Female founder funding stalls

Rise in new women-led start-ups masks sharp fall in median funding and deep regional imbalance.

Ireland saw a record number of female-founded companies raise investment in 2025, yet overall capital deployed into women-led firms slipped and the funding landscape became increasingly polarised, according to new figures from TechIreland’s Female Founder Funding Review.

A total of 82 companies secured backing last year, compared with 48 in 2024.

Despite this rise in activity, capital raised fell to €131m from €145m the previous year. Much of the decline stems from a contraction in mid‑sized seed and Series A rounds, which industry leaders say is weakening the ability of women-led firms to scale.

“2025 was an interesting year for female founders from a fundraising perspective,” said Scale Ireland and TechIreland chair and seasoned tech founder and venture capital investor Brian Caulfield.

“On the face of it, the numbers held up pretty well. While it’s encouraging to see so many female founded companies raising capital, it’s a concern that the market has bifurcated, a very small number of companies raising large rounds, and a very large number of companies raising very small rounds (largely led by Enterprise Ireland). The mid-market of seed and Series A raises is being hollowed out.”

ProVerum’s €73m raise dominated the year and helped push HealthTech to the top of the funding tables for a third year. Enterprise Solutions start-ups also expanded their share, accounting for more than 23% of capital raised by female founders.

Dublin continues to dominate fundraising

The review shows a deepening regional divide. Dublin-based firms captured nearly 91% of all funding, driven by the five largest rounds, all of which originated in the capital. Companies outside Dublin represent more than a third of female-founded start-ups but secured just over 9% of the money invested.

“As a founder who raised capital in 2025, these figures closely reflect what many of us experienced in the market,” said Shorla Oncology co-founder Sharon Cunningham. “The drop from €145m in 2024 to €131m in 2025 indicates a decline in overall investment in female-founded companies. However, the fact that 82 companies secured funding compared to 48 the previous year is a very positive development.”

Antrim-based companies raised €5.1m, while Cork secured €2m and Galway €1.2m. Nine other counties each saw funding totals of €0.3m or less.

Enterprise Ireland warns of scaling bottlenecks

Enterprise Ireland said the rise in the number of women-led companies raising funds is encouraging, particularly the surge in early-stage activity. Thirty-six early-stage rounds were recorded in 2025, compared with eight the year before, due largely to demand for the state agency’s Pre Seed Start Fund.

“The headline TechIreland figure – 82 companies raising in 2025 – is almost double last year and the highest level of activity since 2017 which is cause for celebration,” said Sarah Walker, Startups & Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Ireland. “While the increased number of women led and co-founded companies raising is encouraging, TechIreland reports total funding levels of €131m in 2025, down from €145m in 2024, reflecting a challenging funding environment.”

The agency has begun deploying a multistage investment strategy with investments ranging from €100,000 to €2m. It is also planning a €100m Scaling Fund aimed at firms entering global growth phases.

A pipeline strengthening, yet pressure rising

Across Europe, female founder dealmaking hit a three-year high in 2025. Ireland ranked third by number of rounds, behind the UK and Germany, despite its smaller population.

The strong pipeline in Ireland has been driven by public programmes and early investor networks, but analysts warn that the country risks losing momentum without stronger support for companies post-seed.

“For Ireland, the next challenge is what comes after that first cheque,” said Fierce founder Lorraine Curham In more mature ecosystems, founders are supported not just by programmes, but by strong networks, investor relationships and ecosystem layers that help companies move from early traction into follow-on capital and scale. Ireland has the pipeline. What it needs next is the infrastructure layer to scale it.”

Sector trends show movement beyond HealthTech

Although the number of HealthTech companies fell, the sector still accounted for 67% of funding due to ProVerum’s outlier round. Activity broadened elsewhere, with Enterprise Solutions rounds rising sharply. Agri and Food funding increased from €3.5m to €3.9m, while Consumer and eCommerce grew to €1.8m. FinTech continued a multi‑year decline, slipping to €2.1m.

Ríona Ní Ghriallais, co-founder and CTO of ProVerum, said the widening base of funded companies was promising but warned that structural challenges persist. 

“Overall, the report encouragingly tells us that the pipeline of female founders is growing, and that early-stage funding access is improving. However, the concentration of capital in a small number of later-stage deals and the persistent geographic imbalance remain key challenges for the Irish start-up ecosystem.”

More first cheques, fewer large rounds

The pattern emerging across 2025 suggests an ecosystem that is increasingly adept at supporting early-stage founders but struggling to provide pathways to scale. Average deal size fell to €2.3m from €3.9m a year earlier. The median dropped from €1.5m to €0.1m.

For many founders, this translated into a more cautious approach. “2025 was about raising smaller rounds to extend runway,” said Cunningham. “We are seeing fewer large rounds and more modest early-stage investments. The pipeline is growing, but capital remains heavily concentrated.”

The TechIreland review concludes that Ireland is producing more women-led start-ups than ever before, but this momentum may only translate into international scale if the hollowed-out middle of the funding market is rebuilt.

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