Seeds of regrowth for Irish venture capital in Q3 as investor confidence returns.
Venture capital investment into Irish technology SMEs increased by 8%to €207.9 million in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
That’s according to the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) Venture Pulse survey published in association with William Fry.
“Third quarter data provided some relief following a dismal second quarter this year when funding fell to €112.6 million, its lowest in ten years”
Funding for the nine months to the end of September fell by 10% to €853.4 million from €945.3 million in the previous year. The total number of deals declined from 153 to 135.
International investors drive growth after tariff shock
“Third quarter data provided some relief following a dismal second quarter this year when funding fell to €112.6 million, its lowest in ten years,” said Caroline Gaynor, chairperson of the IVCA. “Hopefully we are starting to see some confidence and stability return to the market, but it remains a challenging time for early stage companies.”
International investors have begun to return following the blow to confidence caused by the United States’ April tariff shocks. International venture capital investment into Irish SMEs rose to €146.7 million in the current quarter compared with €69.5 million in the second quarter.
Deals in the €1 million to €5 million range were the most active, accounting for 30 out of 39 transactions in the quarter. Transactions in the €1 million to €3 million category rose by 35% to €35.6 million compared with the same time last year. Deals in the €3 million to €5 million range increased by 18% to €34.7 million.
Mid-range deals surge while seed funding lags
Funding in the €10 million to €30 million category fell by two thirds to €26 million while €5 million to €10 million deals dropped by 74%to €13.5 million compared with the same quarter last year. There was stronger activity in the €30 million plus category where medtech company ProVerum raised €62 million and AI machine learning firm Nory secured €34 million.
Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general of the IVCA, said that while there was healthy activity, gaps remained in the third quarter, particularly in seed funding and transactions under €1 million. Seed or first rounds fell by 30% to €23.4 million from €33.5 million compared with the same quarter last year. Seed funding for the first nine months was down 31%to €88.3 million from €127.2 million last year.
“The process for deploying the Government’s €250 million Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2025–29 is well under way,” Larkin said. “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.”
Lifesciences was the most successful sector to date this year, raising €361.6 million or 42%of the total in the first nine months. Cybersecurity followed at €136.3 million (16 per cent), AI and machine learning €97 million (11 per cent), fintech €92.2 million (11 per cent) and software €66.2 million (8 per cent).
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