Irish technology firms raised €994 million in funding in 2017 according to the Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey published today in association with William Fry.
The IVCA VenturePulse survey found that technology SMEs raised €177 million in the fourth quarter 2017. This compares to €154 million in the same period 2016. This represents a year-on-year increase of 12%.
Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general IVCA (pictured), said: “It is noteworthy, however, that seed/early stage grew significantly reaching a high of €131 million for the year, up from €70.2 million in 2016.
“It is important to recognise the role of Irish based venture capital firms both through direct investment and as the local lead investor for international syndicate investors. International VCs are often encouraged by the due diligence implications of early stage funding by a local VC.”
The sectoral spread of investments in 2017 reflects Ireland’s growing tech capability and clusters that have developed like the medical device sector in Galway. Venture capital investment in 2017 was concentrated on software (28%), life sciences (23%) and fintech (18%) with many innovations underpinned by artificial intelligence and analytics.
Since the onset of the credit crunch in 2008, more than 1,400 Irish SMEs have raised venture capital of €4.5 billion, created up to 20,000 jobs, and attracted more than €2 billion of capital into Ireland.
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