Play Ireland’s share of European tech investment fell in first half of 2021
LetsGetChecked raised €123 million in the first half of the year. Photo: LetsGetChecked
John O'Dea
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Technology companies in Ireland raised a record €932 million in the first six months of the year, according to new figures published from TechIreland. However, Ireland’s share of Europe’s venture capital coffers declined during the same period.
The money, associated with 101 Irish tech firms tracked, was raised through a combination of venture capital, debt finance, grants and crowdfunding.
“While the overall numbers are good, we aren’t keeping up with the huge increase in European tech funding,” said John O’Dea, TechIreland’s chief executive. “Ireland’s share for the first half of the year has actually dropped from 3.5pc to just 1.8pc.”
Globally, tech funding has more than doubled during the pandemic. TechIreland’s Startup Funding Review for the first six months of 2021 says that the top 10 investments accounted for 70pc of the finance raised, including the €123m raised by Peter Foley’s home health kit testing firm LetsGetChecked.
The report also says there was almost a 50pc increase in the number of early stage or small rounds of under €5m, from 51 in the first half of 2020 to 75 for the same period this year.
The healthtech sector accounted for almost half of all the funds raised from the firms surveyed, with 27 healthtech companies raising €439m. According to TechIreland, this is 80pc higher on the same period last year.
Mainstay Medical raised €130m, while Galway-based Neurent Medical raised €20m. Fifteen other healthtech companies raised between €1m and €8m each.
Meanwhile, 13 financial technology companies raised €205m between them, a 170pc increase on the same period in 2020, according to TechIreland’s figures.
Medical devices companies raised €176m, while software-as-a-service firms raised €97m.
The report also suggests there is a regional imbalance in funding, with Dublin-based companies scooping 82pc of the available funding and grants.
The proportion of funding to firms with female founders declined from 11pc to 6pc, which the TechIreland report labelled as “depressing”.
“Overall, Irish venture financing has got off to a barn-storming start in 2021,” said Elaine Coughlan of Atlantic Bridge. “However, we need to ensure that early-stage companies get access to more of the investment they need.”
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