year increase of over 100%.
The survey is carried out in association with William Fry.
It showed that deals in the €30m+ category grew by nearly 90% to €296.8m, while funding in the €10m-€30m range soared by 184% to €132m.
Meanwhile, deals between €5m-€10m jumped by 138% to €43.8m and funding in the €3-€5m surged by 346% to €35m from €7.8m the previous quarter.
But deals in the €1m-€3m category fell by 5% to €21.6m, while deals under €1m fell by 42% to €3.6m from €6.2m the previous year.
The IVCA said there was big a big fall in the number of deals in this category, down from 21 to six.
Seed funding, or first rounds raised by SMEs, fell by 3% to €39.3m from €40.4m the previous year, it added.
The total number of deals in the first quarter was 43, slightly ahead of the same quarter last year when the number of deals came to 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).
The first quarter excluded the impact of US "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2,
Gerry Maguire, Chairperson of Irish Venture Capital Association, said 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," she added,
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