€48.3m raised by early stage Irish firms in 2009
Early stage or seed capital fundraisings accounted for €48.3m of the €219m secured by Irish companies in the first nine months of 2009, according to figures published by the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA).
The total funds raised, spread among 86 companies, represented a 26% rise on the same period in 2008. No doubt some of the earlier stage companies received follow-up rounds from existing investors to help them negotiate troubled waters, but the activity would appear to suggest a slight thawing of near-frozen funds. The third quarter, in particular, witnessed a good number of deal completions.
Software, cleantech and biotech companies led the way, making up the majority of the €108m raised in the third quarter of the year to September. Another positive was the proportion of deals boasting financial input from private investors, with 33 of the 56 deals where details were disclosed benefiting.
A good number of deals were also supplemented by international venture capital, with IVCA figures showing €1.5bn invested from overseas firms over the past 10 years, matching a similar level of domestic venture capital investment.
Among the earlier stage companies that raised finance over the period, were Gridstore, SaasPoint, and Lucey Technology, all of which may be familiar to eagle-eyed cmypitch users.
