The ITLG/Irish Times Innovation Awards and Summit that will take place 12-13 March looks set to be the biggest Irish business event yet to take place in Silicon Valley with over 100 Irish companies from North and South mingling with some of the top technology companies, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
“We may end up with 800 possibly 1,000 attendees,” explained ITLG president and co-founder John Hartnett. “Our previous largest attendance here in the Valley was closer to 400 people.”
Hartnett confirmed this evening that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD will be attending the event.
Hartnett revealed that in addition to 20 start-up companies who will be pitching for the HP-sponsored ITLG/Irish Times Innovation Award, some 100 companies from North and South will attend.
Each of the 20 start-ups have been issued with the latest Nokia Lumia 800 smartphones to record company videos.
The event will be attended by Global Irish Economic Forum Diaspora including ITLG chairman and former Intel CEO Craig Barrett.
Keynote speakers will include executives from HP, Intel, Sony, Disney, Dreamworks.
A panel on investment will be moderated by Bloomberg TV anchor Margaret Brennan and firms taking part include Goldman Sachs, Andreesen Horowitz, Elevation Partners and Intel Capital.
Other companies attending include Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, Cisco Vodafone, Microsoft, Citi Bank, AT&T, to name but a few.
Delegations including the mayors of cities like Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Drogheda will attend meet with the mayors of San Jose and Sallinas.
The various heads of DCU, Trinity College, TSSG, WIT, UCD, DIT, NUI Maynooth, Limerick Institute of Technology and NUI Galway will also attend the event.
Delegations from Derry, Wales, the British Consulate, Norway, Canada, China and Israel will also be attending on 12 and 13 March.
