A report from KPMG has shown a strong increase in the value of venture-capital (VC) deals in Ireland in the second quarter of this year.

The professional-services firm said that 24 VC deals, worth $237.5 million (€217 million) closed in the three-month period. The value of investments was up 38% compared with the same period a year earlier, despite a drop in the number of deals.

The Venture Pulse Q2’24 report showed that VC investment in Ireland was following a broader global trend of increases.

‘Uncertainties’

The most significant deal in Q2 was $110 million raised by biotech SynOx Therapeutics – a Dublin-based drug discovery company focused on developing treatments for diffuse tenosynovial giant cell tumours.

Anna Scally (EMA head of technology, media and telecommunications) described Irish and European investors as “more confident” this quarter.

“However, the uncertainties created by the 2024 elections in the US and Europe, together with a sluggish IPO market and relatively high interest rates, mean they will remain cautious, and it’s unlikely to see VC investment return to the levels reached in 2021 and 2022,” she stated.

Fintech figure ‘skewed’

A separate KPMG report showed that ten fintech deals closed in Ireland in the first half of this year.

The fintech deals were worth $140.8 million – an increase from the $59.2 million across nine deals seen in the same period last year.

KPMG said the Irish increased bucked the global trend, where the level investment fell in the first half.

The firm pointed out, however, that the Irish figure was skewed by one large deal – the $109 million buy-out of Ireland-based SoftCo by Keensight Capital.