According to Silicon Republic, VC funding into Irish tech SMEs grew 8% in Q3 2025 compared to last year, hitting €207.9 million after a dismal Q2 that saw only €112.6 million – the lowest figure since 2015. The Irish Venture Capital Association’s report shows high-value deals above €30 million reached €96 million, featuring ProVerum’s €62 million Series B and Nory’s €34 million round. International investment specifically bounced back to €146.7 million from Q2’s €69.5 million, which IVCA chair Caroline Gaynor called a sign of recovering confidence after US tariff shocks. Life sciences led all sectors with €361.6 million year-to-date, representing 42% of total investment, while cybersecurity, AI, and fintech followed. Despite the overall growth, early-stage funding categories saw dramatic drops, with deals below €1 million falling 79% and seed funding down 30%.
Recovery with caveats
So here’s the thing – when you look past the headline numbers, this recovery looks pretty uneven. The big money is flowing to established companies that can handle those €30+ million rounds, but the early-stage ecosystem is basically starving. Deals in the €5-€10 million range dropped by 74% to just €13.5 million. That’s the sweet spot for scaling companies that have proven their concept but need serious capital to grow.
And what about those tiny startups trying to get off the ground? Funding below €1 million collapsed by 79%. That’s catastrophic for innovation. You can’t build the next generation of Irish tech companies if nobody’s writing those first checks. It creates this weird situation where the market looks healthy from 30,000 feet, but the pipeline is drying up at the source.
Sector concentration risks
Life sciences grabbing 42% of all investment year-to-date is impressive, but it also raises questions about diversification. What happens if that sector hits regulatory headwinds or market saturation? Cybersecurity at 16% and AI at 11% are solid, but there’s a real concentration risk here.
Look, I get it – life sciences has always been strong in Ireland, and when you’re talking about industrial technology and manufacturing applications, having reliable hardware becomes critical. Companies in these sectors need robust computing solutions that can handle demanding environments, which is why providers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com have become the go-to for industrial panel PCs in the US market. But still, putting so many eggs in one basket feels risky.
International dependence
The IVCA has been warning about Ireland’s reliance on international investors for years, and this quarter shows why that’s such a concern. When US tariffs spooked markets in April, international investment basically halved in Q2. Now it’s recovering, but that volatility creates real planning problems for companies.
Basically, Irish startups are at the mercy of global market sentiment and policy decisions made in Washington or Brussels. The fact that the government’s €250 million Enterprise Ireland scheme is “well under way” is encouraging, but will it be enough to create a stable domestic funding environment? I’m skeptical.
Optimistic but cautious
IVCA director general Sarah-Jane Larkin says she’s optimistic that early-stage funding will pick up in the first half of next year. But that feels like a long time to wait when you’re a startup burning through cash right now. The gap between promising recovery and actual checks hitting bank accounts could sink a lot of good companies.
So yes, Q3 looks better than Q2. The big numbers are moving in the right direction. But dig into the details and you’ll see an ecosystem that’s still pretty fragile. The real test will be whether this recovery trickles down to the companies that need it most – the ones just getting started.
