The final of the 2019 Bolton Trust/PwC Innovation Awards, that will see three promising tech start-ups pitching for a prize of €10,000, will take place on Wednesday, 1 May at PwC’s Spencer Dock headquarters.
The finalists, all recent graduates of the New Frontiers Programme at Technological University Dublin and IADT Dún Laoghaire, will aim to convince the judging panel that their venture represents the strongest potential for global expansion and return-on-investment.
The shortlisted finalists are Keith Curley from Gladcloud alongside Shane O’Sullivan of Glimpse, who has developed performance software for digital advertising and Patrick Liddy, Utility AR, who has developed augmented reality solutions for industry.
Revealing the finalists for the 2019 Awards, John Lauder, Chairman of the Bolton Trust, said: “Our awards aim to help highly innovative start-ups along the sometimes difficult road to securing investment. Combined, our three finalists this year are seeking in the region of €3.5 million, and I am very glad to report that our three most recent winners have raised €4 million since their success in the awards.”
Feargal O’Rourke, Managing Partner, PwC, said: “Our 2019 global CEO survey highlighted that 85% of CEOs believe that Artificial Intelligence will significantly change the way business is done in the next few years. The 2019 finalists have identified the opportunities that artificial intelligence, and other technologies, can bring to business and this is at the core of their innovations. Technology and innovation is also at the core of PwC’s strategy to be the most technology-enabled professional services firm in Ireland. We are delighted to support Irish entrepreneurs through these Awards and wish all of the candidates every success.”
At the awards evening in May, the three finalists will pitch to an invited audience and a panel of judges including Debbie Rennick of ACT Venture Capital, Mary Lambkin-Coyle, Professor of Marketing at the UCD School of Business and Charlie Taylor, business journalist with The Irish Times.
The Bolton Trust Awards are open to teams who have completed Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers Programme at Technological University Dublin’s three campuses (Blanchardstown, City & Tallaght) and at IADT Dún Laoghaire. Since 2012, no fewer than 377 teams have completed the programme, which offers a package of finance, training and workspace. These teams, including companies like Hub Controls, Cortechs and Artomatix, have gone on to raise in excess of €40m of investment and generate in the region of 1,000 jobs. Previous winners of the Bolton Trust Innovation Awards have included Checkventory, YourSmileDirect and Kinesense.
Since 2012, the programme has offered a support package of finance, training and workspace to over 300 start-ups, which have gone on to secure more than €40m in equity investment and create over 1,000 jobs.
