Irish SMEs raise a record €502m in Q1 following major deal by Cork company

However, 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

The '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.

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: 

If you exclude deals above €30m in first quarter 2023 and 2022, this year still saw a rise of 70% to over €200m for the first three months, which reflects well in view of global headwinds across the sector.

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.

The environmental industries sector led the way in funding in 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.

Some VCs have become more conservative when it comes to investing due to the volatile economic environment, including a series of interest rate hikes. In recent years, start-ups have received a huge amount of funding due to historically low interest rates which allowed venture capitalists to take more risks.