Venture capital funding to Irish technology firms up by 8.9% Funding ‘appears to have shaken off any restrictions caused by Covid-19’
Mon, May 10, 2021, 08:11
Venture capital funding to Irish technology firms increased by 8.9 per cent to €249.4 million in the first quarter of 2021, up from €228.9m in the same period last year, according to the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) VenturePulse survey.
“Funding appears to have shaken off any restrictions caused by Covid-19,” said IVCA chairwoman Gillian Buckley.
“This is reflected in the fact that the number of deals increased by 65 per cent to 74, compared to 48 in the same quarter last year, largely driven by a welcome recovery in early stage funding.”
VC funding to Irish tech firms grew by 9% to almost â¬250m in first quarter
Written by Robert McHugh, on 12th May 2021. Posted in Technology
Venture capital funding to Irish technology firms increased by 8.9% to €249.4m in the first quarter of 2021, up from €228.9m in the same period last year, according to the Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey published today in association with William Fry.
The first quarter 2021 bounce back in start-up and early stage funding is reflected in the fact that deals in the €1-5m category jumped by 84% to €70.3m from €38m, while the number of transactions nearly doubled from 18 to 33. Deals of less than €1m grew by 53% to €12.9m compared to €8.4m in the same period last year. The number of deals in this category rose by 55% to 34 from 22.
Uptick in early-stage funding deals starts 2021 on ‘positive’ note
Gillian Buckley, chair of the IVCA. Image: IVCA
Figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association show that seed and early-stage deals have recovered partially after a tough 2020.
Early-stage funding deals in Ireland saw a slight bounce back in the first quarter of 2021 after a worrying decline in 2020.
Overall funding in the first quarter of the year, according to deals tracked by the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA), stood at €249.4m. This is up 8.9pc from the same period in 2020.
“Funding appears to have shaken off any restrictions caused by Covid-19,” Gillian Buckley, chair of the IVCA, said.
Sharp decline in early-stage Irish start-up funding deals in 2020
Gillian Buckley, chair of the IVCA. Image: IVCA
New figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association show that investors put money in safer bets during the pandemic.
Venture capital funding in early-stage start-ups in Ireland fell by almost a third in 2020 as the pandemic downturn took its toll on deal making.
While overall funding figures are up – with €925m invested in Irish SMEs last year compared to €820m the year prior – investments in early-stage start-ups dropped 32pc, from €285m to €194m. That’s according to the new figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA), which deems an early-stage start-up deal to be €5m or less.