VC investment in Ireland experienced an increase in the first quarter of 2026, totalling $212.3 million across 19 deals. This represents a substantial uplift compared to the last quarter of 2025, which saw $155.1 million invested also across 19 deals, as reported by the latest quarterly KPMG Venture Pulse report.
Commenting on VC activity in Ireland during Q1'26, Gavin Sheehan, Partner, Deal Advisory at KPMG in Ireland, said: “Irish VC fundraising was consistent in Q1’26 led by significant fundraising by Equal1, Evervault, and Circit. Notwithstanding global challenges towards the end of Q1, VC investment in Ireland showed resilience, with sustained interest mirroring international trends in terms of increased deal sizes and later stage investment with interest in the AI, energy and medtech sectors.”
VC investment in Ireland remains strong
The Irish market in Q1’26 maintained a steady cadence of activity; some of the larger deals were quantum computing company Equal1 that secured $60 million, financial software businesses Evervault and Circit who raised $25 million and $22 million respectively, and Galway-based medtech company Luminate Medical which raised $21 million.
XFuel, a sustainable energy company, has also raised $20 million.
Global VC investment doubles
Globally, venture capital investment more than doubled from $128.6 billion in Q4’25 to a record $330.9 billion in Q1’26, fuelled by an extraordinary concentration of capital in large megadeals.
During Q1’26, ten funding rounds attracted $2 billion+ in VC investment, contributing more than $206 billion to the global total. AI-focused companies attracted the majority of these funding rounds, including seven based in the US: OpenAI ($122 billion), Anthropic ($30.6 billion), xAI ($20 billion), Waymo ($16 billion), Databricks ($7 billion), Polymarket ($2.6 billion), and Shield AI ($2.3 billion).
AI attracts strong VC investment globally
Global VC investment in AI remained extremely strong in Q1’26. Although the largest rounds were captured by major US-based LLM companies, investor interest extended well beyond foundational models to a diverse mix of AI-related startups across regions.
These included companies focused on semiconductors, data centres, and other enabling infrastructure, as well as AI platforms, agentic AI, physical AI, and vertical-specific solutions
Geopolitical tensions key area to watch headed into Q2’26
Looking ahead to Q2’26, geopolitical tensions will remain a key watchpoint for the VC market, particularly in the Americas and Europe as higher oil prices and renewed inflation concerns create a more fragile backdrop for investment.
This uncertainty could keep US IPO activity largely subdued unless conditions improve quickly.
AI is expected to remain the top focus for VC investors globally, with continued investment in both foundational models and application layer-focused companies. The AI space is also expected to draw increasing M&A activity.
More broadly, defence tech, space tech, and cybersecurity are expected to attract growing interest from VC investors given the more volatile and uncertain global environment.
Q1’26 - Key highlights
- Global VC investment increased from $128.6B billion across 10,097 deals in Q4’25 to $330.9 billion across 8,464 deals in Q1’26.
- VC investment in the Americas rose from $78.6 billion in Q4’25 to $270.1 billion in Q1’26, driven primarily by the United States - where investment increased from $72.6 billion to $267.2 billion quarter-over-quarter. In Europe, VC investment rose from $23.4 billion in Q4’25 to $25.7 billion in Q1’26, while in Asia it rose from $26.2 billion to $31.8 billion.
- Software remained the leading sector for VC investment globally, attracting a quarterly record of $225.2 billion in Q1’26 - almost matching the sector’s 2025 annual total, and on a clear path to exceeding 2021’s record of $241.5 billion.
- Global exit value more than doubled from $184.3 billion in Q4’25 to $413.5 billion in Q1’26 - the highest level seen since Q4’21; exit value was driven primarily by large M&A deals, while IPO activity remained more muted.
- VC fundraising remained slow in Europe and Asia in Q1’26 but saw some rebound in the US; during the quarter, the US saw $47.8 billion in funds raised versus $66.7 billion during all of 2025 - driven particularly by larger funds over $500 million.
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