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However, Anna Scally of KPMG said that it is unlikely to see VC investment return to 2021 and 2022 levels.
Venture capital funding in Ireland picked up in the second quarter of the year, rising 38pc over the same period last year, according to latest figures.
In a quarterly report, KPMG found that 24 VC deals were closed in the second quarter ended June, amounting to nearly $238m. Nearly half of this was raised by SynOx Therapeutics, a biopharma start-up headquartered in Dublin, which bagged $110m to trial its treatment for a chronic type of tumour that affects joints.
The other three biggest VC deals in Ireland involved: Xocean, which raised $32.5m in a Series B funding round led by Venturewave Capital; digital health start-up Spectrum.Life, which raised more than $18m to expand into new markets; and restaurant management software start-up Nory, which raised $16m in a Series A funding round.
According to the Venture Pulse Q2 2024 report, VC investors showed “increasing willingness” to make bigger bets again, focusing on areas such as AI, biotech and fintech. AI, in particular, is expected to continue attracting a “large share” of Q3 funding in Ireland, according to KPMG.
Other than AI, there will also be sustained interest in areas such as energy and clean-tech. Regtech will also see growing interest thanks to the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) that financial institutions in the EU will be required to comply with.
Anna Scally, head of technology and media at KPMG Ireland, said that even though Irish and European investors are “more confident” this quarter, uncertainties created by elections in the US and Europe, along with a sluggish IPO market and relatively high interest rates, mean they will remain cautious.
“It’s unlikely to see VC investment return to the levels reached in 2021 and 2022. It’s particularly encouraging to see investment and interest in Irish innovative solutions within biotech, ocean data tech, health-tech and AI.”
According to Scally, the latest surge in Irish VC funding highlights the “growing confidence” in Irish start-ups and Ireland’s innovative potential.
“We only have to look at the volume of exceptional entries and finalists in this year’s Global Tech Innovator competition 2024; the Irish finalist will be announced in November.”
According to the report, global VC investment soared from $75.4bn to $94.3bn between Q1 and Q2 this year, fuelled by nine $1bn mega-deals – the second largest total ever seen in a single quarter. Meanwhile, VC investment in Europe rose from $13.9bn across 2,270 deals in Q1 to $17.4bn across 1,869 deals in Q2.
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