Dublin-based Elkstone has today announced that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has committed to anchoring the final close of its €100 million early-stage Irish Venture Fund. With Enterprise Ireland also on board, the fund has already deployed over €10 million to date and aims to complete its initial investments by 2026.
Having backed Irish unicorns like Flipdish and LetsGetChecked at Seed stage, Elkstone and its private clients are focussed on enabling the next generation of exceptional Irish entrepreneurs, supported by institutional partnerships with ISIF and Enterprise Ireland.
Elkstone’s €100 million fund is Ireland’s largest early-stage venture fund. To date, Elkstone’s Venture arm has invested in more than 50 startups, supporting the creation of over 1,000 jobs, with these companies collectively going on to raise over €600m in follow-on funding.
Elkstone’s investment strategy focuses on being additive to the vibrant Irish ecosystem, by helping through its unique value add services and global network, indigenous startups to scale internationally while remaining headquartered in Ireland, thereby creating high-quality local employment, and recycling capital to seed the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Alan Merriman, Elkstone’s Chief Executive, says: “We are delighted to have delivered on our promise to the Dept of Finance and our clients to bring about a unique EIIS venture fund providing access to support the venture funding ecosystem here. Our fund investor base comprising both entrepreneurs and private capital alongside EI and ISIF, is a key edge in helping us bring meaningful value add to Irish founders as they look to fulfil their businesses’ potential and scale internationally. Whilst the macro backdrop is undoubtedly challenging, it is a good time to be investing and we are very positive on the outlook for disruption and innovation”
The Elkstone Ireland Venture Fund will support exceptional Irish founders developing innovative, internationally scalable, and potentially category-defining companies. Investments to date include Bluedrop Medical, MEG, Inclusio, Allsorter, Danalto, and Output Sports, with others closing imminently in AI and cyber security.
Nick Ashmore, the Director of ISIF, says: “ISIF is a strong supporter of indigenous Irish businesses that have ambitions to scale and target international markets. This fund expands our reach in early-stage venture capital and gives Irish businesses a valuable new option for attracting the capital they need to grow. Our new partnership with Elkstone will fuel the success of a range of fast-growing Irish businesses and we aim to build on these success stories in the coming years.”
With broad support from other stakeholders across the ecosystem, Elkstone advocated for the legislative change required to launch this fund and has delivered on its promise to the Government to raise meaningful capital to invest in Irish early-stage companies.
