TechIreland reports mixed 2024 figures followed by a record Q1 2025 performance
It’s been a mixed year for technology investments in Ireland in 2024, followed by a record performance in Q1 2025 according to TechIreland’s latest report: Irish Startup Funding Review Q1 2024 – Q1 2025.
In 2024 Irish start-ups secured a total of €978 million in funding, a 15% increase in the total amount raised from 2023 levels. Overall the number of companies raising capital dropped 23% from the previous year however, with 307 companies raising compared to 403 in 2023. Start-ups incorporated within the last three years made up nearly 60% of all companies that fundraised in 2024.
This marks the second consecutive year that annual funding levels tracked by TechIreland come in under €1 billion, after three consecutive years of record amounts (€1.19 billion in 2020, €1.6 billion in 2021, €1.3 billion in 2022). TechIreland’s 2024 fundraising data includes 138 deals with undisclosed amounts, however adjustments were made to factor in €100,000 rounds into what corresponds with Enterprise Ireland’s as Pre-seed Start Fund (PSSF) and High Potential Start-Ups (HPSU).
Mirroring previous years, the 10 largest investments accounted for over 50% of the overall funding raised in 2024. LetsGetChecked raised €150 million, while Fire1 raised €109 million and Accounts IQ raised €60 million. This reflects a noticeable trend since 2021 where there has been an increase in the number of late VC (€100+ million) and Growth (€10+ million) rounds. This is also the second year to feature four companies from outside Dublin in the top 10, with the notable inclusion of Galway-based Xerotech (€44 million) and Neurent Medical (€18.2 million), Louth-based Xocean (€30 million) and Belfast-based Halo (€18 million).
Funding into female founders increased from €93 million (11% of the total) in 2023 to €145 million (15% of the total) in 2024. While this is far from equal footing, nevertheless it puts Ireland ahead of the European average of 12% reported in the TechIreland Female Founder Funding Review 2025 released in March.
Early stage (under €1 million) rounds held stable. The data showed that 170 companies raised amounts below €1 million each to a total of €31 million, largely driven by Enterprise Ireland PSSF and HPSU investments. This is compared to the 200 companies in 2023 which raised €55 million, and 155 in 2022 which raised €43 million.
Decline in small deals
A particular concern from the figures in 2024 was the continued decline in the number of rounds in the €3-5 million and €5-10 million ranges. With just 29 deals in this range, 2023 had the lowest total since 2018. This figure dropped further in 2024 to 24 deals.
There were 39 rounds of over €5 million in 2024, with companies raising a total of €852 million compared to a record low in 2023 which saw 28 companies raise €608 million in 2023. While it’s encouraging to see the numbers rising again, the data reveals a clear gap in funding for companies raising Series A+ rounds.
The recent Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem Index ranked Dublin 9th in the Top 10 Global Champions in Europe and 35th in their Global Champions index. In 2024, 183 Dublin companies raised €645 million, representing approximately 60% of the number of start-ups fundraising, and two thirds of the value of investments in 2024.
Following a continuous trend, funding in Northern Ireland was mostly concentrated in Belfast, with 18 companies raising 85% of the total funding reported in the region. For a third consecutive year, Galway topped the regional charts for the quantum of total funding raised. 28 Galway-based companies raised over €132 million in 2024, while in Cork (ranked as #1 Rising Star in Ireland by the Dealroom Index) 29 companies raised €40 million. Although many regional deals were undisclosed, it is positive that a wave of activity was reported across 24 counties.
Among the sectors, Healthtech startups secured €532 million of funding, with the sector topping the chart once more after a brief stint in second position in 2023 behind Energy. In 2024, the Energy sector (€328 million) ranked second ahead of Enterprise Solutions (€190 million) and FinTech (€138 million), despite the fact that these two sectors recorded a higher number of individual deals.
Q1 2025 setting records
The first quarter of 2025 recorded a steep growth in tech start-up investments, with Q1 2025 performing better than any previous Q1 on record. In Q1 2025, 79 Irish companies raised a total of €634 million among them. It was a quarter that saw the return of large raises, with three companies – LetsGetChecked at €165 million, Tines at €113 million), and Xocean at €115 million – representing more than 50% of the total. In the European league tables Ireland continues to punch above its weight, ranking among the top ten startup investment destinations in Q1 2025.
Brian Caulfield, director at TechIreland said: “2024 was a mixed year for technology investment in Ireland. A 15% increase in the total amount raised, albeit from a low base, was paired with a 23% decline in the number of companies raising funding. A particular feature of 2024 was the continued decline in the number of rounds in the €3-5 million and €5-10 million ranges. This has been a worrying trend in the Irish market for several years now. Q1 2025, however, was a different story. Irish companies produced a record fundraising performance, raising €634 million.”
Conor O’Donovan, head of startups and entrepreneurship at Enterprise Ireland said: “Enterprise Ireland remains committed to supporting Irish entrepreneurs. Building on past successes, including the direct support of 479 start-ups under our 2022-2024 strategy… Despite a challenging global economic landscape in 2024, marked by complexities such as evolving tariffs and regulations, we continued our active investment programme at the seed stage.”
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