Irish venture capital deals total more than €180m so far this year 

Value of VC deals in the first three months of this year grew notably compared to the final months of 2025

The largest deal recorded between January and March amounted to $60m (€51.3m), secured by quantum computing company Equal1.

Almost 20 venture capital (VC) deals worth a total of $212.3m (€181.6m) closed in Ireland in the first three months of 2026, new figures from KPMG found. 

Some 19 VC deals were closed in total, which was unchanged from the previous three-month period, however, the value of the deals rose significantly from $155.1m (€132.6m).

Notably, the largest deal recorded between January and March amounted to $60m (€51.3m), secured by quantum computing company Equal1.

Commenting on VC activity in Ireland during, Gavin Sheehan, partner in deal advisory at KPMG in Ireland, said: “Irish VC fundraising was consistent in the first quarter of 2026, led by significant fundraising by Equal1, Evervault, and Circit. 

"Notwithstanding global challenges towards the end of the first quarter, VC investment in Ireland showed resilience, with sustained interest mirroring international trends in terms of increased deal sizes and later stage investment with interest in the AI, energy and medtech sectors.”

The Irish market maintained a steady cadence of activity at the start of 2026. Some of the larger deals in quantum computing company Equal1 that secured $60 million, financial software businesses Evervault and Circit, which raised $25m and $22m respectively, and Galway-based medtech company Luminate Medical, which raised $21m. XFuel, a sustainable energy company, has also raised $20m.

Globally, venture capital investment more than doubled from $128.6bn in the final three months of 2025 to a record $330.9bn in the first quarter of this year, fuelled by an extraordinary concentration of capital in large megadeals, KPMG said.

Between January and March, 10 funding rounds attracted more than $2bn in VC investment, contributing more than $206bn to the global total. AI-focused companies attracted the majority of these funding rounds, including seven based in the US. These included OpenAI ($122bn), Anthropic ($30.6bn), xAI ($20bn), Waymo ($16bn), Databricks ($7bn), Polymarket ($2.6bn), and Shield AI ($2.3bn).

AI deals

Global VC investment in AI remained extremely strong at the beginning of this year. Although the largest rounds were captured by major US-based LLM companies, KPMG said investor interest extended well beyond foundational models to a diverse mix of AI-related startups across regions. 

These included companies focused on semiconductors, data centres, and other enabling infrastructure, as well as AI platforms, agentic AI, physical AI, and vertical-specific solutions.

Looking ahead to the next three months of 2026, the professional services firm said geopolitical tensions will remain a key watch point for the VC market, particularly in the Americas and Europe, as higher oil prices and renewed inflation concerns create a more fragile backdrop for investment. It also noted that this uncertainty could keep US IPO activity largely subdued unless conditions improve quickly.

KPMG said it expects AI to remain the top focus for VC investors globally, with continued investment in both foundational models and application layer-focused companies. 

The AI space is also expected to draw increasing M&A activity. More broadly, defence tech, space tech, and cybersecurity are expected to attract growing interest from VC investors given the more volatile and uncertain global environment.