Irish Tech Entrepreneurs Make Yearly Pilgrimage to South by Southwest (SXSW) 2016

Follow Their Path at #IrelandSXSW


DUBLIN, IRELAND and AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Mar 9, 2016) - At SXSW, the "incubator for cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity" starting this Friday, March 11 in Austin, TX, visitors will get a flavor for the diversity, talent and creativity of the start up scene in Ireland. A delegation of 20 plus Irish entrepreneurs will gather to showcase products that enable fast-growing trends like the Internet of Things, the mobile revolution and the sharing economy. Collectively, they represent the diversity of Ireland's web-based start-ups, while exemplifying the global aspirations that drive the founder/entrepreneurs. In the mix this year are wearable sensors to reduce stress, mobile marketing automation, new gaming platforms, solutions that enable developers to create social and community-based mobile apps, integrated digital marketing platforms, HR tools to accelerate employee performance and much more.

In the sixth year of support of the Interactive conference and festival, Enterprise Ireland will again provide an innovative program for the 2016 delegation focused around the Expo floor from March 13-16, with several networking events designed to showcase delegate company capabilities during the Interactive conference (and Expo). All events are SXSW official events, Enterprise Ireland will kick off Interactive with a networking event Fri 11 March at 5 pm in the Interactive Lounge (across the street from the Hilton), A meet + greet on the Expo stand #1007, Sunday March 13 @ 5pm and Meet up on the Expo floor on Monday March 14th @ 5 pm more information on the Enterprise Ireland events can be found here.

The participating companies include: UrbanFox, Kong Digital, Intuition, Kabzy, KantanMT, Overhaul, TekTalent, OpenBack, Firstage, SynergySuite, Crowdsight, Galvanic Ltd, Bank of Ireland. Eightytwenty, Engager, Catapult, Handy, Roads Entertainment, Drop Kitchen, Good Travel Software and Globoforce are also attending. GlowDX are contenders for SXSW Accelerator 2016 in the category of The Health and Wearable Technologies.

The Ireland Inc. presence will be in full force for 2016 with these official SXSW events. Music From Ireland, will support Ireland's musicians for its twelfth year with two events, the Official Irish Showcase, Wednesday, March 16, 6 must see Irish Acts starting at 8pm in Maggie Mae's Gibson Room, and A Full Irish Breakfast on Friday, March 18IDA Ireland will focus on creating awareness of Ireland's talents and creativity for businesses by supporting Ireland's Macnas parade, a pop-up street theatre spectacle, with Culture Ireland, Saturday, March 12 at 6:45 pm on 6th Street. On Friday, March 11 at 7 pm Dublin Commissioner For Start Ups will host Dublin Makes Me, a storytelling event with live music and drinks.

Following on from last year's first ever head of state at SXSW Interactive conference with Ireland's Prime Minister Enda Kenny, SXSW will host POTUS, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as keynote speakers for Interactive and Music

"The 2016 SXSW delegation is further evidence of Ireland's thriving and growing indigenous start-up ecosystem," said Enterprise Ireland SVP Simone Boswell. "These entrepreneurs are building cutting edge, valuable technology companies, opening offices in the US, securing significant partnerships, and closing larger-than-ever funding rounds from US investors and international syndicates. At SXSW, relationships for the Irish companies continue to build as the delegation taps into a rich influencer network. SXSW is a launch pad of promising start-ups on growth trajectories where Foursquare, Siri and Twitter first came to light."

About SXSW

SXSW Interactive is focused on emerging technology, a focus which has earned the festival a reputation as a breeding ground for new ideas and creative technologies. The festival includes a trade show, speakers, parties, and a startup accelerator. According to a festival organizer Louis Black, SXSW Interactive "has probably been the biggest of its kind in the world" since 2007. South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual set of film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987, and has continued to grow in both scope and size every year. In 2011, the conference lasted for 10 days with SXSW Interactive lasting for 5 days, Music for 6 days, and Film running concurrently for 9 days.

About Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland's mission is to work with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses and the research and investment communities to build our international trade, innovation, leadership and competitiveness within these cohorts. Our over-riding objective is to both sustain and grow jobs in Ireland through export-led growth. For more information, please visit www.enterprise-ireland.com.

For more information on the Enterprise Ireland Events, please visit www.irelandatsxsw.info, for press inquiries during the event, please contact Simone Boswell, Enterprise Ireland at simone.boswell@enterprise-ireland.com or by phone +1 310 883-5822

Contact Information:

Simone Boswell
Enterprise Ireland

+1 310 883-5822