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Irish firm Profitero wins IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year

Edward — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:43:23 +0000

Volodymyr Pigrukh, Dmitry Vysotski and Kanstantsin Chernysh

Profitero has won the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year at the IBM SmartCamp Global Finals in San Francisco, California. The Dublin-based technology company provides a next-generation pricing intelligence service for retailers and manufacturers.
Profitero has already raised €750,000 million in venture capital from Delta Partners and Enterprise Ireland. It has 13 full-time employees.
The firm was founded by Volodymyr Pigrukh (CEO), Dmitry Vysotski (CTO) and Kanstantsin Chernysh (VP Engineering) in late 2010. It has grown in the retail analysis space since its foundation, and now hopes to partner with IBM to expand its operations in the UK and throughout Europe.

Watch video of the founders after their win.

70 start-ups apply for NDRC Launchpad

Stephen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:26:28 +0000

70 start-ups, both national and international, have applied for one of the 15 places available on the NDRC (National Digital Research Centre) Launchpad accelerator programme. The programme is designed for digital start-ups and 15 will be selected for the investment stage which starts in mid-February and ends in a competition for a follow-on investment sourced from VCs and angels. NDRC provides up to €20,000 per project in micro-seed investment to support the founders during the programme.
Last year, NDRC Launchpad was identified in the top six best accelerators in Europe following a study by the US Kaufman Fellows Programme. NDRC has supported the acceleration of 30 start-ups through its Launchpad programme since it was established in 2009.
With 70 start ups applying for 15 places, there is clear evidence that more accelerator programmes of the standing of the NDCR Launchpad would be welcomed. The NDRC and its participating start-ups have secured investments of €4.8 million from third party partners in the past 18 months.

Sony experiments with ‘3D sound’

Stephen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:08:32 +0000

Here’s an interesting experiment from Sony. While we know what 3D video is, Sony wanted to add 3D sound to 3D video. So what exactly is ‘3D sound’? Sony says it uses “binaural ’3-Dimensional’ sound overlaid onto imagery”. (Yes, we’re none the wiser either).
The film below was created by acclaimed sound designer Nick Ryan and Sony World Photography Award winner Andrew Scriven. Their task was to “produce a multi-dimensional journey where you, the viewer, can watch and hear what it’s like to be a rock star preparing to go on stage at O2 Academy Brixton”.

Go create your own
You too can get in on the action and create a soundscape. All you need is a microphone or two, a recorder, headphones and sound, then head to the Sony Ireland Facebook page. You can also upload to YouTube to share your creations. Mark your projects with the hashtag #soundscape.

Sky to bring more digital jobs to Dublin

Stephen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:24:07 +0000

The digital TV provider Sky says it will create at least 800 jobs in Dublin over the next two years. The firm will open a new customer service centre to meet increased demands from Irish customers. The centre is due to open in August 2012 at Burlington Plaza, in Dublin city.
The firm says new employees will receive competitive salaries, benefits including free Sky products and services, as well as training and personal development plans.
The increased service demands are being driven by digital innovations such as high definition TV, 3D TV channels and services like Sky Go which allows Sky customers to access live and on demand TV on computers, games consoles, iPhones and iPads.
Sky says it will offer successful applicants full induction training and on-going support. If you’re interested go to www.skycustomercentres.com for more information.
Sky’s latest initiatives in the UK are also likely to hit the Irish market. In the UK it is taking on LoveFilm and Netflix by launching its own pay-as-you-go web TV service, which will allow consumers to watch some of its movie and TV content whether they subscribe to Sky or not. Also, people who pay for Sky’s Unlimited Broadband service in the UK have free access to 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots dotted in stores, bars and restaurants around the country.
The announcement of 800 new jobs at Sky comes the same week that The Sunday Times reported Google plans to create a further 1,000 jobs in Dublin. Google also purchased a new office building on Grand Canal Dock, to be named Google Docks.

Access to Kauffman entrepreneurship programs

Stephen — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:40:36 +0000

The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) and DCU’s Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship will now partner with the Kauffman entrepreneurship programs.
The partnership aims to deliver Kauffman entrepreneurship and innovation programs in Ireland and Silicon Valley.
The Kauffman Foundation, a world authority on entrepreneurial innovation and economic growth, has shown through its research that over 40% of new job growth will come from new startup companies.
The partnership will “strengthen significantly our ability to stimulate and support entrepreneurial and innovation activity for the benefit of the Irish economy,” said Prof Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University.

