Anna Scally, partner and fintech lead at KPMG in Ireland, said the level of investment was 'incredibly encouraging'.
Anna Scally, partner and fintech lead at KPMG in Ireland, said the level of investment was 'incredibly encouraging'.
Almost $500m (€432m) of venture capital was invested in Irish companies in the three months to September 30, according to the latest Venture Pulse from KPMG.
The findings show that 43 deals involving Irish companies closed in the period, totalling $472.8m (€408.6m), which was slightly behind the record investment levels of $641.5m (€554m) in the three months to June 30.
Nonetheless, it was well ahead of previous quarter-three totals of $189.6m last year and $178.1m in 2019.
Venture capital investment in Irish companies now stands at over $1.4bn so far this year, according to the report.
Among the businesses to receive investment in the three months to September 30 was Dataships, a Dublin-based company specialising in automating compliance for data protection and privacy laws, which secured €2.7m.
Meanwhile, Belfast-based CattleEye, a livestock-monitoring tech com pany, also secured €2.7m.
The two companies were shortlisted for the recent KPMG Global Tech Innovator Ireland Qualifier competition, with CattleEye, led by CEO Terry Canning, winning the Irish competition.
“VC investment in Ireland tends to slow down in the third quarter, so it’s incredibly encouraging to see both significant deal volume and deal value on the back of a record quarter in Q2,” Anna Scally, partner and fintech lead at KPMG in Ireland, said.
Venture capital investment in Ireland tends to be carried by a small number of large deals, according to Ms Scally.
“We’re seeing a lot of investment around the $5m-to-$20m bracket across a range of sectors,” she said, adding that “this bodes well for the future as it’s clear international investors continue to see immense value in the quality of innovation happening in Ireland.”
During the period there were no standout green innovation investments made in Irish companies, something Ms Scally said was “perhaps surprising”.
“But with all eyes on the COP26 conference and its outcomes, I would expect to see sustainable solutions, greentech, and climatetech being high on the agenda in Q4 and into 2022. There is a big opportunity for Irish companies to play a part in green innovation.”
Globally, quarter three this year set a record, with $171.7bn (€148.6bn) invested across 8,882 deals.