- 25 venture capital (VC) deals closed in Ireland in Q4'22, worth $191.8 million
- VC activity slowed significantly in 2022 as total VC investment in Irish companies reached $1.16 billion across 122 deals
- Q4 saw no $100m+ deals in Ireland – the most significant deal was a $55m raised by Tines, the Dublin-based cybersecurity automation start-up, bringing its total amount raised in 2022 to $81m
- The Q4'22 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
Despite Q4’22 being more resilient than expected, with Irish companies raising €191.8 million in venture capital investment across 25 deals, total investment in 2022 declined to $1.16 billion across 122 deals, according to the latest quarterly KPMG Venture Pulse report. This is a significant decrease (38%) from the $1.87 billion invested across 287 deals in 2021.
Globally, the VC trends were similar; global venture capital investment dropped for the fourth consecutive quarter in Q4'22 - falling from $102.2 billion on 9,767 deals to $75.6 billion on 7,641 deals. In addition, global investment has fallen to its lowest levels since Q2 2019. While Europe’s VC investment fell from $21.2 billion across 2,476 deals compared to $12.9 billion across 1,936 deals in Q4’22.
Looking forward to Q1’23, VC investment in Ireland is expected to remain relatively soft. However, we see encouraging levels of investment in high priority areas, including energy, health tech, cybersecurity, cleantech and ESG.
Top deals in Ireland
This quarter’s largest deal was $55m raised by Tines, the Dublin-based cybersecurity automation start-up. In August, Tines announced the completion of their Series B, a $26m round and in October, they raised a further $55m in funding as they extended their Series B round, bringing its total amount raised in 2022 to $81m.
The next biggest deals by size were the $35m raised by Carrick Therapeutics, the Dublin-based biopharma company and Vaultree, a Cork-based cybersecurity company that raised $12.8m. Other notable Irish deals include Evercam, the developer of a construction camera technology which raised $8.9m and DermView, Ireland’s only provider of teledermatology services, which raised $8.3m.
Commenting on VC activity in Ireland during Q4'22, Anna Scally, Partner, Head of Technology and Media in Ireland, said: "While VC investment has returned to the levels seen prior to 2021, the market itself hasn't simply returned to the way it was in 2019 or 2020. Our geopolitical and economic circumstances have changed fundamentally and in an incredibly short period of time. Both companies and VC investors are working to understand what those shifts mean and how best to respond. Ireland’s tech ecosystem remains strong despite some setbacks and industry cost-cutting.”
“Looking forward to Q1’23, VC investment in Ireland is expected to remain relatively soft. However, we see encouraging levels of investment in high priority areas, including energy, health tech, cybersecurity, cleantech and ESG.”
Key global highlights – Q4’22
- In Q4’22, global VC investment dropped from $102.2 billion across 9,767 deals in Q3’22 to $75.6 billion across 7641 deals in Q4’22.
- VC investment in the Americas fell from $49.6 billion across 4,022 deals in Q3’22 to $39.2 billion across 3,322 deals in Q4’22, with the US accounting for $36.2 billion invested.
- VC investment in Asia dropped from $30.4 billion across 3,052 deals in Q3’22 to $22.6 billion across 2,157 deals in Q4’22.
- Europe’s VC investment fell from $21.2 billion across 2,476 deals, compared to $12.9 billion across 1,936 deals in Q4’22.
- Corporate VC investment declined for the fourth consecutive quarter. Total CVC-affiliated investment fell from $108 billion in Q4’2021 to $36.5 billion in Q4’2022.
- Exit value fell dramatically year-over-year - from $1.427 trillion on 4,174 exits in 2021 to only $308.8 billion on 2,997 deals in 2022. The fall was most notable in the US, where total exit value declined from $753.2 billion to only $71.4 billion.
- ‘Dry powder’ remained at all time highs. Over the course of the year, VC firms raised over $250 billion, the third largest total in the past 10 years. The US led the way, raising a record $162 billion in 2022, albeit on a much smaller volume of funds.
Get in touch
For further information on this edition of Venture Pulse, please contact Anna Scally, Head of Technology and Media.
Anna Scally
Partner, Head of Technology and Media
KPMG in Ireland
