KPMG has released two reports, Venture Pulse Q2’25 and Pulse of Fintech H1’25, which show that Ireland is following the global trend as investors show more caution due to the impact of tariff uncertainties on VC investment.
In contrast, the fintech sector in Ireland is experiencing heightened interest and growth.
- Fintech attracted a significant amount of VC investment in Q2’25, with NomuPay raising $40 million, Wayflyer raising $35 million and Kota raising $14.5 million.
- In total 13 FinTech deals closed in Ireland in H1’25 worth $173 million, an increase from the $140.8 million across 10 deals seen in H1’24.
Irish VC market in Q2'25
After a robust quarter of investment in Q1’25, we are experiencing a slowdown in venture capital investment while investors await greater certainty at a macro level particularly in respect of US tariff policy.
According to the latest KPMG Venture Pulse report, Irish venture capital investment fell sharply in the second quarter, with 20 deals raising $136.4 million.
In contrast, Q1’ 25 witnessed a strong start to the year with 28 venture capital deals raising $668 million, fuelled by three major deals that each exceeded the $100 million mark. This impressive activity in the first quarter underscores the dynamic nature of venture capital investment trends, influenced by individual large-scale transactions.
Meanwhile fintech continued to attract a significant amount of investment in H1’25, with NomuPay raising $77 million, Wayflyer raising $35 million and IMPT raising $30 million respectively in the first 6 months of the year.
Commenting on VC activity in Ireland during Q2'25, Gavin Sheehan, Partner, Deal Advisory at KPMG in Ireland, said: “After a robust quarter of investment in Q1’25, including a number of outsized deals, we are experiencing a slowdown in venture capital investment while investors await greater certainty at a macro level particularly in respect of US tariff policy. Irish startups, particularly in the fintech space, have continued to successfully raise capital during the quarter and we continue to see growing interest in startups developing AI led solutions particularly where applications drive industry specific solutions.”
European and global trends
VC investment in Europe held nearly steady at $14.6 billion in Q2’25, down only slightly from $16.3 billion in Q1’25, despite a drop in deal count from 2,358 to 1,733.
VC investors in Europe continued to show strong interest in startups with clear commercial traction, especially in the AI space—fuelled by EU and national funding initiatives.
Meanwhile, global VC investment fell from $128.4 billion across 9,314 deals in Q1’25 to $101.05 billion across 7,356 deals in Q2’25.
A hint of optimism
Sheehan added, “Investor sentiment and outlook for H2'25 remains cautiously positive, in part because Ireland's VC ecosystem has a strong focus on software companies, which have less direct exposure to US tariff risks causing so much uncertainty globally, but also because of the strength of Ireland’s innovation ecosystem and the positive valuations that have been garnered by Ireland-based startups in recent months.
The calibre of the Irish finalists in this year’s KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition 2025 underlines that strength.”
Irish fintech rises to $173m, but the global fintech market declined
The first six months of 2025 were particularly challenging for the fintech market globally, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech H1 2025 report. Total fintech investment—including M&A, PE, and VC investment—fell from $54.2 billion across 2,376 deals in H2’24 to $44.7 billion across 2,216 deals in H1’25.
However, the trend in Ireland is positive as $173 million was raised across 13 deals in H1’25 compared to $140.8 million across 10 deals in H1’24.
Notable deals for the period were ones by NomuPay, offering payment software, Dublin-based financing platform Wayflyer, and travel and shopping application IMPT, each raising $77 million, $35 million, and $30 million respectively.
Fintech deals provide optimism in Ireland
There is clear enthusiasm here for innovative business models and emerging technologies, and we anticipate this positive momentum to carry on through the rest of the year.
Ian Nelson, Head of Financial Services at KPMG Ireland, said: ‘While the first half of 2025 posed challenges for the global fintech sector, with ongoing geopolitical instability, Ireland has proven resilient. There is clear enthusiasm here for innovative business models and emerging technologies, and we anticipate this positive momentum to carry on through the rest of the year.”
Venture Capital: Key global highlights – Q2’25
- Global VC investment fell from $128.4 billion across 9,314 deals in Q1’25 to $101.05 billion across 7,356 deals in Q2’25.
- VC investment in the Americas declined from $98.5 billion to $72.7 billion quarter-over-quarter, driven mainly by the US—which saw investment fall from $93 billion to $70 billion over the same period. Europe saw VC investment hold steady at $14.6 billion, while Asia saw one of its weakest quarters in over a decade with just $12.8 billion of VC investment in Q2’25.
- Corporate VC (CVC) dropped from $82.7 billion in Q1’25 to $50.2 billion in Q2’25, with the US accounting for $36.2 billion. CVC in Asia hit a ten-year low of $6 billion.
- Software was the top sector for VC investment, attracting $116.1 billion as of the end of Q2’25; the sector is well on pace to surpass last year’s annual total of $148.2 billion.
- Global exit value rose to $111.1 billion in Q2’25, up from $88.9 billion in Q1’25. US exits climbed from $52.4 billion to $67.8 billion, while Asia’s jumped from $19.2 billion to $29.7 billion. In Europe, exit value fell from $13.6 billion to $11.6 billion.
- Global VC fundraising remained incredibly sluggish, with only $48.8 billion raised by the end of Q2’25, on track to sink below 2024’s eight-year low of $187.3 billion.
Pulse of Fintech: Key global highlights – H1’25
- Global fintech investment saw the softest six-month period since H1’20, with just $44.7 billion in investment across 2,216 deals.
- Global M&A deal value fell from $26.7 billion in H2’24 to $19.9 billion in H1’25, while PE investment fell from $4.4 billion to $1.4 billion; global VC investment remained steady over the same timeframe, rising marginally from $23 billion to $23.4 billion.
- The EMEA region was the only major region to see fintech investment grow—from $11.1 billion across 780 deals in H2’24 to $13.7 billion across 759 deals in H1’25.
- The Americas attracted the most fintech investment in H1’25, with $26.7 billion invested across 1,092 deals in H1’25—down from $35.7 billion across 1,150 deals in H2’24.
- The ASPAC region had the softest level of fintech investment, with just $4.2 billion across 363 deals in H1’25, compared to $7.3 billion across 444 deals in H2’24..
- At the sector level, digital assets, AI, and regtech were all trending well ahead of 2024’s investment levels at mid-year. Digital assets had $8.3 billion in investment in H1’25—compared to $10.7 billion during all of 2024, while AI saw $7.2 billion in investment—compared to $8.9 billion in all of 2024.
Get in touch
For further information on Venture Pulse, of Pulse of FinTech please contact Gavin Sheehan or Ian Nelson.
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