Irish tech firms shake off pandemic to raise €1.6bn in investments 

Twelve firms raised more than €30m

Peter Coppinger of Cork firm Teamwork. The company raised €59m in funding last year. Picture: Brian Lougheed

A record €1.6bn was invested in Irish tech companies last year, new figures show.

According to TechIreland's Funding Review, 292 companies raised investments last year with 12 firms raising over €30m.

The top 10 largest investments accounted for half of the overall funding raised. Mainstay Medical raised €131m, followed by Lets Get Checked (€123m) and GH Research (€105m).  Cork’s Teamwork, which secured €59m is the only non-Dublin company in the top 10.

The €1.6bn that was raised by all firms last year was a 60% increase on the €1bn raised by companies in 20202. TechIreland said the results underline the strength and innovation capability of Irish tech companies, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The report, supported by the Irish Venture Capital Association, shows that seed funding, which has consistently been problematic in recent years, grew. The number of companies raising rounds up to €1m was up over 10% in 2020.

Enterprise Ireland led the charge at the early stage and the launch of the €90m Irish Innovation Seed Fund is expected to provide greater support this year. It will result in an additional €200m being available over the coming years.

Angel funding continues to grow. HBAN, the Irish angel network, had its best year to date, closing 71 deals north and south, with angels investing €18.2m as part of rounds worth €118m.

Dublin dominated regionally, taking over 75% of the total funding. The east saw €1.2bn invested into about 180 companies. 30 companies from the south(Cork, Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary) raised close to €100m. Four companies from counties Limerick and Kerry raised €25m.

Responding to the report, Peter Coppinger of Teamwork said: "The global pandemic has hampered investment in early-stage startups in favour of more established, later-stage companies, but as you can see from this report, there are many paths to growth and to achieving scale."