While Dublin saw an increase in funding raised, the number of investment rounds dropped by 27% compared to last year, according to the TechIreland report (Stock image)Senior venture capitalists have described as “worrying” the lack of money coming through for new Irish startups. ‘‘The number of companies raising funds declined by over 20pc and the number of companies raising investment for the first time fell by almost 60pc,” said Brian Caulfield, a venture partner in Draper Esprit and a longtime investor in Irish tech companies. The chief executive of TechIreland, John O’Dea, said that the overall funding figures so far this year have been “distorted by three very large investments into Fenergo, Let’s Get Checked and ALX Oncology, which between them add up to €237M, more than 40pc of the overall funding’’. While Dublin saw an increase in funding raised, the number of investment rounds dropped by 27% compared to last year, according to the TechIreland report. Meanwhile, funding in Northern Ireland halved from €25m in the first half of 2019 to €12m during the same period this year.

Source: Irish Independent August 13, 2020 14:26 UTC