Belfast-based software company Sophia Search has been invited to IBM’s Global Entrepreneur Directory – one of just a dozen firms worldwide to take part in the initiative.
According to IBM, the programme supports entrepreneurs worldwide who want to build a smarter planet. Dublin firm Cloud9, a ERP provider for small businesses, is the only other Irish company invited onto the programme.
Dr David Patterson from the University of Ulster and Dr Vladimir Dobrynin from the State University of St Petersburg established Sophia Search in 2007. Unlike traditional search systems that rely on an expensive and limited taxonomical approach, Sophia claims its patented contextual discovery engine (CDE) automatically understands meaning and identifies intrinsic terms, phrases and relationships within content.
The company was privately funded in July last year by what it claims is the largest angel investment ever made in a Northern Ireland company. Headquartered in Belfast, with offices in San Jose, Sophia is expanding its business in the UK and growing it in the US market.
Sophia says its technology has multiple applications in sectors ranging from life sciences and patent and intellectual property to search engine optimisation and e-publishing.
The company won Intertrade Ireland’s Seedcorn competition in 2009, beating 250 other companies to win the title of Best High Growth Company in Ireland.