About Kauffman
The Kauffman Foundation works through its Global Network Partners to advance an entrepreneurial society in which job creation, innovation, and the economy advance. The Foundation has a long history of partnering with organisations around the world to share best practices in support of developing economically successful entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Profitero takes on the world

Stephen — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:28:38 +0000

Stephen Leonard, CEO, IBM UK/Ireland; Caroline Taylor, Vice President Marketing and Communications IBM UK & Ireland; winners Dmitry Vysotski, CTO Profitero; and Vol Pigrukh, CEO Profitero

Irish start-up Profitero will take part in the 2012 IBM SmartCamp Global Final in San Francisco (January 30 – February 2). Profitero is the only Irish company competing in the event; it will represent the UK and Ireland in the competition.
Profitero is a competitor pricing intelligence service. The company helps retailers maximise profits by analysing online competitive information on thousands of products and dozens of competitors, helping to build smarter retail strategies.
The IBM SmartCamp Global Final will take place over four days: broken into master class day, mentoring day and the public finale. There will be live streaming of the event on the IBM website.
83% of mid market CIOs surveyed by IBM say analytics, the ability to extract insights from ‘Big Data’, is their top-priority investment area. Profitero’s business model designed to capitalise on this trend, said IBM.
Profitero was named as the winner of the 2011 IBM SmartCamp London in November 2011 and was selected from more than 80 entries from the UK and Ireland.

€1 million investment and 12 new jobs for Blueface

Stephen — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:15:30 +0000

Irish cloud telephony company Blueface, has announced a €1m investment in research & development to enhance its next generation IP telephony and services platform and drive export activity. The investment, which will create 12 new jobs, is being part-funded by Enterprise Ireland’s R&D Fund.
Enterprise Ireland classifies Blueface as a “scaling client” meaning it is has particular potential for rapid and steady growth to quickly achieve international scale.
“Our new R&D programme will assist us to enhance our product portfolio, create sustainable jobs and to continue to generate and develop telephony solutions for our customer base in Ireland and the UK,” says Alan Foy, CEO, Blueface.

Maybe Video wants Irish video producers

Stephen — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:14:27 +0000

An Irish start-up, Maybe Video, aims to offer business owners and brands access to video production professionals who can produce onsite or tailored videos.
“We want to help businesses that are in demand of high-quality video to promote their business. We offer businesses access to the best available pool of resources. The site also allows video producers to search and apply for posted video projects,” says Mannix Ryan, founder of Maybe Video.
Maybe Video wants all video production professionals in Ireland to contact the site. The site, currently in beta, expects to be offering its full services early in the New Year
Maybe Video is being launched as part of the “The 12 Business Days of Christmas” running from 1st to 20th of December. The initiative, created by DCU Business School and LINK, the Leadership, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre, is supported by AIB.

Irish agency creates world’s first 5D animated film

Edward — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:51:04 +0000

Pictured are vStream co-founders Andrew Jenkinson and Niall O’Driscoll

Irish digital media company vStream has developed the world’s first 5D Christmas animation called ‘Elbow Saves Christmas’.
The 5D animation, which will be part of the Santa Grotto experience in both Westfield London and Westfield Stratford centres, tells the tale of ‘Elbow the Elf’, who saves Christmas. Visitors to Santa’s Grotto will be immersed in a stereoscopic 3D visual experience which incorporates a fourth dimension of wind, lights and elf dust.
The fifth dimension is the personalisation of the experience, with each child in the audience featuring in the film. Their pictures will be displayed throughout the story as an integral part of the narrative, as participants watch Elbow saving Santa’s presents from the good-elf-turned-bad, Fumble.
The seven minute animation, which was developed to Pixar film quality by vStream, represents a contract value of approximately €200,000 for the Irish digital media company.
“It has been an amazing journey from concept through to animation to final delivery. Westfield will be using our patent-pending technology and we could not have a better client or project to launch it,” says vStream co-founder Andrew Jenkinson.

Virtual shopping as never before – welcome to the world of Von Bismark

Stephen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:45:53 +0000

Liffey Valley is the first retail centre in Ireland to get a taste of a new virtual advertising and shopping solution from Irish start-up Von Bismark.
Von Bismark’s Accessorise platform is an Augmented Reality (AR) display that allows users to physically interact with clothes and accessories. It is described by the company as “a virtual mirror driven through Microsoft Kinect that allows consumer to physically try on digital clothes and accessories”.
Von Bismark hopes to see its application also used in the homes of Kinect users across Europe – to help them with their online shopping. From the comfort of home, shoppers will soon have the luxury of “trying clothes on” before they buy them online, says the firm.
Eoghan O’Sullivan is the MD and founder of Von Bismark. He graduated in 2003 from DCU with a degree in Multimedia and went on to become creative director of Pixie Labs, a company specialising in 3D artwork and motion graphics integrated online. Since then has co-founded Tender3D.