TechIreland celebrates success in life sciences and healthtech sector as cleantech and fintech stumble
Image: Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels
Eighty-two female-founded start-ups raised €131 million in 2025 according to TechIreland’s new Female Founder Funding Review 2026.
In 2025, there were 36 reported deals of female-led companies raising between €100,000 and €300,000, compared to eight in 2024. As in previous years, some rounds remained undisclosed. Startups raising €1 million – €3 million remained steady, with 11 companies raising a total of €18.7 million.
Overall, deal size decreased significantly, with the average raise declining to €2.3 million in 2025 from €3.9 million in 2024. Average funding dropped owing to an increase in the number of deals. However, the median also dropped to just €100,000 last year, compared to €1.5 million in 2024. This indicates that the divide between a group of few very large rounds and that of a large number of very small rounds seems to be widening.
Reflecting the strength of life sciences and healthtech sector, funding into these companies made up nearly 70% of the total raised. This trend mirrors that in Europe, where health remains a top sector among female founders.
Investment into enterprise software, another strong Irish sector, grew significantly to €30.7 million raised by 22 companies in 2025 compared to €10.7 million by 10 start-ups in 2024.
Other top performers included agrifood (€3.9 million) and consumer and e-commerce (€1.8 million).
However, some segments underperformed, with cleantech (€1.1 million) and, surprisingly, fintech (€2.1 million) posting below average figures.
Chair of TechIreland Brian Caulfield said: “2025 was an interesting year for female founders from a fundraising perspective. On the face of it, the numbers held up pretty well. While it’s encouraging to see so many female-founded companies raising capital, it’s a concern that the market has bifurcated, a very small number of companies raising large rounds, and a very large number of companies raising very small rounds (largely led by Enterprise Ireland). The mid-market of seed and Series A raises is being hollowed out.”
Sarah Walker, startups & entrepreneurship at Enterprise Ireland, said: “The headline TechIreland figure – 82 companies raising in 2025 – is almost double last year and the highest level of activity since 2017 which is cause for celebration. While the increased number of women led and co-founded companies raising is encouraging, TechIreland reports total funding levels of €131 million in 2025, down from €145 million in 2024, reflecting a challenging funding environment.”
TechCentral Reporters
Source link
