Key Takeaways
- • Irish venture capital funding collapsed to €112.6 million in Q2 2025, the lowest quarterly figure in a decade, representing a 77% decline from €494 million in Q2 2024, according to the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) VenturePulse survey.
- • International investment plummeted 81% year-over-year to €69.5 million in Q2, signaling a sharp reversal from volatile overseas capital flows that have historically dominated Irish VC funding.
- • Mega-deals (€30 million+) contracted sharply, with only one deal exceeding this threshold in Q2 2025 compared to five in Q2 2024; deals in the €10 million+ category dropped from six to one, with funding in this segment down 87% to €12.4 million.
- • Seed-stage funding fell more than 50% to €25.5 million, reflecting systemic stress across early-stage company financing despite deals under €1 million remaining stable.
- • H1 2025 total funding reached €645.5 million (down 14% from €752.7 million in H1 2024), despite a strong Q1 showing of €532.8 million, highlighting the sharp deterioration mid-year.
Summary
Irish venture capital investment experienced a severe contraction in the second quarter of 2025, reaching its lowest quarterly level in ten years. According to the IVCA VenturePulse survey, published in association with William Fry LLP, Q2 funding totaled €112.6 million—a 77% decline from €494 million in the same period last year. This marks the most significant quarterly drop since Q2 2015, when the survey began tracking these metrics.
The collapse was driven primarily by a dramatic collapse in international investment, which fell 81% year-over-year to €69.5 million from €375.3 million. IVCA Chairperson Caroline Gaynor characterized this as a "timely warning sign for Ireland," emphasizing that the country cannot rely on volatile international capital flows and must strengthen domestic funding infrastructure for indigenous startups. The downturn defied earlier momentum; H1 2025 had opened strongly with Q1 posting a record €532.8 million, but the Q2 collapse pulled first-half totals to €645.5 million, a 14% decline compared to €752.7 million in H1 2024.
Deal structure data reveals systematic contraction across larger funding rounds. Only one deal exceeded €30 million in Q2 2025 (NomuPay), compared to five in Q2 2024, with funding in this category collapsing 88% to €37 million. Mid-market deals in the €10 million-plus range contracted even more severely, dropping from six deals to a single transaction (Kota), with total funding declining 87% to €12.4 million. Sarah-Jane Larkin, Director General of the IVCA, noted that seed-stage funding fell by more than 50% to €25.5 million, signaling acute stress in early-stage financing. Only deals under €1 million escaped the downturn, providing a narrow bright spot in an otherwise constrained market.
Larkin welcomed a recent Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) report identifying the need for government intervention to strengthen scaling finance availability, calling the new quarterly data "emphatic" evidence of urgency. The findings underscore broader structural challenges in Ireland's venture ecosystem as international investor sentiment deteriorates globally.
The collapse was driven primarily by a dramatic collapse in international investment, which fell 81% year-over-year to €69.5 million from €375.3 million. IVCA Chairperson Caroline Gaynor characterized this as a "timely warning sign for Ireland," emphasizing that the country cannot rely on volatile international capital flows and must strengthen domestic funding infrastructure for indigenous startups. The downturn defied earlier momentum; H1 2025 had opened strongly with Q1 posting a record €532.8 million, but the Q2 collapse pulled first-half totals to €645.5 million, a 14% decline compared to €752.7 million in H1 2024.
Deal structure data reveals systematic contraction across larger funding rounds. Only one deal exceeded €30 million in Q2 2025 (NomuPay), compared to five in Q2 2024, with funding in this category collapsing 88% to €37 million. Mid-market deals in the €10 million-plus range contracted even more severely, dropping from six deals to a single transaction (Kota), with total funding declining 87% to €12.4 million. Sarah-Jane Larkin, Director General of the IVCA, noted that seed-stage funding fell by more than 50% to €25.5 million, signaling acute stress in early-stage financing. Only deals under €1 million escaped the downturn, providing a narrow bright spot in an otherwise constrained market.
Larkin welcomed a recent Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) report identifying the need for government intervention to strengthen scaling finance availability, calling the new quarterly data "emphatic" evidence of urgency. The findings underscore broader structural challenges in Ireland's venture ecosystem as international investor sentiment deteriorates globally.
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