Irish SMEs raise a record €502m in Q1 following major deal by Cork company
Irish SME’s raised a record €502m in venture capital funding in the March quarter, up from €308m in the same period last year, despite “choppy waters” for smaller companies.
The Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) ‘Venture Pulse’ survey showed Cork-based energy company Amarenco was responsible for a significant portion of the funds raised in Q1, as it closed a €300m deal in March.
“This was a robust quarter for Ireland when compared to global VC funding which fell by 53% in the first three months of the year,” said IVCA chairperson Leo Hamill.
the survey also showed some smaller firms floundered in the fundraising space as the value of deals in the €1m to €3m range fell by two thirds to €10m. Deals below €1m fell by 28% to €6.5m and seed capital dropped 67% to €7.5m.
However, the survey showed that overall there was an increase in investments below €30m secured by SMEs compared with 2022. Mr Hamill said that
Apart from Amarenco, top deals in this period were Fire1, which raised €27.3m and Supernode, which raised €16m. Assure Hedge, Astatine, and Neuromod each raised €15m.
Environmental industries led in funding for the quarter, followed by Life Sciences.
“In the context of a global slowdown in VC investment, the high level of international funding secured by Irish companies clearly demonstrates a strong appetite for innovative indigenous enterprises,” said IVCA director general Sarah-Jane Larkin
She added that overall more than 20 indigenous companies raised between €5m and €30m in this quarter.
VCs, due to the uncertain economic environment and a series rate hikes, have become more cautious when it comes time to invest. Venture capitalists took on more risk in recent years due to historically-low interest rates, which enabled start ups to receive a lot of funding.