Strong venture capital interest in Irish companies Strong venture capital interest in Irish companies Strong venture capital interest in Irish companies

• 43 VC deals closed in Ireland in Q3’21, worth $472.8 million
• Investment in Irish companies in 2021 to date tops $1.4 billion
• The Q3 2021 edition of the Venture Pulse report produced by KPMG analyses the latest global trends in venture capital investment data and provides insights from both a global and regional perspective. All figures cited are in USD; data for the report is provided by PitchBook

KPMG has published its Venture Pulse Q3’21 report, tracking venture capital (VC) activity around the globe. Findings show that 43 deals involving Irish companies closed in the period, totalling $472.8 million – slightly behind the record investment levels of $641.5 million in Q2 of this year, but trending well ahead of previous Q3 totals of $189.6 million in 2020 and $178.1 million in 2019. Investment in Irish companies now stands at over $1.4 billion so far this year.

Globally, the picture was similar, with Q3’21 setting a record for the third consecutive time with $171.7 billion invested across 8,882 deals. VC investment in Q4’21 is expected to remain very healthy globally, bringing an end to an incredible year for VC markets around the world. The continued abundance of capital, robust fundraising activity, rapidly maturing VC markets around the world, and a growing diversity of sectors attracting investment will likely keep total investment very strong.

Two companies which were shortlisted for the recent KPMG Global Tech Innovator Ireland Qualifier competition also secured deals in this quarter. Dataships, a Dublin-based company specialising in automating compliance for data protection and privacy laws, secured $3.1 million and Belfast-based CattleEye, a livestock-monitoring tech company, secured $3.1 million. CattleEye, led by CEO Terry Canning, won the Irish competition and went on to represent Ireland at the KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition held during Web Summit in Lisbon on 2nd November. The global competition was won by Brazilian agritech start-up Krilltech.

Commenting on the VC activity in Ireland during Q3’21, Anna Scally, Partner and Fintech Lead at KPMG in Ireland said: “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. Irish VC investment totals also tend to be carried by a small number of large deals, we’re seeing a lot of investment around the $5 - 20 million bracket across a range of sectors. 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.”

“It’s perhaps surprising to see no standout green innovation investments made in Irish companies in Q3, but with all eyes on the COP26 conference in Glasgow 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 certainly a big opportunity for Irish companies to play a part in green innovation.” 

• Global VC investment rose from $166 billion across 9,217 deals in Q2’21 to a record $171.7 billion across 8,682 deals in Q3’21.
• VC investment in the Americas reached a third-straight record high, with $94 billion invested across 3,934 deals. The US accounted for $82.8 billion of this investment and 3,518 of the deals.
• VC investment in Europe remained strong, with $27.5 billion of investment across 1,910 deals in Q3’21 – down from the record $36 billion seen in Q2’21.
• The Asia-Pacific region saw $48.1 billion in VC investment across 2,616 deals in Q3’21 – the second highest quarter of VC investment after Q2’18.
• Global corporate-affiliated VC investment reached a record $85.5 billon in Q3’21 – propelling annual CVC-related investment to a record $230.7 billion with a quarter left in the year.

The pace of change is challenging leaders like never before. To find out more about how KPMG perspectives and fresh thinking can help you focus on what’s next for your business or organisation, please get in touch with Anna Scally, FinTech Lead. We’d be delighted to hear from you.