KPMG’s latest Venture Pulse report shows Irish companies secured $342.2m across 20 deals during the second quarter, led by major investments in Fonoa, CameraMatics and Manna
Venture capital investment into Irish companies rose sharply during the second quarter of 2026, with total funding increasing by 61% compared to the opening three months of the year, according to KPMG‘s latest Venture Pulse report.
The report found that 20 venture capital transactions involving Irish companies were completed between April and June, generating a combined $342.2 million in investment. During the first quarter of the year, 19 deals raised a total of $212.3 million.
“The majority of fundraising this quarter has flowed to software businesses”
However, just three deals formed the lion’s share of investment activity.
The largest transaction of the quarter was the $110 million investment secured by Dublin-based AI tax operating system provider Fonoa. Other significant deals included a $56 million raise by AI-powered video telematics and fleet intelligence platform CameraMatics and a $50 million funding round for drone delivery company Manna.
The findings point to continued investor appetite for software businesses and artificial intelligence-driven technologies.
AI continues to dominate VC
Gavin Sheehan, partner in deal advisory at KPMG in Ireland, said: “The majority of fundraising this quarter has flowed to software businesses. While a couple of more established start-ups have raised significant later stage funding, there are a variety of AI-native applications raising smaller seed rounds as they seek to develop solutions across niche verticals.”
According to KPMG, international investors continued to play a major role in the Irish funding landscape during the quarter, underlining ongoing global interest in Irish innovation and technology businesses.
Across Europe, venture capital investment reached $25.6 billion across 1,636 deals during the second quarter. KPMG noted that while the total was slightly below the $26 billion recorded in the first quarter, it remained one of the region’s strongest quarterly investment performances in recent years. Deal volumes, however, fell from 2,433 transactions to 1,636, reflecting a continued focus by investors on a smaller number of larger, high-quality opportunities.
Globally, venture capital funding remained exceptionally strong. KPMG reported that investors deployed $227.4 billion across 8,440 deals during Q2 2026, making it the second-highest quarter on record. Annual venture capital investment had already reached $560.4 billion by mid-year, the highest level seen in five years and second only to the record set in 2021.
Artificial intelligence remained the dominant investment theme worldwide. The largest transaction of the quarter was Anthropic’s $65 billion raise in the United States, followed by a $12 billion investment in Project Prometheus and a $7.4 billion round for China’s DeepSeek. Investors also showed strong interest in sectors including defence technology, biotechnology and fintech.
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